A 16-year-old boy on trial for the murder of nine-year-old Aria Thorpe has told Bristol Crown Court that he never intended to harm her but only wanted to frighten her.
Aria died after being stabbed in the chest at her family home in Weston-super-Mare, North Somerset, on December 15 last year. The boy faces charges of murder and manslaughter but denies them both.
In his testimony, the boy explained that he picked up a kitchen knife and entered the lounge where Aria was sitting. “I was waving around the knife,” he said. “At some point, I decided to try to make her flinch and scare her, to get a reaction. I leaned forward and acted like I was fencing.”
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He described how Aria was standing in front of him, taking a slight step forward, when the knife accidentally pierced her chest. “The knife went in, then I pulled it out. I didn’t know what to do. She put her hand to her chest,” he recounted.
Aria then collapsed face down on the floor. The boy said he panicked, ran to the kitchen to put the knife back into the sink, and left the house. He went to Worle train station, where he told other children he had accidentally killed Aria. One child called 999, leading to his arrest shortly after he boarded a train.
The boy admitted he did not check on Aria or call for medical help after the incident. When asked how he felt about what happened, he replied, “I felt horrible.” He also gave a police statement admitting to stabbing her but did not initially say it was accidental, wanting to accept full responsibility.
Home Office pathologist Dr. Amanda Jeffery testified that Aria died from a single stab wound that pierced her heart and stated she would have died very quickly from the injury.
On the day of her death, Aria had attended school and later a dance class, before making mini-pizzas with her mother. A family friend discovered her collapsed at about 6pm and called emergency services, but sadly, Aria was pronounced dead shortly thereafter.
The trial continues before Mrs. Justice O’Farrell.