A 16-year-old boy on trial for the murder of nine-year-old Aria Thorpe has given his account of the fatal incident in court. Aria died from a knife wound to the chest at her home in Weston-super-Mare, North Somerset, on December 15 last year.
The teenage defendant, who cannot be named because of his age, denies charges of murder and manslaughter relating to Aria’s death. During his testimony at Bristol Crown Court, he described how he picked up a kitchen knife and approached Aria, who was sitting on the sofa in the lounge.
“I was waving the knife around,” he told the jury. “I wanted to scare her, so I tried to make her flinch and get a reaction. I leaned forward and acted like I was fencing.”
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He explained that Aria was in front of him and as she almost took a step, the knife accidentally went into her chest. “I don’t know what she was doing. The knife went in, then I pulled it out. She put her hand to her chest,” he said.
Aria then fell forward onto the floor. The boy said he thought she had died and panicked, running to the kitchen to put the knife back in the sink. He admitted he did not check on Aria, call emergency services, or raise an alarm after the injury.
Following the incident, the boy walked to nearby Worle train station, where he told some children he had accidentally killed Aria. He borrowed a child’s phone and searched for “what happens if you kill…”. Another child called 999, and police arrested the boy at the station shortly before he boarded a train.
When questioned by his lawyer about his feelings, the boy said, “I felt horrible.” He also explained why a statement he gave to police the day after did not mention the stabbing was accidental. “I just took the blame because it was my fault and wanted to admit guilt.”
Expert testimony from Home Office pathologist Dr. Amanda Jeffery revealed that Aria died from a single stab wound that pierced her heart, causing a swift death.
On the day of her death, Aria attended school and an after-school dance class before being collected by her mother, Tori Hull. They shopped for mini-pizza ingredients and spent time together before Ms. Hull left for work, with Aria watching YouTube videos in the lounge.
Family friend Ollie Sheppard, staying at the house temporarily, discovered Aria on the living room floor at around 6 pm and called emergency services. Paramedics and police arrived promptly, but Aria was pronounced dead at 6:58 pm.
The trial, presided over by Mrs. Justice O’Farrell, is ongoing.