"‘Where’s the Justice?’ Aria’s Family Outraged After Teen Cleared of Nine-Year-Old’s Murder"

THE family of a tragic nine-year-old girl have blasted “how is this justice” after a teen boy was cleared of her manslaughter and murder.

A 16-year-old boy was accused of stabbing Aria Thorpe to death in Weston-super-Mare, North , on December 15 last year.

Tragic Aria suffered a single stab wound to her chest Credit: PA CCTV showed the boy telling pals he had stabbed the nine-year-old to death, jurors heard Credit: SWNS

He claimed he had accidentally plunged the knife into the schoolgirl’s chest while he was “fencing”.

Jurors yesterday found the boy, who can’t be named, not guilty of murder and manslaughter following a trial.

The verdicts have caused heartache for Aria’s family, who believe the youngster was failed by the justice system.

Her aunt Katie Thorpe said: “How is this justice? What message does this send to society?

“What does it teach people when a child can lose her life in such a horrific and senseless way, yet nobody is held accountable?

“Our family has effectively been handed a life sentence. We will carry this grief, heartbreak and loss for the rest of our lives. Meanwhile, the person responsible walks free.”

The boy claimed he was ‘fencing’ when he knifed Aria Credit: PA She had been at a dance class in the hours before her death Credit: PA

Aria’s great aunt Sarah Cox Pike blasted the verdict as “beyond devastating”.

She added: “It feels like the justice system has failed not only Aria and everyone who loved her, but every family who expects the to deliver justice.”

Bristol Crown Court heard the boy had fled to a nearby train station following the horror.

Footage showed the defendant telling a group of other youths he had stabbed someone.

The court heard he claimed he was “playing around” with Aria when he “accidentally stabbed her with a really big knife”.

He also said he expected Aria to “flinch” when he “jabbed the knife” towards her in an attempt to “scare her”, jurors were told.

The teen allegedly told one of the group, who he knew: “Yo (name) I’m a murderer. I accidentally killed someone.”

He further told the group of youngsters: “You’ll see it on the news later.”

Police chased the defendant down on a train Credit: SWNS He was later handcuffed and marched off the train Credit: SWNS

Giving evidence, he told the court he had picked up a knife from the kitchen of Aria’s home and went into the lounge where she was sitting on the sofa.

“Aria stood up and I was waving around the knife,” he told the jury.

“Then at some point I decided that I was going to try to make her flinch and scare her, to get a reaction.

“I leaned forward, acted like I was fencing.”

The court heard how Aria had spent the afternoon before she died at a dance class before she was picked up by her mum Victoria Hull.

She ate pizza and seemed “bubbly and happy” – asking her mum if she could have the last Oreo.

Victoria added: “She said something like ‘see you after work mummy’. I replied ‘see you after work, love you’.”

pathologist Dr Amanda Jeffery found Aria died from a single stab wound, which went through her heart.

Dr Jeffery told the jury that Aria would have died “very swiftly” from the injury, which was between 7.5 and 8cm deep.

​Detective Inspector Neil Meade, of Avon and Somerset , said: “Aria Thorpe was a fun-loving girl, adored by her parents and wider family. She clearly brought a huge amount of joy to many people’s lives.

“Aria’s grieving family have shown exceptional courage over the past six months, particularly during this trial, and our thoughts are with them.

“During the trial the jury listened to a lot of evidence around a teenager’s involvement in Aria’s death.

“The boy said it was an accident and he never sought to harm Aria.

“The jury have found the boy not guilty of both murder and manslaughter after carefully reviewing all the facts presented in court.

“Aria’s family have repeatedly asked for their privacy to be respected, and we are grateful to those who have shown them compassion and understanding around that.”