Teenager cleared of murdering nine-year-old girl
A teenage boy has been found not guilty of killing a nine-year-old girl in her home.
The 16-year-old, who cannot be named due to his age, was on trial accused of murder and manslaughter following the death of Aria Thorpe. A jury returned verdicts of not guilty for both charges at Bristol Crown Court earlier.
A pathologist previously told the court Aria died of a single stab wound to her chest at her home in Weston-super-Mare on 15 December 2025.
After her death, the nine-year-old's family paid tribute to her "lively and bubbly" personality.
Some jurors were visibly emotional as they returned their not guilty verdicts and Aria's mother left the courtroom immediately afterwards.
The accused did not visibly react to the verdicts.
The teenager, who was 15 at the time of Aria's death, had told jurors he and the nine-year-old had been playfighting when she moved towards him and the knife he was holding went into her chest.
"I was going to try and make her flinch, so I leaned forward like I was fencing," he said.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c9320y90lnno