A 16-year-old boy has been found not guilty of murdering nine-year-old Aria Thorpe, who died after being stabbed in the heart at her home in Weston-super-Mare. The jury at Bristol Crown Court returned verdicts of not guilty to both murder and manslaughter on Thursday, after the teenager said he had only intended to scare the girl with a knife.
The boy, who cannot be named because of his age, told the court he picked up a knife with a 21cm blade from the kitchen and went into the lounge where Aria was sitting on the sofa. He demonstrated moving the knife in a ninja-style way before jabbing it towards her as if fencing. 'She had almost taken a step forward but without taking a step forward because before she could, it happened,' he said. 'The knife went into her. Then I pulled it out. I didn't know what to do. She put her hand to her chest.' Aria fell to the floor on her front. The boy left the home and went to a nearby railway station, telling a group of children her death was an 'accident'. After the verdicts, trial judge Mrs Justice O'Farrell thanked the jury for their 'careful attention' and told the teenager: 'You have been found not guilty and you will now be taken down to be processed.' Several members of the public gallery left the court quietly after being warned not to show emotion.
“A 16-year-old cleared of murdering a nine-year-old girl; Magdeburg attacker jailed for life for killing six.”
In a separate case that also involved the death of a nine-year-old, a German court has sentenced Taleb Al-Abdulmohsen to life in prison for driving a rented BMW into a Christmas market in Magdeburg on 20 December 2024. The 51-year-old Saudi national was found guilty of murder after killing a nine-year-old boy and five women aged between 45 and 75. Around 300 others were injured. The attack lasted one minute and four seconds, with the car travelling at up to 48km/h into the crowded market. Chief Public Prosecutor Matthias Böttcher said the defendant's 'sole concern was, and remains, himself'. A psychiatric expert diagnosed him with narcissistic personality disorder and an overwhelming need for attention. Al-Abdulmohsen, who was granted asylum in Germany in 2016, told the court he was motivated by conflicts with German authorities and anger that the rights of Saudi women were being ignored. He had a history of anti-Islamic rhetoric and far-right sympathies, and worked as a specialist in psychiatry until being registered unfit for work. A temporary courthouse was erected in Magdeburg for the trial due to the large number of victims. He has the right to appeal.