NEED TO KNOW
- A 15-year-old boy has been charged with the murder of a 9-year-old girl
- Police identified the victim as Aria Thorpe, who was found dead in a West-super-Mare, England, home on Monday, Dec. 15
- The suspect, who has not been publicly identified, appeared in court on Wednesday, Dec. 17
A teenage boy has been charged following the death of a 9-year-old girl in Somerset, England.
The Avon and Somerset Police confirmed in a press release that the 15-year-old boy appeared at Bristol Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday, Dec. 17, two days after the incident occurred.
While authorities have not completed a formal identification, police confirmed that the victim was 9-year-old Aria Thorpe. Thorpe was found dead in a house in Weston-super-Mare on Monday.
According to the press release, emergency services were called to a home in Lime Close shortly before 6:10 p.m. local time.
“The boy — who cannot be publicly identified as a child defendant — was arrested in Worle a short time later,” the release reads.
While the first police officer arrived three minutes after the emergency services’ call, Thorpe was pronounced dead at the scene, per The Times.
“A post-mortem examination has been carried out and the preliminary finding is that the death was as a result of a single stab wound,” officials added.
PEOPLE has contacted the Avon and Somerset Police and Becket Primary School for further comment.
According to the BBC, the teen suspect only spoke in court on Wednesday to confirm his name and address. His next court appearance will be at the Bristol Crown Court on Friday.
Ben Birchall/PA Images via Getty
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Thorpe had celebrated her 9th birthday two weeks ago with a KPop Demon Hunters party, according to U.K. newspaper The Times.
“This remains an incredibly difficult time for Aria’s family, who we continue to support and update around our investigation,” Superintendent Jen Appleford said in a statement. “It is impossible to adequately describe how traumatic the past 36 hours have been for them and we’d like to reiterate in the strongest possible terms their request for privacy.”
Appleford added, “The tragic loss of such a young girl has caused a huge amount of shock and upset, with there being a profound sense of loss felt throughout the community.”
Friends and neighbors described Thorpe as a “lovely little girl,” according to The Times.
The outlet reported that she loved styling her hair, as well as fashion and makeup.
She had also run a Youtube channel with a friend and had started earning money by cleaning cars.
Ben Birchall/PA Images via Getty
Neighbor Tamara Taylor, 40, whose daughter was best friends with Thorpe, told the outlet, “Aria was a lovely little girl, sassy for her age, she loved dressing up and doing what little girls do.”
“She and my daughter were best friends, they were always playing together and would be in each other’s houses every night,” she continued. “I’m dreading telling her when she comes home from school later. How do you tell an 8-year-old girl that her best friend has been murdered?”
Taylor reflected how her daughter had gone to Thorpe’s KPop party “only two weeks ago.”
“I just can’t believe it. You hear about these things and then suddenly it’s on your own doorstep,” she said.
Thorpe lived with her mother, Victoria Hull, 36, and older siblings, per The Times, and attended Becket Primary School.
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