Teenager Accused of Stabbing Girl, 9, Claims 'Playfighting'

A 16-year-old boy accused of fatally stabbing nine-year-old Aria Thorpe claimed the fatal injury occurred during what he described as “playfighting”, BBC reported.

The teenager denies murder and manslaughter charges over Aria's death at a house in Weston-super-Mare, North Somerset, on December 15 last year.

Prosecutor Ray Tully KC told Bristol Crown Court that the defendant admitted he was holding the knife when the fatal injury occurred.

The prosecution said he claimed he was trying to scare Aria and expected her to flinch when he jabbed the knife towards her.

A post-mortem examination found Aria died from a single stab wound that pierced her heart and punctured a lung.

Medical evidence indicated the injury required at least mild force.

Jurors heard that after the incident, the teenager went to a nearby railway station and told a group of young people he had stabbed a child.

"I was playing around with a knife. She walked into the knife. I accidentally stabbed her with a really big knife," he allegedly said.

The court heard he also called himself "a murderer", said "I'm done for... why have I done this?", and searched online for "What happens if you kill" after borrowing a phone.

Police were alerted by one of the youths at the station.

The teenager later boarded a train but was found and arrested by officers.

Prosecutors said that although the boy later expressed regret during police interrogation he initially did not mention any playfighting or claim that Aria had walked into the knife.

In a statement, he told detectives: "I grabbed a knife and stabbed her in the chest. I didn't use a lot of force, but it was a big knife. I don't know why I did it, it just happened."