15-Year-Old Boy Charged with Murder of ‘Lovely Little Girl’ Weeks After Her 9th Birthday Party

A 15-year-old boy has been charged in connection with the death of a 9-year-old girl in Somerset, England.

Avon and Somerset Police said in a press release that the boy appeared at Bristol Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday, Dec. 17 — two days after the incident.

Police said formal identification has not yet been completed, but confirmed the victim is believed to be 9-year-old Aria Thorpe. She was found dead at a home in Weston-super-Mare on Monday.

Emergency services were called to a house in Lime Close shortly before 6:10 p.m. local time, according to police.

“The boy — who cannot be publicly identified as a child defendant — was arrested in Worle a short time later,” the release said.

A post-mortem examination has been conducted, and officials said preliminary findings indicate Thorpe died from a single stab wound.

According to the BBC, the boy spoke briefly in court on Wednesday only to confirm his name and address. He is due to appear next at Bristol Crown Court on Friday.

“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 that the death has shaken the community, saying the loss of a child has caused “a huge amount of shock and upset,” with “a profound sense of loss felt throughout the community.”

Thorpe had celebrated her 9th birthday two weeks ago with a KPop Demon Hunters party, according to The Times.

Friends and neighbors told The Times they remembered her as a “lovely little girl” who enjoyed fashion, makeup, and styling her hair. The outlet also reported that she ran a YouTube channel with a friend and had begun earning money by cleaning cars.

Neighbor Tamara Taylor, 40, whose daughter was Thorpe’s best friend, told The Times, “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,” Taylor 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 also recalled that her daughter attended 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.

According to The Times, Thorpe lived with her mother, Victoria Hull, 36, and older siblings, and attended Becket Primary School.