Boy accused of murdering girl, 9, said he had to get away from police, court told

A jury has heard how a teenage boy on trial for the murder of a nine-year-old girl in Somerset told a group of young people that he had to get away from "the police... everything".

The 16-year-old defendant, who cannot be named, is accused of killing Aria Thorpe at her home in Weston-super-Mare, Somerset, on 15 December 2025.

She died from a single stab wound to her heart and lung.

The jury at Bristol Crown Court heard the defendant, who was 15 at the time, had been seen on CCTV at Worle train station just minutes after the attack.

Footage from the train station played in court appears to show the defendant talking to a group of young people on the platform who he knew from school.

In a police interview, one girl from the group, who was aged 12 at the time, described how the defendant was "trying to get away as quick as he could".

She said: "He was shaking a lot. He just kept saying, 'I need to get away'."

When asked what he needed to get away from, the court was told he replied: "Everything. The police... everything."

The girl said that one member of the group asked whether he had killed someone, as a joke.

She described how the teenager did not respond, but just smiled.

The defendant is seen in footage running to a train on the opposite platform.

Minutes later, police boarded and led him away.

The court also heard from a man who performed CPR on Aria after finding her lying "face down" with her school top "covered in blood."

Ollie Sheppard, a family friend who had been staying at the home, was asked about the moment he returned to the property from work nearby.

"I thought nobody was home, it was quiet," he said.

He added the house was "very eerie", saying: "It felt cold and weird. Everything was silent. I shouted out 'hello, is anyone home?'. I turned around, I see Aria on the floor."

He told the jury he thought Aria was "messing around".

"I could see there was blood on her arm, and her school top was covered in blood," he said.

Mr Sheppard described how his first instinct was to call Aria's mother - but there was no answer.

He then called 999, and was instructed to begin CPR.

"Obviously, when I first rolled her over, her school T-shirt was covered in blood. I pulled up her top to give her CPR correctly," he said.

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The court also heard evidence from a neighbour who described hearing shouting next door.

Shalyna Chaplain said the shouting became "progressively louder".

"I became aware of a commotion, shouting next door," she told the jury. "It sounded like two teenage boys arguing. It was loud. It was shouting, but it was upset rather than aggressive. It was like two people shouting who were upset."

The court heard, through a written statement, that Miss Chaplain's partner, who had been working upstairs at the time, heard shouts of "no, no, no" in a "tone of disbelief".

The defendant denies murder, and an alternative charge of manslaughter.

The trial continues.

(c) Sky News 2026: Boy accused of murdering girl, 9, said he had to get away from police, court told