Man who found nine-year-old Aria Thorpe slumped on the floor after she had been stabbed said his first thought she was 'messing around', court hears

By ANDY DOLAN, GENERAL REPORTER Published: 15:42, 16 June 2026 | Updated: 15:46, 16 June 2026 A family friend had thought a nine-year-old girl was 'messing around' when he first saw her lying on the floor – not realising she had been fatally stabbed, a court heard.  Ollie Sheppard described seeing Aria Thorpe lying face down in the lounge of her home and thought she was playing so called out her name.  He told jurors that it was only when he saw blood on her arm that he knew it was more serious.  A 16-year-old boy is on trial accused of stabbing the schoolgirl in the chest at the  house on December 15 last year.  Mr Sheppard was staying temporarily at the property in Weston-super-Mare, North Somerset,  and returned there after work, entering the 'silent' house by the rear door through the kitchen shortly after 6pm.  Describing the house, he said: 'One of the kitchen drawers was wide open. I went from the kitchen into the hallway.  'I couldn't push open the door because the door to the cupboard under the stairs was open. I managed to push my way through.  'As I pushed through the door, I just walked down the hallway, and I turned round by the stairs, and I saw Aria on the floor.'  Family friend Ollie Sheppard discovered Aria Thorpe (pictured) slumped in the lounge but at first thought she was 'messing around', he told jurors Mr Sheppard said he performed CPR on the schoolgirl until the emergency services arrived Ray Tully KC, prosecuting, asked: 'What was your first thought when you saw her on the floor?'  Mr Sheppard replied: 'She was messing around. I called her name, Aria, and pretty much I had put two and two together and I saw blood on her arm.  'There wasn't much blood visible because of the hard flooring, the carpet was dark.  'I couldn't see any mark that stood out and as I said there was blood on her arm, and her school top was covered in blood.' He dialled 999 and was directed to peform CPR, which he did until the emergency services arrived.  Neighbour Shalyna Chaplain told the jury she heard shouting - which got 'progressively louder' - coming from next door while she was feeding her toddler.   'The TV was on fairly loud and I became aware of a commotion from next door,' Ms Chaplain said.  The court heard the defendant admits he had hold of the knife but claimed he was playfighting with Aria when she was 'impaled' on the blade 'It was like two people shouting who were upset, rather than two people shouting at each other who were aggressive.  'Because of how loud the noise was I believed it was outside the front. It went on for about four minutes – it wasn't a long time.  'It was progressively getting louder and then it stopped completely.'  She told the jury the two voices she heard sounded like teenage boys.  Andrew Langdon KC, defending the teenager, suggested what she had in fact heard was a single male voice. She replied: 'It did sound like someone was talking to another person. At the time I was fairly certain it was two voices.'  In a written statement, Ms Chaplain's partner Ashley Mansell said he was upstairs working in a bedroom when he heard voices coming from next door.  He said: 'I heard shouting, three 'No, no, noes'.  It was said in a tone of disbelief.  'It immediately made me think it was an unusual thing to hear'.  'It was more like a 'can't believe it' no. It was a male voice, I can't say who it was.'  Mr Mansell said what he heard had taken place at some point between 5.57pm and 6.07pm. He then went downstairs and shortly after heard an ambulance arriving.  Bristol Crown Court has heard the boy, who was 15 at the time, said he had 'playfighting' with the knife and trying to scare Aria when she either walked or ran on to the long blade. Mr Tully told the jury during his opening on Monday: 'He admits that he had hold of the knife in his hand at the time the fatal wound occurred. 'The boy admits he had hold of the knife but says they were playfighting and he expected Aria to flinch. Instead she came towards him and was fatally wounded.' The court heard that after leaving the property, the boy walked to a train station where he told a group of young people gathered there that Aria had 'impaled' herself on the knife and was accidentally killed. The boy, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, told them: 'you'll see it on the news later'. Juros were also told how the boy Googled 'What happens if you kill?' The court heard how the defendant had had his phone – which he said represented 'freedom' to him - confiscated earlier that day. One of the children at the railway station told police: 'He asked if he could search something on Google. He then said, 'I'm done for. Why have I done this?' The teenager was arrested minutes later sitting on the floor of a carriage of a train waiting to leave the station.  A post-mortem examination found Aria had suffered a single stab wound to the heart and would have 'died very swiftly from her injury'.  The teenager denies charges of murder and manslaughter. Sorry we are not currently accepting comments on this article.