Trial date set for teenager charged with Weston-super-Mare girl’s murder

A tentative trial date has been set for a 15-year-old boy accused of murdering a nine-year-old girl.

The teenager, who cannot be named for legal reasons, has appeared before a judge for the second time since Aria Thorpe was found dead at a house in Weston-super-Mare on Monday.

The defendant, who appeared via video link from the youth detention centre, spoke only to confirm his name and did not enter a plea.

Judge Peter Blair KC set the provisional hearing date for June 15, with hearings expected to last for two weeks.

The defendant’s father watched the Bristol Crown Court hearing from the public gallery as his 15-year-old son held his head in his hands.

The teenager will remain in the youth detention facility until his next court appearance is expected on March 16. No application for bail was made.

He had previously appeared at Bristol Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday and was detained there.

Dozens of flower bouquets were left in her memory at Lime Close, the residential area where Aria died.

Police said that the autopsy determined that the woman’s initial cause of death was a single stab wound.

A close family member told BBC News on Tuesday: the schoolgirl was “lively and cheerful”.

“He loved teaching dogs new tricks and loved country music,” they added. “Her favorite song was Jolene by Dolly Parton.”