Aria Thorpe's dad 'froze' as he got chilling phone call to tell him his daughter, 9, had died in stabbing

Aria Thorpe's dad 'froze' as he got chilling phone call to tell him his daughter, 9, had died in stabbing Tom Thorpe recalled the awful moment he found out his daughter Aria, nine, had been stabbed to death - he said he felt as though the news had a "freezing" effect on his body The devastated dad of Aria Thorpe said he froze when he was told the tragic news of his nine-year-old daughter's death after she was stabbed. Little Aria died after sustaining a knife wound to her chest at her home in Weston-super-Mare, North Somerset, on December 15 last year. Dad Tom Thorpe was going about an apparently normal day when he received a fateful call from Aria’s grandfather Dennis. Recalling the experience today, Tom, 35, said: "He said ‘I’ve got some really bad news Aria’s been stabbed.' Of course, I answered ‘what on earth do you mean?’” Tom, a dad of four, saw Aria and her older sister every second weekend due to his working pattern of two weeks, two weeks off at an offshore wind turbine. He had returned to his accommodation in Brighton, East Sussex, when Dennis called, informing him Aria had been stabbed in her mum’s home. Tom asked Dennis: “I don’t understand, how has Aria been stabbed at home?” The call ended after Dennis told Tom a 16-year-old boy had been arrested over Aria’s death. “We kind of left it at that,” said Tom, revealing he took give minutes before calling Dennis back to confirm the tragic news. Tom, who had been looking forward to seeing Aria and her sister over Christmas, suddenly found himself packing up his things to drive home to Portsmouth, where he lives with his partner Sophie. The dad, who had last seen his daughter alive at a garden centre two weeks before, told The Sun he felt like he had “frozen”. Aria had “loved” being at the centre, which has a Christmas reindeer walkthrough. “She was an outdoor girl, she wanted to get out and do things,” he said. “She loved the woods, climbing trees.” Now, Tom has been left struggling to process his grief. “How do you even start to begin to process the loss of your daughter that’s been stabbed at home? It’s a bizarre freezing effect on your body.” On the night he was told the news, Tom and Sophie, 34, lay awake until the early hours before decking to set off to Dennis’ home in Weston. Relatives from Aria’s mum, Victoria Hull’s side of the family had also gathered there. The police then arrived at around 9am. Tom wasn’t able to see his daughter in the mortuary until two or three days later, as a postmortem on her body was carried out. Finally, Aria’s mum and dad were allowed to see her. Police liaison officers had to give them a ‘heads up’ before they went in. Tom said they spent over an hour with Aria, which was “really tough”. Dad reacts as teen acquitted Last week, a teenage boy was acquitted of Aria's murder and manslaughter. The 16-year-old, who cannot be identified due to his age, was cleared of both charges by a jury at Bristol Crown Court on Thursday. Tom said this left him feeling like “it’s happened all over again”, adding “he’s got away with it”. After the verdicts were returned, some members of the public gallery, including Aria’s mum, left the courtroom quietly. They had earlier been warned by trial judge Mrs Justice O’Farrell not to show any emotion when the verdicts were delivered. “Me and Sophie just stood up and left immediately before anyone else,” Tom said of his reaction. After that, they simply “sat in silence” after being taken to a quiet room upstairs. Tom asked: “How can you kill someone, flee the scene, run away from the scene of the crime, go to the train station, brag about it to your friends, then try to escape on a train… get arrested. How can you do all of that and walk out of the court scot-free?” A devastated dad, Tom spoke of the pain of watching the teen leave the court and hug his father. He said he feels as though the jury’s decision has left him in a kind of limbo, making it hard to process his grief. He said he has spoken to his barrister, who informed them they could take the case to the High Court. But there was a warning that this “would potentially not overturn the verdict” and possibly ensure other cases like this no longer go forward. Now, Tom said he is applying for the court transcripts, as well as other documents, so they can be reviewed by an independent barrister. He says he has been told an “overwhelming” new amount of evidence would be needed for an appeal. After the incident, the boy left Aria’s home and went to a nearby railway station, where he told a group of children that her death was an “accident”. He later told the jury at Bristol Crown Court that he had picked up a knife from the kitchen of Aria’s home and went into the lounge, where she was sitting on the sofa, to “scare” her. The boy demonstrated moving the knife in a ninja-style way before jabbing it towards Aria as if he was fencing. He said the knife accidentally went into Aria, causing the fatal injury. Jurors returned the verdicts of not guilty to both charges. “Members of the jury,” the judge told them. “I want to express my thanks to you for the work that you have done in this case – your careful attention to all of the evidence and the speeches as part of your civic duty. I appreciate that this has been a distressing case. “I am grateful to you for undertaking this difficult task with fortitude and calm reflection.” After the jury left the courtroom, the judge told the teenager: “You have been found not guilty and you will now be taken down to be processed.”