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Family photograph
Nine-year-old Aria Thorpe's family said her death had left them "devastated"
A teenage boy accused of stabbing a nine-year-old girl to death has pleaded not guilty to her murder.
The 16-year-old, who cannot be named because of his age, is charged with killing Aria Thorpe in Weston-super-Mare, Somerset, on 15 December last year.
Aria was pronounced dead when police were called to her home in the Mead Vale area of the town at 18:09 GMT that day, and a coroner's court later heard she died from a single stab wound to her chest.
On Friday, the boy appeared before Bristol Crown Court where he spoke only to enter his not guilty plea to murder, and a trial was listed for 15 June.
Aria's family on her mother's side said she was "the most beautiful little soul – happy-go-lucky, full of light, and joy".
The defendant was arrested in nearby Worle at 18:19 on the day of her death.
He appeared in the dock in a white shirt and red tie and looked straight ahead throughout the 20 minute hearing.
Prosecutor Ray Tully KC told the court the trial is expected to last two weeks.
Judge Martin Picton confirmed reporting restrictions preventing the identity of the defendant from being published would continue, and that he would remain in custody until his trial.
