The family of nine-year-old Aria Thorpe has suffered a fresh blow after the Attorney General declined to refer the case to the Court of Appeal, despite acknowledging that the jury had been misdirected.

Aria died after suffering a stab wound to the chest at her home in Weston-super-Mare, North Somerset, on December 15 last year.

The boy, who was 15 at the time and is now 16, admitted holding the knife when Aria received the fatal injury. However, he told the court that the stabbing had been accidental.

After the incident, he left the house without calling for help and went to a nearby railway station, where he told a group of children that he had ‘accidentally stabbed’ Aria.

He then told one child he knew: ‘I’m a murderer. I accidentally killed someone.’

Despite this, the teenager was acquitted of both murder and manslaughter and left court a free man.

Since the verdict, Aria’s father, Tom Thorpe, and the wider family have campaigned against what they describe as a ‘robbery of justice’ following the ‘incomprehensible’ loss of the child.

They promised to challenge the outcome, arguing that the trial judge made an error by instructing jurors that they had to be sure the teenager intended to ‘kill or cause really serious harm’ to Aria. The family says the jury should have been allowed to consider manslaughter based on recklessness.

The family says that, even if the acquittal cannot be overturned, it wants the legal issues clarified so that other families do not face a similar situation.

Their campaign will ultimately seek the introduction of Aria’s Law, aimed at clarifying the definition of manslaughter in future cases.

However, the family suffered another setback this week when Attorney General Ellie Reeves refused to refer the case to the Court of Appeal over what she called a ‘jury misdirection’ by the presiding judge.

‘After careful consideration, I have concluded that this case does not raise a point of law that is unclear or otherwise in need of further clarification to prevent a similar jury misdirection in future cases,’ she told the Daily Mail.

‘The grounds for referral to the Court of Appeal were not met in this case.’

In response, Aria’s family told the Daily Mail that they would ‘not accept’ the decision.

‘Sadly, another setback but we stay hopeful that something can be done and/or lessons are learnt from this massive injustice,’ they said.

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‘How can the justice system acknowledge things went wrong but yet we can’t do anything about it?’

They added: ‘We certainly aren’t going to accept the notification from the Attorney General that the law was clear but it was just not followed correctly.

‘We are not going to accept that there is no other means of remediation.’

‘Aria’s killer walked out of court before we even did and now lives a free life.’

It came after they appealed to their local MP, Suella Braverman, who wrote to Ms Reeves and asked for the case to be sent under section 36 of the Criminal Justice Act 1972.

This allows the Attorney General to refer a point of law to the Court of Appeal for clarification after a defendant has been acquitted.

The letter read: ‘Aria’s family, and I wish to see the Court of Appeal asked to clarify whether the judge was right to direct the jury as she did: specifically, whether recklessness as to death or really serious harm was properly excluded from the jury’s consideration, and whether the directions given adequately reflected the established bases of manslaughter, including gross negligence manslaughter and unlawful act manslaughter, as well as any residual role for recklessness in homicide directions.

‘We are concerned that, if the direction given in this case was wrong in law, juries in future cases may be denied a route to a manslaughter conviction that Parliament and the common law intend them to have, with serious implications for victims’ families and for public confidence in the justice system.’

However, after reviewing the case, Ms Reeves said she was not able to send it to the Court of Appeal on this basis.

There is also currently no option for the verdicts to be reviewed: under UK law, serious offences including murder and manslaughter can be retried only if ‘new and compelling’ evidence has emerged.

Aria’s family say their ‘immediate primary goal’ is to ‘understand how and why the justice system failed Aria’.

They plan to continue sharing news of their campaign on social media pages on Instagram, TikTok and Facebook. 

Attorney General Ellie Reeves KC MP said: ‘This case was shocking and it is clear the tragic loss of Aria Thorpe has left an immeasurable gap in her family’s lives.

‘I was asked to refer this case to the Court of Appeal and seek its opinion on a point of law. This power is reserved for instances where clarification is necessary to prevent a potential error of law from influencing future decisions in similar cases.’

‘After careful consideration, I have concluded that this case does not raise a point of law that is unclear or otherwise in need of further clarification to prevent a similar jury misdirection in future cases. The grounds for referral to the Court of Appeal were not met in this case.

‘I appreciate that this outcome will be deeply disappointing for Aria’s family. I have given this request the most careful consideration, and my role is limited to making references on a point of law, meaning even if this request had met the grounds for referral, this could not overturn the acquittal.’

Ron Duguay, the hockey great and partner of Sarah Palin, has died at 69 after battling colon cancer.

Palin, the former Alaska governor and former vice presidential candidate, shared the news on social media Thursday. “It’s with a shattered heart, but also deep peace knowing Ron is with Jesus now. He fought so hard. Love never ends,” she wrote.

Duguay was diagnosed with Stage 4 colon cancer in December 2024. The disease later spread to his liver.

He spent 12 seasons in the NHL between 1977 and 1989, earning particular recognition during his time with the New York Rangers and Detroit Red Wings.

The Rangers paid tribute to Duguay in a statement, saying: “The New York Rangers organization mourns the loss of Ron Duguay, one of the most popular players in franchise history. Ron’s signature skating style—with his hair flowing as he moved down the ice—captivated The Garden Faithful, and his skill, tenacity, and charisma earned him the admiration of all New Yorkers.

“We join the hockey community in sending our condolences to Ron’s friends, family, and loved ones during this difficult time.”

On October 18, Palin appealed for prayers for Duguay, posting a photograph of herself holding his hand as he lay in a hospital bed. “Prayers for Ron Duguay so appreciated,” Palin, 62, wrote on Instagram.

In another post, Palin paired an inspirational quote with an image of herself gazing at Duguay.

Duguay’s daughter, Shay Thomas, had also issued an emotional plea earlier this month, asking hockey fans to continue praying for her father.

“I wasn’t planning on posting anything, but I believe in the power of prayer, and right now, we need all the prayers we can get. And I know so many love him so much. Please keep our dad in your prayers. @noah_duguay @amberstavros,” Shay wrote.

She accompanied the message with a photograph of herself kneeling beside her father’s hospital bed, resting a hand on his lap.

The family revealed Duguay’s diagnosis in February and launched a GoFundMe campaign to help cover the cost of his treatment.

“Because of his cancer, he hasn’t been able to work the way he normally would,” his daughter wrote on the fundraising page.

“Earlier in his treatment journey, the care he received in Florida nearly cost him his life. That led us to bring him to Orange County, where my sister and I live, so he could receive treatment here.”

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In July, Duguay was taken to the hospital after he was found unconscious at home following a fall that caused severe injuries to his face.

The 69-year-old former NHL player fainted at his residence on July 24 and was transported by ambulance to a nearby medical facility.

Doctors’ tests uncovered serious complications connected to his cancer, including varices, portal hypertensive gastropathy, internal bleeding and an ulcer.

Shay revealed at the time that the cancer in his liver – combined with the physical toll of surgery, chemotherapy, and a hepatic pump – caused severe pressure to build up inside the organ, backing up into his stomach and causing internal bleeding.

While Duguay and Palin have been closely linked since 2022 and she has frequently been seen at his bedside throughout his illness – including in family videos showing her feeding him in his hospital bed – the two never officially confirmed their relationship status publicly.

Duguay and his daughter opened up on his relationship with Palin in an exclusive interview with the Daily Mail earlier this year.  

Shay revealed they are ‘very close,’ adding that ‘they haven’t been able to see each other as much lately because of what my dad is going through, and Sarah also has obligations caring for her son, Trig, who requires additional care.’

‘I go there at different times,’ Duguay himself explained. ‘I help with her landscaping in the summer, and I help in the winter clearing a little bit of snow, so I happened to be there in October… but unfortunately, I wasn’t feeling myself, so I had to leave.’

While Duguay was undergoing chemotherapy treatment, he lost both his gallbladder and his appendix during his battle against the disease.

Duguay enjoyed a stellar 12-season NHL career from 1977 to 1989, making over 860 appearances across stints with the Rangers, Red Wings, Pittsburgh Penguins and Los Angeles Kings.

Drafted 13th overall by the Rangers in 1977, the forward became a fan favorite in New York.

He recorded 216 goals and 320 assists for 536 career points, highlighted by a standout 1981-82 season where he notched a career-high 40 goals.

Following his retirement from professional hockey, Duguay transitioned into broadcasting, serving as an in-studio analyst for MSG Network’s coverage of the Rangers for 12 years before stepping away in 2018.

Police-recorded crime in England and Wales has exceeded seven million incidents in a year for the first time.

Official figures revealed an eight per cent rise in recorded offences in the year to June, taking the total to 7,084,375.

According to data from the Office for National Statistics, the figure is the highest since modern crime-recording practices were introduced at the beginning of the century.

Fraud accounted for much of the increase, with reported cases soaring by 41 per cent to 1.8 million.

The rise coincided with the launch of Report Fraud last December. The service enables the public to report cybercrime and fraud to the City of London Police, which has national responsibility for tackling financial crime.

Reports submitted to the new service by UK Finance, the banking and financial services organisation, rose by 79 per cent to 1.02 million.

The dramatic increase suggests that fraud may have been significantly under-recorded under the previous Action Fraud system. MPs repeatedly criticised it as “not fit for purpose”, earning it the nickname “Inaction Fraud”.

Fraud also increased in the separate Crime Survey for England and Wales, which provides an estimate of offences that includes those never reported to police.

The survey recorded 4.5 million fraud incidents during the year, an 11 per cent increase.

The ONS said the rise was driven by a 13 per cent increase in bank and credit account fraud, which reached 2.8 million incidents.

The figures also highlight the continuing shift from traditional, “real-world” offences towards crimes committed online.

Excluding fraud and computer misuse, police recorded 5.2 million offences in the year to June—a one per cent decline compared with the previous year.

Robbery was a notable exception, rising by 10 per cent to its highest level since before the Covid-19 pandemic.

Police forces in England and Wales recorded 88,282 robberies in the 12 months to June, compared with 80,469 during the preceding year.

The increase was largely driven by robberies targeting businesses, which climbed 67 per cent year on year to just over 31,000—the highest total ever recorded.

By contrast, robberies involving personal property fell by seven per cent to just over 57,000 incidents.

The Association of Convenience Stores said the rise could be linked to increasing violence by shoplifters, prompting some police forces to classify incidents differently.

Shoplifting offences recorded by police fell by two per cent to 519,516, following a near-peak in the previous year.

An ACS spokesman said: “The reason for the marked increase in robberies is likely due to a change in the way that some offences are now recorded as robberies that previously would have been counted as shoplifting offences.”

ACS chief executive Ed Woodall said: ‘We are extremely concerned about the changing nature of theft against retailers.

‘Offenders are becoming more confident, more brazen, and ultimately more violent in their crimes, threatening retailers and shopworkers to get away with stolen goods.’

He added: ‘The Crime and Policing Act marked a big step forward in ensuring that the police treat shop theft more seriously, but many of the key measures from the Act such as the scrapping of the £200 threshold for investigating thefts, and the separate offence for attacking a shopworker are still not in place.

‘The Government must act as soon as possible to show that it backs the hardworking people running and working in our nation’s local shops.’

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Meanwhile, sexual offences logged by police hit the highest level on record with just under 219,000 in the year – or an average of 600 every day.

It included 74,484 rapes recorded in the year, about 200 lower than the peak seen two years earlier, while other categories of sex crime increased by five per cent.

Separately, possession of weapons offences recorded by forces hit a record 63,700, up more than 10 per cent on the previous year.

It included 30,216 offences of possessing an article with a blade or point, up 8.8 per cent in a year and the highest figure since the statistical series began in 2008-09.

Separate data published by the Home Office showed the proportion of crimes which lead to a suspect being taken to court remains stubbornly low.

The year to March saw 8.5 per cent of recorded crimes leading to suspects being charged or summonsed, up to 447,514. The previous year’s figure was 7.3 per cent.

But the proportion of criminals facing justice is still far below the 15.5 per cent seen in 2015.

The latest figures showed there were 1.9million crimes where investigations were closed without a suspect being identified, making up 37.8 per cent of the total.

It represented a slight improvement on the previous year when the proportion was 39 per cent.

Further figures published by the Ministry of Justice showed a rising number of criminals who are let off with a ‘slap on the wrist’.

So-called ‘community resolutions’ – which allow offenders to dodge prosecution if they agree to apologise to their victim, for example – increased by nine per cent to an all-time high of 189,000 in the year.

Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp said: ‘Crime is spiralling out of control under Labour.

‘Record numbers of sexual offences, knife crime and shop theft show what happens when criminals know they can get away with it.

‘This is a direct consequence of Labour cutting police numbers by 2,000 and letting thousands of prisoners out of jail early.

‘Victims are being failed at every turn, with 92 per cent of crimes not being solved.

‘Labour needs to stop making excuses and back the police to ensure criminals face consequences.’

He added: ‘The Conservatives have a plan to take back our streets with 10,000 extra police officers, hotspot policing and tripling the stop and search to restore law and order and make sure crime has consequences.’

Crime and policing minister Sarah Jones said: ‘This Government is bringing down the crimes that make people’s lives a misery.

‘Since the election, knife crime is down 11 per cent, knife-point robberies have fallen by 18 per cent and overall homicides are down seven per cent.

‘Fatal knife attacks are also at their lowest level in 35 years, while thefts such as phone-snatching and pickpocketing have fallen by 20 per cent in just the last year.

‘That means fewer victims and safer streets.

“These are huge steps forward, but there is always more to do.

‘With more than 3,800 additional neighbourhood officers, our Plan to Halve Knife Crime and stronger powers to recover stolen goods, we will keep pursuing offenders, protecting the public and restoring confidence in policing.’

On spiralling fraud, a Home Office spokesman said: ‘This Government is alive to the challenge posed by fraud and is investing £250million to combat it over the next three years.

‘This includes a £31million investment for a new Online Crime Centre, combining the data, expertise and capabilities of the police, GCHQ, banks, telecommunications and tech firms.’

– Our Fraud Strategy will tackle the UK’s most commonly experienced crime by strengthening partnerships across sectors, disrupting criminal operations and delivering better support for victims.