A man has been convicted of murdering his daughter after stabbing her in the heart during what he claimed was a ‘play-fight’ in their home.
Simon Vickers, 50, murdered Scarlett as he was preparing dinner in their kitchen in Darlington, County Durham last summer.
The teenager died from an 11cm stab wound to the chest inflicted using a kitchen knife after she and her dad started ‘mucking about’.
Scarlett’s mother, Sarah Hall, was the only other person in the room at the time.
She stood by her partner of 27 years, telling Teesside Crown Court that he loved their only child and would never harm her.
But prosecutor Mark McKone KC had told jurors earlier that the victim’s death was not an accident.
Pathologist Dr Jennifer Bolton said the way the knife went into Scarlett’s chest meant it must have been held in a hand and inserted with force.
Mr McKone said the prosecution accepted that that Vickers was indeed ‘devastated’ and loved his daughter.
But the blow could not have been caused by it being accidentally swiped across a work surface and so deeply into her body.
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Before the jury was sent out to consider their verdicts, Mr McKone said: ‘If you accept that Vickers has lied about how Scarlett was killed, this must be because he has something important to cover up.
‘This suggests that he does not have a truthful account which he considers to be innocent for you to even consider.
Tributes to stabbing victim Scarlett Vickers
Scarlett died at her home in Darlington after a single stab with a knife that pierced her chest.
The 14-year-old was a beloved year nine pupil at Haughton Academy in the town.
Following her death, her classmates honoured her with an event at the park where they released balloons in the air in her tribute.
Her friend Charley descrbed her as a person who was ‘always nice to everyone’ and who did not deserve such a death.
A statement on the Haughton Academy website read: ‘She was always immaculately turned out, respectful and polite. A very friendly girl, with a great sense of humour, she was popular with her friends and will be greatly missed by everyone at school.
‘Staff and pupils at Haughton Academy and the Education Village Academy Trust are extremely saddened by the news and we would like to pass on our thoughts to everyone affected by this tragedy.’ The Trust is working hard to support pupils and staff through this very difficult time.’
‘In other words, Vickers has not got an innocent explanation for wounding Scarlett when the knife was held in his hand.’
Earlier in the day, Vickers had drunk four glasses of wine and smoked some weed while whatching the Euros on TV.
Ms Hall was making spaghetti bolognese for the family and, when Scarlett came down from her bedroom, they threw grapes at each other for fun.
The mother said she then snipped at her partner with tongs and when he complained that it hurt, their daughter made fun at him for being ‘wimpy’.
Ms Hall said she turned away to serve the meal and then heard Scarlett say ‘ow’. Within moments, blood was pouring from her chest.
Her mother made a 999 call and told the operator they had been ‘messing about’ and that her partner had thrown something at their daughter ‘and he didn’t realise’.
The victim was pronounced dead at the scene.
Nicholas Lumley KC, defending, had told jurors that Vickers had no desire to harm his daughter – and the prosecution did not put forward any motive.
He said Vickers ‘will bear moral responsibility for his daughter’s death for the rest of his life’.
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Mr Lumley added: ‘He denies completely that he did anything unlawful or deliberate to cause that tragic death.’
A jury took 13 hours and 21 minutes to convict him of murder by a majority of 10-2, rather than the less serious alternative of manslaughter, or to clear him.
Ms Hall and other family members looked stunned in the public gallery as the verdict was returned.
Mr Justice Cotter thanked the jury and said he will sentence Vickers on February 10.
This Is Not Right
On November 25, 2024 Metro launched This Is Not Right, a year-long campaign to address the relentless epidemic of violence against women.
With the help of our partners at Women's Aid, This Is Not Right aims to shine a light on the sheer scale of this national emergency.
You can find more articles here, and if you want to share your story with us, you can send us an email at vaw@metro.co.uk.
Read more:
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