Dad jailed for life for murdering his teenage daughter in what he claimed was a 'play fight'

Simon Vickers, 50, stabbed his 14-year-old daughter, Scarlett Vickers, in the heart

A man has been jailed after he was found guilty of murdering his teenage daughter in what he claimed was a 'play fight'. Simon Vickers, 50, stabbed 14-year-old Scarlett Vickers in the heart.

The dad claimed to have accidently inflicted the fatal blow on his only daughter, but a jury took 13 hours and 21 minutes to convict him of murder by a majority of 10-2. He gave different accounts of what happened in the seconds before he plunged a kitchen knife 11cm into his daughter Scarlett’s chest at their home in Darlington last July.

Scarlett’s mother, Sarah Hall, was the only other person in the room at the time and she has stood by her partner of 27 years. The mum told Teesside Crown Court that Vickers loved their only child and would never harm her, MEN reports.

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Mark McKone KC, prosecuting, told jurors that Scarlett’s death was not an accident. Home Office pathologist Dr Jennifer Bolton explained that the way the knife went into Scarlett’s chest meant it must have been held in a hand, with force.

In his closing remarks, Mr McKone said the prosecution accepted that Vickers was “devastated” and loved his daughter. However, he said that the blow could not have been caused by it being accidentally swiped across a work surface and so deeply into her body.

Nicholas Lumley KC, defending, said Vickers denied acting unlawfully and “will bear moral responsibility for his daughter’s death for the rest of his life." On the day of Scarlett's death, Vickers had been drinking wine, watching the Euros football tournament on television and had smoked cannabis.

Ms Hall was making spaghetti bolognese for the family and threw grapes at Scarlett back and forth for fun when she came downstairs, the court had heard. The mum snipped her partner with kitchen tongs and after he said it hurt, Scarlett called him "wimpy."

Ms Hall said she turned away to serve the meal and then heard Scarlett say “ow” and the mother immediately saw that their only child was pouring with blood. The mum called 999 and told the operator they had been “messing about”, and that her partner had thrown something at their daughter “and he didn’t realise”.

Vickers told a paramedic that his daughter had lunged towards him during a bout of play-fighting. Tragically, Scarlett died at the scene.

Vickers insisted it had been a “freak accident." At the sentencing hearing on Monday, February 10, the prosecution said Vickers had previously slashed a man in the face when he was younger.

He had a conviction for wounding with intent in 1993 when he was 19 and was sentenced to two years’ detention. Mr McKone said there was no victim statement from Scarlett’s mother, Sarah Hall, who continues to support her partner.

Mr McKone told the jury: “If you accept that Mr 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. In other words, Mr Vickers has not got an innocent explanation for wounding Scarlett when the knife was held in Mr Vickers’ hand.”

Nicholas Lumley KC, defending, said: “Each of those left behind by Scarlett have been left serving life sentences of their own from which none of them will ever be free. Sarah Hall (Scarlett’s mother) remains resolute in her belief that the father of her only child did not intend Scarlett any harm and his parents are of the same view.

“None can believe that he will now be known as Scarlett’s murderer.” Vickers was jailed for life with a minimum term of 15 years. Exactly what happened may never be known, the CPS said after sentencing.

Christopher Atkinson, head of the complex casework unit for CPS North East, said: "It is difficult to understand what motivated Simon Vickers to take the life of his daughter, Scarlett.

“In the absence of any plausible explanation on his part, we may never fully understand the circumstances which led to her tragic death. What is abundantly clear is that the account provided by Simon Vickers was wholly inconsistent with the forensic evidence in this case.

“Crucially, the medical expert we instructed to examine Scarlett’s injuries made it clear that they could only have been caused had the knife been firmly gripped as it made contact.”

Sentencing Simon Vickers, Mr Justice Cotter said: “Scarlett was just 14, a normal, healthy girl with a long life ahead of her when it was cut short by you. She died in the kitchen of her own home within minutes of having been stabbed.

“It went from an ordinary, happy family Friday night to tragedy within seconds due to what must have been your loss of temper. There is no other plausible explanation. You have never given a truthful explanation of what happened.”