Dad who claimed he was ‘play-fighting’ with daughter, 14, when he stabbed her to death in kitchen is GUILTY of murder
A DAD who claimed he was “play-fighting” with his 14-year-old daughter when he stabbed her to death has been found guilty of murder.
Scarlett Vickers suffered catastrophic blood loss after the blade was plunged 11cm into her chest and pierced her heart.
Her dad Simon Vickers, 50, has been found guilty of murdering his teen daughter at their home in Darlington, Co Durham, on July 5.
The monster claimed he and Scarlett were just “messing about” when he accidentally threw the blade at her.
But Teesside Crown Court heard the 11cm wound was too deep to have been a tragic mistake.
The heartless dad also attempted to claim that he was the victim after his daughter died in a pool of blood on the kitchen floor.
After his arrest, Vickers told police: “That was it. We were horse-playing.
“I must be the unluckiest man in the world.”
Vickers claimed the playfight started when he and Scarlett began throwing grapes at each other while mum Sarah Hall made dinner.
He said he went to “try and get her” but his daughter tried to push him away so he grabbed the tongs and chucked them.
The dad continued: “She just shouted ‘ah, ah ah’ and fell to the floor.
“Her lips were going bluer and she wasn’t listening when I was shouting at her.
“Sarah took over and the ambulance came and, f***ing hell.”
Vickers described his only child as the “love of my life” and told police his world had “gone to s***”.
He also denied telling paramedics at the scene that he picked up a knife and that it “just went in” after Scarlett “lunged towards me”.
The dad added: “There is no way in the world I would stab my child. I threw those tongs at her.
“I want to die myself. My only child – I don’t know what to say. I can’t even cry. I don’t even know what’s wrong.”
The court heard the dad gave “three different accounts at least before his formal police interview” of what happened.
Prosecutor Mark McKone KC said Vickers must have stabbed his daughter “deliberately with the knife”.
He told jurors the injury inflicted to Scarlett “could not have been caused by throwing the knife or indeed by throwing anything else.”
During her evidence, Scarlett’s mum Sarah Hall said she believed it was an accident.
She also told how she would not be standing by her partner of 27 years if she thought he had deliberately hurt their daughter.
Vickers, who denied murder, has been remanded into custody to be sentenced at a later date.
Detective Superintendent Craig Rudd, who led the investigation for Durham Constabulary, said: “Scarlett Vickers would have celebrated her 16th birthday this year. She had her whole life ahead of her.
“Yet it was cruelly cut short by her own father – a man who was meant to protect her.
“We may never know why or what caused Simon Vickers to do what he did that night.
“Sadly, today’s verdict will not bring Scarlett back, but he will now face the consequences of his actions.
“I would like to thank my investigation team for their tireless efforts in getting justice for Scarlett and the community for their cooperation and understanding while we carried out our enquiries.
“Our thoughts remain with those who cared about Scarlett.”