Simon Vickers described himself as “the unluckiest man in the world” after his daughter Scarlett died from a stab wound to the heart following a play fight-gone-wrong.
During his trial, the 50-year-old denied the murder and manslaughter of his only daughter, who was just 14 years old when she died in her family kitchen from an 11cm deep stab wound to her chest.
In Vickers’ version of events, he, his partner Sarah Hall, and Scarlett had been “horse-playing” at their home in Geneva Road, Darlington, County Durham, on the night of July 5, when she was stabbed, fatally, in the heart.
The defence argued that the schoolgirl’s death had been a tragic “freak accident”, which occurred when Vickers – who, that evening, had drunk four glasses of wine and smoked half of a joint – accidentally threw a knife that had been lying on the kitchen work surface.
But prosecutors told Teesside Crown Court that the 11cm injury was too deep to have been accidental, asserting that the knife must have been ‘held firmly’ at the time.
Now, Anna Barker, the senior crown prosecutor with CPS North East, has taken aim at the inconsistencies in Vickers’ version of events, telling the court: “The account provided by Simon Vickers about how his daughter, Scarlett, sustained a fatal injury is wholly inconsistent with the forensic evidence in this case.
“As part of our case against him, the Crown Prosecution Service instructed a medical expert, whose analysis made it clear that the nature of the wound sustained by Scarlett could only have been caused if the knife used had been firmly gripped as she was injured.”
According to Vickers, the tragedy unfolded when Scarlett came downstairs from her bedroom to chat at around 10pm, complaining that she was bored. He and Ms Hall were cooking a meal of spaghetti bolognese and Ms Hall described the atmosphere as “fun”, with the trio chatting about an upcoming holiday to Gran Canaria.
Vickers said: “We turned our tea off so we could have a bit of craic and knock about a bit. Scarlett mentioned she was still a bit hungry, and there were some grapes on the breakfast bar. She started eating some grapes. I’m not sure who started first… but we all started throwing grapes around for a bit, just mucking about.”
He continued: “There were quite a few grapes on the floor, and I said we needed to pick them up because I wanted to bring the dog in… Scarlett threw a few more. That’s when I started tickling her. Sarah started grabbing me on the back with a pair of tongs, on the butt. I turned round to grab the tongs off her, mucking about, and she caught my little finger in them. I did shout, ‘Ow’, and Scarlett said, ‘Dad, you’re a wimp’, so I said to her, ‘How would you like it?'”
At this point, Ms Hall – who claims she “never” had any concerns that her partner of 27 years – told the court she turned away from Vickers and Scarlett to serve their meal. She told jurors: “I was aware they were still mucking around.”
Vickers clarified that Scarlett’s ‘wimp’ remarks had been ‘in jest’, remarking that the teenager had “called me a lot worse than that”. He continued: “(Scarlett) was very proud of her hair; she had nice long hair, and I started wafting it, but she started pushing me when I was trying to get it. She was pushing me in the direction of where the tongs were. I put my hand on top of the tongs and swiped them along the kitchen worktop. They hit the corner of this hot plate, and that’s why they flew off.”
According to Vickers, it was at this point that he’d intended to pick the tongs up and chase Scarlett with them; however, as he attempted to grab them, they flew out of his hand. Vickers, who claimed he “had not touched a knife all day”, told jurors that the only utensil he’d touched were the tongs and that he hadn’t spotted the knife on the work surface.
Vickers said he only realised what had happened when Scarlett exclaimed: “Ow, ow, ow.” He told the court: “She had a pink fluffy pyjama top on. All of a sudden, blood just started coming out of it. Loads of it.” Meanwhile, Hall said: “She was just looking at me; I said, ‘What’s up?’ and then I saw blood coming out of her side.”
After making a call to emergency services, Vickers said he’d tried to help Scarlett while Hall remained on the phone. Showing emotion, Vickers told jurors: “Scarlett was just laying there, staring, she wasn’t saying anything. Then she started gasping for breath. That’s when I started shouting ‘Scarlett, Scarlett, Scarlett, Scarlett, Scarlett’. Then she stopped breathing, just stopped, nothing. Her eyes just went like dolls’ eyes, everything just stopped.”
When officers arrived, Scarlett was discovered collapsed on the kitchen floor. Vickers and Hall were then informed that the kitchen of their semi-detached home was being treated as a crime scene.
Jurors saw footage of Vickers being taken into custody at Darlington police station after being arrested on suspicion of attempted murder. He was later rearrested on suspicion of murder after Scarlett tragically succumbed to her horror injury. Vickers was heard saying: “I just want to know how my daughter’s doing. We were mucking about, playing in the kitchen, and for some reason, this has gone really weird. We were mucking about. I can’t believe this.
“Please someone tell me. What’s going on? We are going on holiday to f****** Gran Canaria in six weeks. F****** hell. I don’t believe this is happening. We were cooking tea. Just mucking about in the kitchen. I don’t understand how this has happened. Honestly.”
Vickers suggested that he must have swiped the knife without realising he’d done so after attempting to “swing” a pair of tongs. He also told the jury of a “theory” that his daughter may then have accidentally come onto the knife after it “hit the side of the hot plate and stuck out over the side of the counter.”
However, this theory did not hold weight with prosecutors, who claimed Vickers must have stabbed Scarlett “deliberately with the knife” because the wound was “too deep” to have been accidental. During cross-examination, Mark McKone, KC, prosecuting, told Vickers: “I will have to suggest to you that you have not told the truth about how Scarlett was wounded.”
Vickers wept as he gave evidence, telling the jury that he would never have hurt his only child, Scarlett. When asked by his barrister Nicholas Lumley, KC, if he had intended to cause her serious injury, Vickers stated: “No, never, never in this world. I would have given her my life.”
However, jurors heard from a Home Office pathologist who told them it would be “practically impossible” for a thrown knife to result in Scarlett’s fatal chest wound. Dr Jennifer Bolton gave her opinion that the knife had been “held tightly” at the time, so that when it came into contact with Scarlett, it plunged into her chest. “That typically means a firm grip, and that arm is braced in a certain way,” she argued.
When asked by Mr McKone KC whether she believed the knife could have been thrown towards Scarlett, Dr Bolton replied: “Kitchen knives aren’t designed to be thrown, they aren’t designed to go through the air.
“So, it is practically impossible for a kitchen knife to be thrown for it to travel in such a way that it lands on Scarlett’s clothing and then her skin at 90 degrees, so it doesn’t simply bounce off or scratch across, and then go 11cm in and apparently come out again.”
Mr McKone told the jury: “The knife must have been held firmly in the defendant’s hand at the time of the stabbing, with the defendant having a firm wrist and a firm elbow. The knife must have been firmly in the defendant’s hand to cause that wound, which was 11cm deep. The wound is too deep to have been caused accidentally.”
Detective Superintendent Craig Rudd, who led the investigation for Durham Constabulary, today gave the following statement: “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.”
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