Mum stands by father convicted of murdering 14-year-old daughter in Darlington playfight tragedy

Mum stands by father convicted of murdering 14-year-old daughter in Darlington playfight tragedy

The mother of 14 year old schoolgirl Scarlett Vickers, who was tragically killed by her father in what he described as a horrific accident, reportedly does not believe he is guilty and plans to support him. Simon Vickers, 50, was convicted of murdering his only daughter, Scarlett, at Teesside Crown Court on Monday.

The court heard the chilling details of how Scarlett lost her life in the kitchen of their Darlington home in County Durham. Vickers insisted that the fatal stabbing was a “freak accident” that occurred during a playful scuffle in the kitchen.

However, a forensic pathologist testifying for the prosecution argued that the 11cm stab wound to Scarlett’s chest, which penetrated her heart, could not have been accidental. The jury found Vickers guilty of murder, and he now faces a life sentence.

Despite the verdict, Vickers’ wife of 27 years and Scarlett’s mother, Sarah Hall, 44, refuses to accept that he murdered their daughter, according to her own mother. Elaine Hall, 65, recounted how the couple “doted” on their only child and “daddy’s girl,” echoing her daughter’s conviction that Scarlett’s death was an “accident”.

“If Sarah thought he had done anything to her, she’d have been out of there,” she told MailOnline. “It’s definitely just been an accident because there’s no way he would have harmed her.”, reports the Mirror.

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The guilty verdict has left Sarah grappling with the loss of both her daughter and her husband, Elaine revealed.

Emergency services rushed to a residence on Geneva Road just before 11pm on July 5, where they discovered Scarlett with a fatal knife wound to her heart. As police detained Vickers, who admitted to consuming four glasses of wine and smoking half a joint of cannabis, he explained to them that the incident occurred while they were “just mucking around” as Sarah was preparing spaghetti.

“We were mucking about, playing in the kitchen, and for some reason this has gone really weird,” Vickers recounted to the officers. “We were mucking about. I can’t believe this.”

In a state of shock, he pleaded, “Please someone tell me. What’s going on? We are going on holiday to f***ing Gran Canaria in six weeks. F***ing 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.”

Throughout his trial, Vickers maintained that he had not deliberately grabbed the knife, believing instead that he had “swiped” at his daughter with a pair of kitchen tongs as part of their playful antics. He acknowledged inflicting the deadly injury but refuted the accusations of both murder and manslaughter.

The prosecution did not suggest a motive for why Vickers would have killed Scarlett, yet highlighted that the testimony from pathologist Dr Jennifer Bolton, which deemed an accidental stabbing “practically impossible”, contradicted his version of events.

After a lengthy deliberation of 13 hours and 21 minutes, the jury reached a majority verdict to convict Vickers of murder. The announcement was met with audible gasps from those in the public gallery.

Elaine revealed that the family plans to appeal the conviction. Vickers is set to receive his sentence on February 10.

View news Source: https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/uk-news/mum-stands-father-convicted-murdering-30917282

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