Play-fight claim dad jailed for murdering daughter

A father who claimed his teenage daughter died in a "freak accident" during a play-fight has been jailed for at least 15 years for her murder.

Scarlett Vickers, 14, bled to death at her home in Darlington after being stabbed deep in the chest with a kitchen knife by her father Simon Vickers, 50, in July.

Vickers had claimed the fatal injury was caused accidentally while they were "mucking about", but jurors at Teesside Crown Court found him guilty of murder with a majority verdict.

As he was jailed for life with a minimum term, the court heard his partner and Scarlett's mother Sarah Hall, who was also present when she was killed, was "resolute" in her belief that Vickers was innocent.

Scarlett suffered an 4in-deep (11cm) wound to her heart in the kitchen of her family home on Geneva Road on the evening of 5 July, her murder trial had heard.

Both her father and mother claimed the injury was inflicted accidentally but a pathologist said it was "practically impossible" for it to have been caused by anything other other a knife being held firmly in a hand.

At the sentencing hearing, prosecutor Mark McKone KC revealed Vickers had a previous conviction from 1993 for wounding with intent after he slashed a man's face with a Stanley knife, for which the then 19-year-old got two years' detention, as well as some dishonesty offences.

Mr McKone said Vickers' account of what happened to Scarlett was "inconsistent" with the pathologist's findings.

In mitigation, Nicholas Lumley KC said Ms Hall and Vickers' parents remained "resolute in their belief" that Vickers "did not intend Scarlett any harm".

Mr Lumley said: "None of them can in fact believe he is now to be known as Scarlett's murderer."

He said in most cases where a child was killed by a parent, there were statements from other relatives demanding "vengeance" and expressing an "insatiable desire for the court to impose the greatest possible punishment".

"There is no such thing here," Mr Lumley said, adding all those involved were already serving a "life sentence" from which none of them would "ever be free".

Ms Hall had previously told jurors she was standing by her partner of 27 years and was adamant he would never have deliberately harmed their daughter.

Her parents had said they were all "mucking about" and throwing grapes at each other in the kitchen while Ms Hall was making spaghetti Bolognese.

Ms Hall had told police and paramedics she had got the knife out to cut garlic bread and placed them next to some tongs.

Vickers told the court he swiped a pair of tongs towards Scarlett which must have caught a knife, which he had not seen.

He said he did not know what had actually happened but thought the knife had got caught against a hot plate and Scarlett had run on to the 8in-long (20cm) blade.

Prosecutors said that was extremely unlikely with forensic pathologist Dr Jennifer Bolton concluding Vickers would probably have to have been holding the knife in his hand for it to cause the devastating injury to Scarlett.

Vickers had said he bore "moral responsibility" for killing his daughter but claimed it had been a "freak accident" in the confines of their small kitchen.

Jurors spent more than 13 hours deliberating before reaching a majority agreement, with 10 finding Vickers guilty of murder.