A DAD accused of murdering his 14-year-old daughter claimed they were just “fighting” when she was stabbed to death, a court heard.
Scarlett Vickers suffered catastrophic blood loss after the blade was driven 11cm into her chest and pierced her heart.
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Scarlett is stabbed to death at home
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Knife used in horror Credits: PA
Her father Simon Vickers, 50, is accused of murdering his teenage daughter at their home in Darlington, Co Durham, on July 5 last year.
Teesside Crown Court heard Vickers claimed he and his daughter were just “goofing around” when the horror unfolded.
He told the paramedic: “We were arguing and she rushed towards me and just walked in.”
But prosecutor Mark McKone KC told jurors Vickers must have “stabbed his daughter on purpose”.
He said the injury to Scarlett “could not have been caused by throwing a knife or throwing anything else.”
The prosecutor added: “The knife must have been firmly held in the defendant’s hand at the time of the stabbing, with the defendant having a strong wrist and a strong elbow.
“The knife had to be firmly in the defendant’s hand to make that wound, which was 11 cm deep.
“The wound is too deep to be accidental.”
Jurors heard that emergency crews found Scarlett on the kitchen floor with a stab wound to the left side of her chest.
Vickers told police he and Scarlett’s mum Sarah Hall had been drinking wine and had a nice day watching football.”
He told the officers: “We were speeding. What the hell.”
Vickers claimed they were preparing dinner when he and his daughter started throwing “objects” at each other.
His wife added: “I took out a kitchen knife to cut the garlic bread.
“At the same time he picked up the spatula and didn’t realize the knife was with it.”
Scarlett was pronounced dead at the family home at 11.50pm – an hour after paramedics arrived at the property.
After being taken to the police station, Vickers said: “One minute I was cooking, the next she’s bleeding from her chest.”
Jurors heard that during an interview with police, Vickers asked if he was responsible for causing Scarlett’s death and replied: “It has to be.”
He told how Scarlett “threw grapes” at him, and he hit her back.
Mr McKone said: “He said he went to get her, Scarlett pushed him away so he grabbed a pair of pliers and threw them at her.
“The defendant described how he probably picked up the pliers with his right hand, spun them around and almost blindly threw them over his left shoulder or arm.
“In other words, throwing kitchen tongs at Scarlett.
“The accused said ‘and I obviously took the knife’.
“Vickers stated that he now knows it was a knife, but he did not see the knife at the time.”
The court heard the dad gave “three different statements at least prior to the formal police interview”.
These were him throwing the knife, that he was throwing other objects, and that Scarlett “lashed out at the knife”.
But jurors heard how a forensic pathologist who analyzed the weapon found it had been used in a “stab-type action”.
Nicholas Lumley, KC, defending Vickers, told the court Scarlett’s death was a “tragic, tragic accident”.
He said: “She was their only child. He had no wish or desire to harm her in any way. All three of the family spent a normal Friday night at home.
“They were messing around in the kitchen in a normal, playful way, when Mr Vickers suddenly realized that Scarlett was injured.
“Her body must have come in contact with a sharp knife and she died quickly from that.
“He, Simon Vickers, will bear the moral responsibility for his daughter’s death for the rest of his life.
“However, he strongly denies that he did anything illegal or intentional to cause this tragic death.”
Vickers denies murder. The trial continues on Thursday.
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Scarlett was discovered dead at the family homeCredit: Durham Police
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A teenage girl’s dad has been charged with her murderCredit: TikTok
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