
A father from the United Kingdom says he and his daughter were playing around in the kitchen when he accidentally stabbed her in the chest. Scarlett Vickers, 14, died from the stab wound on July 5, 2024. Prosecutors claim her father, 50-year-old Simon Vickers, intentionally killed the teenager and want him convicted.
Scarlett’s mother, Sarah Hall, was also present when the stabbing occurred. She tried to save her daughter, but she couldn’t stop the bleeding, and Scarlett died. Now, the prosecution and defense must convince the court of what they believe really happened.
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The parents called paramedics for help.
According to The Guardian, during a court hearing at Teesside Crown Court in Middlesbrough, prosecutor Mark McKone KC said paramedics arrived at the family’s home in Darlington and reported finding Scarlett with a stab wound on the kitchen floor. When Hall called 999 she allegedly said they were “messing about.”
She added that Vickers had thrown something at Scarlett but “didn’t realize” what it was. Vickers reportedly told paramedic Andrew Crow that his daughter had playfully lunged at him in the kitchen.
The father apparently picked up the wrong kitchen tool.
PC Adam Tobling told the court the parents sat on the couch after Scarlett’s death. They both had blood on their hands and clothing, and they appeared “visibly upset,” The Guardian reported.
According to Hall, Vickers thought he had a spatula in his hand, but he actually grabbed a knife. Hall claimed she got out a knife to cut garlic bread, and Vickers accidentally picked it up and threw it at Scarlett.
Vickers allegedly told police, “We were cooking tea, we were mucking about playing around, and we started throwing objects at each other.”
The parents had reportedly been drinking before the accident.
Vickers told police they became “intoxicated” from drinking wine after watching football. Police said the father allegedly seemed confused as to how Scarlett was injured so severely.
“It wasn’t even hard, it was nothing, I don’t understand,” he reportedly said, per The Guardian. But prosecutors claimed the 11-centimenter-deep wound (more than 4 inches deep) in the girl’s chest was too deep to be an accident.
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The defense argued that the parents loved Scarlett.
She was their only child, and Nicholas Lumley KC, who is defending Hall and Vickers, said they adored their daughter.
“He had no wish or desire to harm her,” Lumley said, according to The Guardian. “They had been messing around together in the kitchen, in a normal playful way and Simon Vickers suddenly realised that Scarlett had been injured. Her body must have come into contact with a sharp knife and she quickly died as a result of a single knife wound.”
Lumley added, “He, Simon Vickers, will bear moral responsibility for his daughter’s death for the rest of his life.” Vickers and Hall’s trial continues.