A dad’s claim that his 14-year-old daughter died in a freak accident when he mistakenly threw a knife at her during a play-fight in the kitchen is ‘practically impossible’, a court has been told. Simon Vickers, 50, insists he meant no harm to daughter Scarlett, who bled to death on the kitchen floor after being stabbed in the heart at their home in Darlington on July 5 last year.
Image Credit: Metro [Dated: 14/01/2025 GIRL, 14, STABBED TO DEATH BY DAD AFTER "PLAY-FIGHTING" GAME WENT WRONG, JURORS HERE Scarlett Vickers, 14, who died on Geneva Road in Darlington, County Durham, on July 5 after suffering a stab wound to the chest. Her dad Simon Vickers, was arrested and later charged with Scarlett's murder and manslaughter. He denies both charges and is standing trial at Teesside Crown Court. See story North News]
Jurors at Teesside Crown Court have been shown bodyworn footage of Vickers telling officers they were ‘mucking about, playing around and started throwing things at each other’. Prosecutor Mark McKone said Vickers told detectives he went to hurl some tongs at Scarlett – ‘throwing them almost blindly over his left shoulder or arm’ – but unwittingly grabbed the knife and launched that as well.
Image Credit: Metro [Undated handout photo issued by the Crown Prosecution Service of a knife allegedly used to fatally attack 14-year-old Scarlett Vickers on July 5 last year. Simon Vickers, 50, denies both the murder and the manslaughter of his daughter Scarlett in the kitchen of their home in Darlington. He has been accused of murdering her by stabbing her in the heart, and told the emergency services that they had just been play-fighting while they made their tea, Teesside Crown Court heard. Issue date: Tuesday January 14, 2025. PA Photo. See PA story COURTS Darlington. Photo credit should read: Crown Prosecution Service/PA Wire NOTE TO EDITORS: This handout photo may only be used for editorial reporting purposes for the contemporaneous illustration of events, things or the people in the image or facts mentioned in the caption. Reuse of the picture may require further permission from the copyright holder.]
But giving evidence today, Home Office forensic pathologist Dr Jennifer Bolton told the jury it was her view the knife must have been ‘held tightly’ when it caused the 11cm wound that killed Scarlett. ‘That typically means a firm grip and that arm is braced in a certain way,’ she said.
Image Credit: Metro [Dated: 14/01/2025 GIRL, 14, STABBED TO DEATH BY DAD AFTER "PLAY-FIGHTING" GAME WENT WRONG, JURORS HERE Scarlett Vickers, 14, who died on Geneva Road in Darlington, County Durham, on July 5 after suffering a stab wound to the chest. Her dad Simon Vickers, was arrested and later charged with Scarlett's murder and manslaughter. He denies both charges and is standing trial at Teesside Crown Court. See story North News]
Asked by prosecutor Mr McKone if she thought the knife could have been thrown towards Scarlett, Dr Bolton said: ‘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.’.
![[Undated handout photo issued by the Crown Prosecution Service of a knife allegedly used to fatally attack 14-year-old Scarlett Vickers on July 5 last year. Simon Vickers, 50, denies both the murder and the manslaughter of his daughter Scarlett in the kitchen of their home in Darlington. He has been accused of murdering her by stabbing her in the heart, and told the emergency services that they had just been play-fighting while they made their tea, Teesside Crown Court heard. Issue date: Tuesday January 14, 2025. PA Photo. See PA story COURTS Darlington. Photo credit should read: Crown Prosecution Service/PA Wire NOTE TO EDITORS: This handout photo may only be used for editorial reporting purposes for the contemporaneous illustration of events, things or the people in the image or facts mentioned in the caption. Reuse of the picture may require further permission from the copyright holder.]](https://metro.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/SEI_235945430-aa57.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=646)
