Scarlett Vickers: Parents of girl fatally stabbed in family kitchen 'serving life sentences,' jury told
Share:
The parents of schoolgirl Scarlett Vickers who died after she suffered a fatal wound to her heart are serving "life sentences," jurors were told. Simon Vickers, 50, has denied the murder and manslaughter of his 14-year-old daughter, at their home in Darlington, County Durham, last July. The prosecution at Teesside Crown Court claims he picked up a knife and stabbed her in the chest after the family indulged in horseplay while her mother, Sarah Hall, Vickers’ partner of 27 years, cooked spaghetti bolognese.
They say he has changed his account of what happened, having claimed he accidentally threw a knife at her, with an expert pathologist saying that the weapon must have been held due to the nature of the wound. In his closing speech to the jury, Nicholas Lumley KC, defending Vickers, said the prosecution did not have to advance a motive, but there was not one.
The experienced barrister described it as one of the “saddest and most serious cases”. He reminded the jury how Scarlett’s mother referred to the close family group as the three S’s. Mr Lumley said of the teenager: “She was finding her independence, supported at every turn by her father and her mother, there’s no hint of disharmony in that house.” He added: “Neither parent asks for your pity, your indulgence or even for your forgiveness.
