Dad handed 15 years behind bars for stabbing daughter to death with kitchen knife

Published by Robert L Senior Reporter on Monday 10th February 2025, at 11:45hrs

A jury dismissed his claims that he accidentally stabbed his 14-year-old daughter during a play fight in the kitchen of their family home

Scarlett Vickers, who was just 14 at the time, sadly died after being stabbed by her own dad at her home in Darlington.

Simon Vickers pleaded not guilty on the basis that he didn’t mean to stab Scarlett, and it was done accidentally, however after listening to expert medical evidence during the trial he was found guilty of murder at Teesside Crown Court.

In a statement released after sentencing, Durham Constabulary said:

“On the evening of Friday, July 5 last year, Scarlett and her father, Simon Vickers were in the kitchen of their home in Darlington cooking tea.

The exact circumstances surrounding what happened next may never be known but at about 10.45pm Vickers stabbed Scarlett with a kitchen knife.

50-year-old Vickers, of Darlington, had been drinking alcohol and smoking Cannabis throughout the evening.

He claimed he was playfighting with Scarlett and at one point flicked some tongs in her direction and said it was possible a knife was swiped off the worktop in her direction in the process.

He denied picking up a knife, but experts say the knife would have needed to be held to inflict such a serious injury.

Emergency services rushed to the house, but despite their best efforts, Scarlett was sadly pronounced dead at the scene.

A postmortem examination revealed the schoolgirl died from a stab wound.

At Teesside Crown Court today, Vickers was sentenced to a minimum of 15 years.

Detective Superintendent Craig Rudd led the investigation for Durham Constabulary.

He said: “We may never know precisely what happened in that kitchen, but we can be certain here is no justification for what Simon Vickers did.

“Had he not picked up that knife, Scarlett would still be alive today.

“This has been an incredibly heartbreaking case for everyone involved and our thoughts remain with those who cared about Scarlett.”