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A British father who claimed he accidentally stabbed his teenage daughter to death while they were play-fighting has been sentenced to at least 15 years in prison.
On Monday, Feb. 10, Simon Vickers, 50, of Darlington, U.K., was “jailed for life with a minimum of 15 years” at Teesside Crown Court in Northern England following the death of his 14-year-old daughter Scarlett Vickers, according to a news release from the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), which handles all public prosecutions in England and Wales.
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Vickers was convicted of murdering his daughter in July 2024 on Jan. 27 after a court heard earlier in the month that Scarlett had been fatally stabbed while the father and daughter were just “messing around together in the kitchen, in a normal playful way,” Sky News reported.
The court previously heard that a pathologist had said it was “practically impossible” for the 4-inch deep stab wound that Scarlett suffered to have been caused by a knife in a play-fighting situation, per the BBC.
Monday’s CPS release stated, “Vickers had claimed that the pair had been play-fighting and jokingly throwing items at each other while cooking, before he mistakenly ‘swiped’ a kitchen knife which then hit Scarlett.”
“After his partner called for an ambulance, paramedics attended the address and found Scarlett on the floor of the kitchen with a severe stab wound to the chest. Despite their efforts, Scarlett tragically died from her injuries a short time later,” the release added.
Judge Mr Justice Cotter told Vickers in court on Monday, “After work you smoked cannabis and drank some wine,” according to Sky News, and alleged that he’d drank more than he’d previously claimed when he was arrested.
The court heard that the teenage victim had come downstairs at around 10:15 p.m. local time and started throwing grapes, telling her father not to be “a wimp” after her mom, Sarah Hall, pinched him with tongs, the outlet reported.
Vickers allegedly responded, “How would you like it?” with the judge adding, “Exactly what then happens only you know,” per the outlet.
A news release from Durham Constabulary on Jan. 27 said Scarlett had been fatally injured at around 10:45 p.m.
“Scarlett was just 14, a normal, healthy girl with a long life ahead of her when it was cut short by you. It went from an ordinary, happy family Friday night to tragedy within seconds due to what must have been your loss of temper,” the judge told Vickers in court on Feb. 10, per The Guardian.
Christopher Atkinson, head of the complex casework unit for CPS North East, said: “It is difficult to understand what motivated Simon Vickers to take the life of his daughter, Scarlett. In the absence of any plausible explanation on his part, we may never fully understand the circumstances which led to her tragic death,” per the CPS release.
“What is abundantly clear is that the account provided by Simon Vickers was wholly inconsistent with the forensic evidence in this case. Crucially, the medical expert we instructed to examine Scarlett’s injuries made it clear that they could only have been caused had the knife been firmly gripped as it made contact,” Atkinson added.
“The Crown Prosecution Service has worked closely with Durham police to build a robust case against Simon Vickers, securing his conviction, which saw him sentenced for her murder today,” he continued.
“We appreciate that the nature of this case will have been incredibly emotive for Scarlett’s family, and our thoughts are with them at what must remain a very difficult time,” Atkinson concluded.
Durham Constabulary did not immediately respond when contacted by PEOPLE for additional comment.