Scarlett Vickers’ granddad has defended her father as he was today jailed for her murder, claiming he would not have intentionally hurt his daughter “in a million years”.
The 14-year-old suffered a single stab wound that penetrated her chest, which her dad Simon Vickers, 50, claimed was a ‘freak accident’ during a play fight which went tragically wrong. He was today jailed at Teesside Crown Court for life with a minimum term of 15 years after he was convicted of his daughter’s murder.
In response, Vickers’ father Barrie said: “He would never in a million years have hurt her deliberately. Scarlett was his life.”
The 78year-old told The Sun: “Simon would have killed himself before he laid one finger on that girl. I’d be the first one not to speak to him again had I thought for one second he did it. We know Simon wouldn’t have killed her. We know the truth. It was an accident.”
Scarlett’s mother Sarah stood by Vickers, her partner of 27 years, throughout his trial and said she would not still be with him had she believed he had intentionally harmed their teenage daughter.
Speaking from the witness box on January 21, Sarah gave evidence in support of Vickers, telling the court: “We had a very happy family life.
“We all loved each other very much, and we lived in a little bubble. Simon treated Scarlett very well, he was a very hands-on dad, he loved her very much.”
The court heard how Scarlett came downstairs at around 10.15pm and started throwing grapes. After an exchange between father and daughter, when she told her dad not to be “a wimp” when her mother pinched him with tongs, Vickers asked his daughter “how would you like it?”
Mr Justice Cotter said: “Exactly what then happens only you know. Scarlett was just 14, a normal, healthy girl with a long life ahead of her when it was cut short by you. She died in the kitchen of her own home within minutes of having been stabbed.
“It went from an ordinary, happy family Friday night to tragedy within seconds due to what must have been your loss of temper. There is no other plausible explanation. You have never given a truthful explanation of what happened.”
Outside court, Detective Superintendent Craig Rudd of Durham Constabulary said: “We may never know precisely what happened in that kitchen, but we can be certain there 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.”
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