Sarah Hall is struggling after the killing of her daughter Scarlett Vickers and the jailing of her husband Simon Vickers for murder, according to her mother Elaine Hall
The mum of schoolgirl Scarlett Vickers, 14, who was fatally stabbed by her father in what he claimed was a terrible accident, reportedly does not believe he is guilty and will stand by him.
Simon Vickers, 50, was found guilty of murdering Scarlett, his only daughter, at a trial at Teesside Crown Court on Monday. The court heard how Scarlett died in the kitchen of her home in Darlington, County Durham. Vickers claimed the fatal stabbing had been a “freak accident” that came about during a play-fight in the kitchen.
However an expert pathologist giving evidence for the prosecution stated that the 11cm stab wound to Scarlett’s chest, which pierced her heart, could not have been inflicted by accident. The jury found Vickers guilty of murder and he now faces life in prison when he is sentenced.
Vickers’ wife of 27 years and mum to Scarlett, Sarah Hall, 44, refuses to accept that he murdered their daughter, according to her own mother. Elaine Hall, 65, has described how the couple “doted” on their only child and “daddy’s girl,” echoing her daughter’s belief that Scarlett’s killing was an “accident”.
“If Sarah thought he had done anything to her, she’d have been out of there,” she told MailOnline. “It’s definitely just been an accident because there’s no way he would have harmed her.” The guilty verdict left Sarah struggling to cope, Elaine said, with the loss of her daughter and now her husband.
Emergency services were called to the family’s home on Geneva Road shortly before 11pm on July 5. Medics found Scarlett with a knife wound that had pierced her heart. As officers arrested Vickers, who had drunk four glasses of wine and smoked half a cannabis joint, he told them he and his daughter had been “just mucking around” while Sarah cooked spaghetti.
“We were mucking about, playing in the kitchen, and for some reason this has gone really weird,” he told officers. “We were mucking about. I can’t believe this.”
“Please someone tell me. What’s going on? We are going on holiday to f***ing Gran Canaria in six weeks. F***ing hell. I don’t believe this is happening. We were cooking tea. Just mucking about in the kitchen. I don’t understand how this has happened. Honestly.”
Throughout the trial, Vickers insisted he had not intentionally picked up the knife, instead that he thought he had “swiped” a pair of kitchen tongs at his daughter and they were “mucking about”. He accepted that he had caused the fatal wound, but denied the charges of both murder and manslaughter.
The prosecution put forward no motive as to why Vickers murdered Scarlett, but said the evidence of pathologist Dr Jennifer Bolton that an accidental stabbing was “practically impossible” was not explained by his account.
Jurors took 13 hours and 21 minutes to convict Vickers of murder by a majority with gasps heard in the public gallery as the verdict was read out. The family will try to appeal the conviction, Elaine said.
Vickers is due to be sentenced on February 10.
