The mother of a teenage girl stabbed to death by her father has called for his release from prison despite a court finding him guilty of their daughter’s murder.
Scarlett Vickers was killed in what her mother Sarah Hall described as a ‘play-fight’ with her father Simon Vickers, last July.
The 14-year-old was stabbed in the heart and died from ‘catastrophic bleeding’.
Following a high profile trial, Vickers was found guilty of his daughter’s murder after refusing to plead to the lesser charge of manslaughter.
In February, Vickers was handed down a life sentence with a minimum jail term of 15 years.
Sarah stood by her husband throughout the course of the tragic case, giving evidence in support of her husband during his ten-day trial.
His wife remains unequivocal, insisting Vickers would ‘never harm’ their daughter.
Now, eight months on from the death of her daughter, Ms Hall has spoken to the BBC pleading for Vickers’ release from prison and branded the decision to convict him ‘absurd’.
Sarah Hall (pictured) has called for the release of her husband Simon Vickers from prison after he was convicted of murdering their daughter last July
A Durham Police handout of Vickers’ arrest photo following the death of his daughter last July
Scarlett Vickers (pictured) was stabbed by her father in the kitchen of their family home in an incident her mother described as a ‘play-fight’
Describing the night their daughter Scarlett was stabbed in the kitchen of their Darlington home, Ms Hall claimed all had been normal as she and her husband watched football from the living room sofa and Scarlett chatted with friends in her room.
Both Ms Hall and Vickers had consumed wine that evening, with Vickers also smoking some cannabis for what Ms Hall claims was to help with back pain from his factory job.
At about 10pm that night, the trio gathered in the family kitchen as Ms Hall dished up her and her husband’s late dinner.
However, this is where the night began to take its tragic turn according to Ms Hall.
She and Scarlett had been engaging in a ‘fun fight’ throwing grapes into each other’s mouths.
Vickers joined in and began ‘mucking about’ with the couple’s teenage daughter as Ms Hall drained off pasta in the sink.
The chaos which unfolded in the following moments still remains somewhat of a mystery to the grieving mother, but she is adamant that what happened was not criminal.
During the couple’s ‘play fight’, Ms Hall had nipped her husband with a kitchen tongs, leading to her and Scarlett ‘jokingly’ calling him a wimp.
Vickers responded by saying ‘how would you like it’ as he swiped the tongs across the kitchen counter.
An image of the knife which punctured Scarlett Vickers’ chest and penetrated her heart
Ms Hall pictured outside Teeside Crown Court at her husband’s sentencing in February
Floral tributes and balloons (pictured in July) were left outside the family home after the tragedy
A knife had been placed beside the tongs, with Ms Hall believing that the tongs caught the sharp blade before accidentally wedging itself outwards against a granite chopping board.
With the blade now protruding out from the counter, Ms Hall claims Scarlett ran towards her father in a bid to wrestle the tongs off him, but instead accidentally ran into the blade.
This a claim at odds with the main piece of evidence used to convict Vickers of murder – the testimony of pathologist Dr Jennifer Bolton who said the injury could only have been caused by the knife being held firmly in Vickers’ hand.
Dr Bolton went on to describe his defence as ‘practically impossible’ during Vickers’ trial.
There were also a number of inconsistencies in Vickers’ version of events, having initially said he threw the knife thinking it was a spatula but then telling paramedics and police on the scene that his daughter had ‘lunged’ at him.
The blade pierced Scarlett and went four inches deep into her chest, hitting her heart and causing catastrophic bleeding.
When jailing Vickers in February, Mr Justice Cotter of Teeside Crown Court described his defence of the incident being a ‘freak accident’ as ‘unconvincing and wholly implausible’.
Ms Hall labelled these remarks ‘absurd’ though, claiming her husband had ‘never had a flash of anger’.
The heartbroken mother also hit out at recent social media speculation which alleged Vickers had been a controlling and abusive partner.
‘He was understanding and comforting. (Our relationship) was very supportive, never controlling’, she said.
Ms Hall went on to add: ‘How can I blame him for an accident when I know he’s in as much pain as I am?’
However, despite Ms Hall’s pleas for her husband’s release, Vickers’ case is set to now be reviewed by the Court of Appeal, after Solicitor General Lucy Rigby KC stated her belief that the verdict had been too lenient.
A spokesperson for the Attorney General’s Office told the BBC: ‘I can confirm the Solicitor General has referred Simon Vickers’ sentence to the Court of Appeal as she agrees that it appears unduly lenient.
‘It is now for the court to decide whether to increase the sentence’.
