Family conducts ‘crime scene reconstruction’ to figure out how dad stabbed daughter in kitchen ‘play-fight’
The family of the teenager that was fatally stabbed in a kitchen 'play-fight' have been trying to act out the events that led to her death.
Scarlett Vickers was just 14-years-old when she died of a stab wound, after her father claimed to have accidentally caused a 11cm deep wound with a kitchen knife.
Her father, Simon Vickers, was found guilty of murder in Crown Court after a jury heard accounts of the event, including his claims that they were having a play-fight in the kitchen.
The 50-year-old was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum of 15 years in jail, however, remained adamant that he would never hurt his daughter.
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After the jury convicted him by 10 to two votes, the Crown Prosecution Service stated that we may never know what really happened.
But this hasn't stopped the family from carrying out their own investigation, as they have been doing some 'crime scene reconstruction' to try and understand how the teenager was stabbed by her dad.
It is said that the factory worker plunged a knife into his only child's chest in a fit of rage, where she called him a 'wimp'.
But Vickers claimed that he threw a blade at her accidentally in their 'play-fight' in Darlington, Co Durham in July 2024.
The late teen's mother, Sarah Hall, supports Vickers' claims, along with his parents and their families.
Sarah's sister, Rebecca, told the Mirror that she was trying to understand what happened prior to the death by reenacting the scenario in her own home.
She explained: "I have been doing it in the kitchen and looking at how the knife could have moved,
"If it was quick when Scarlett was going towards the knife as Simon swiped it and the tongs, then it is possible that could have caused the injury."
Rebecca said that 'the biology of it' shows that the tissue where the knife went in was 'very, very soft', and that the force would have been enough to reach the heart.
The 42-year-old went on, adding that Scarlett might have been 'standing over the knife', while Simon had the knife by the chopping board, she could have leant into it.
"He is uncertain himself how it happened but he remembered getting the tongs and I think that he has put his hand down on the knife and swiped it along the kitchen surface," she said.
Rebecca insisted that 'there was no aggression' as they just were messing around, with the knife accidentally going into her ribs.
The mum-of-two added: "She did not say anything like 'dad has a knife' or 'he is going to hurt me'. Surely she would have said something beforehand?"
It is understood that the father was drinking wine, watching the Euros football and had smoked cannabis earlier in the day, as he explained that he and his daughter were throwing grapes at each other as a joke.
It's been reported that Scarlett's mum was snipping at her dad with a pair of kitchen tongs after which Scarlett called him a 'wimp' when he said it hurt.
Judge Mr Justice Cotter believed that Vickers acted in a 'devastating' moment of anger and intended to cause serious harm.
Judge Mr Justice Cotter also stated that Sarah heard him say 'how would you like it?' before seeing the blood.
A jury found him guilty following an expert's observations that it was 'practically impossible' to cause the injury in the way that he claimed.
Joshua Nair