Father who murdered daughter in play-fight could have sentence increased

A father who fatally stabbed his 14-year-old daughter in the heart during a play-fight could have his sentence increased on Thursday after his case was referred to the Court of Appeal.

Simon Vickers was jailed for life with a minimum term of 15 years in February after being found guilty of the murder of his daughter, Scarlett, with sentencing judge Mr Justice Cotter claiming the killing happened in a “momentary but devastating act of anger”.

During his trial at Teesside Crown Court, Vickers, 50, had given different accounts of what happened in the seconds before he stabbed a kitchen knife 11cm into Scarlett’s lung and heart at their home in Darlington on July 5 last year.

The Solicitor General has referred his sentence to the Court of Appeal under the Unduly Lenient Sentence Scheme, with the case set to be heard by three senior judges in London on Thursday.

Vickers’ trial heard how Scarlett’s mother, Sarah Hall, was making spaghetti bolognese on the evening of July 5 2024, and she and her daughter threw grapes at each other for fun.

Ms Hall grabbed some tongs and snipped at her partner of 27 years, and when he complained he had been hurt, Scarlett implied her father was being “wimpy”.

Ms Hall told jurors that during the play-fighting, she turned away to serve the family’s evening meal and then heard Scarlett say “ow”.

She said she immediately saw that their only child was pouring with blood, with Scarlett bleeding to death at the scene.

Ms Hall made a 999 call and told the operator they had been “messing about” and that her partner had thrown something at their daughter, and he “didn’t realise”.

Vickers told a paramedic that his daughter had lunged towards him during a bout of play-fighting, the court heard, but a jury convicted him of murder by a majority of 10-2 in January.

Sentencing him, Mr Justice Cotter said the version of events that the defendant told the jury – that he had accidentally swiped the knife across the work surface and into his daughter’s chest without realising – was “unconvincing and wholly implausible”.

Vickers had drunk wine and smoked cannabis that night, but the judge was not sure that alcohol had contributed to the offence, which he was convinced was caused by “a flash of anger”.

Mr Justice Cotter said: “It stole one young, precious life, ruined your life, your wife’s life and Scarlett’s relatives and friends.”

He continued: “You have never accepted exactly what happened, although you have accepted it was your actions that caused her death.

“Your beloved daughter deserved that you told the truth. You have not done so.”

The hearing before Lord Justice Stuart-Smith, Mr Justice Goose and Mrs Justice Eady is set to begin at 10.30am on Thursday at the Royal Courts of Justice.