Scarlett Vickers' dad tells police they were 'mucking around' when knife plunged into her chest

Simon Vickers, 50, denies execution and manslaughter of his girl Scarlett aft claiming the brace were "mucking around" successful the room of their household location erstwhile a weapon plunged into her chest

This is the infinitesimal Scarlett Vickers' dad tells constabulary they were "just mucking astir successful the kitchen" aft helium was accused of stabbing his teenage girl to death.

Scarlett Vickers, 14, died from accelerated humor nonaccomplishment aft a weapon plunged 11cm into her chest, piercing her heart. Simon Vickers, 50, denies execution and manslaughter, claiming the brace were "mucking around" successful the room of their household home, successful Darlington, Durham, connected June 5 past year.

Jurors astatine Teesside Crown Court watched footage of Vickers being booked into custody astatine Darlington constabulary presumption aft being arrested connected suspicion of attempted murder. He was aboriginal rearrested connected suspicion of execution aft Scarlett succumbed to her fatal injury.

Vickers said portion being booked in: "I conscionable privation to cognize however my daughter's doing. We were mucking about, playing successful the kitchen, and for immoderate crushed this has gone truly weird. We were mucking about. I can't judge this.

"Please idiosyncratic archer me. What's going on? We are going connected vacation to f***ing Gran Canaria successful six weeks. F***ing hell. I don't judge this is happening.

"We were cooking tea. Just mucking astir successful the kitchen. I don't recognize however this has happened. Honestly." Emergency services were called to the family's semi-detached location successful Geneva Road connected June 5 to find Scarlett collapsed connected the room floor.

Vickers, who admitted drinking 4 glasses of vino and smoking fractional of a joint, told the tribunal helium accepted causing Scarlett's fatal thorax coiled but had nary cognition of touching the green-handled knife.

Giving evidence, Vickers sobbed arsenic helium delivered his mentation of events, telling jurors that his daughter's decease "could lone ever beryllium a freak accident".

He suggested that helium indispensable person swiped the weapon without realising, aft attempting to "swing" a brace of room tongs.

Vickers told the assemblage of a "theory" that Scarlett whitethorn past person accidentally travel onto the weapon aft it "hit the broadside of the hot-plate and stuck retired implicit the broadside of the counter."

Vickers said: "I hadn’t done thing unlawful. I had thrown a brace of tongs arsenic acold arsenic I was aware. We were mucking about, harmless fun. There was nary weapon successful immoderate equation whatsoever."

Prosecutors assertion Vickers indispensable person stabbed his girl "deliberately with the knife" due to the fact that coiled was "too deep" to person been caused accidentally.

Jurors were told by a Home Office pathologist that it would beryllium "practically impossible" for a thrown weapon to origin Scarlett's fatal thorax wound.

Mark McKone, KC, prosecuting, told him successful cross-examination: "I volition person to suggest to you that you person not told the information astir however Scarlett was wounded."

Vickers sobbed arsenic helium gave evidence, telling jurors helium would ne'er person wounded secondary schoolhouse pupil, Scarlett, his lone kid with semipermanent spouse Sarah Hall.

Asked by his barrister Nicholas Lumley, KC, if helium intended to origin her superior injury, Vickers told Teesside Crown Court: "No, never, ne'er successful this world. I would person fixed her my life."

Vickers told however the household had been preparing for a vacation successful the Canary Islands and that Scarlett had been looking guardant to the extremity of the schoolhouse term. He denied losing his temper, telling the tribunal helium was "relaxed" and "happy".

He said the household were successful their tiny room erstwhile helium asked them to prime up the thrown grapes due to the fact that helium wanted to bring their Labrador canine inside.

He said: "Sarah started picking the grapes up, Scarlett threw a fewer much truthful that's erstwhile I started tickling her.

"We were astatine the backmost door, I was tickling her astatine the backmost door. Sarah starting nipping maine connected the backmost with a brace of tongs, connected the butt. I turned astir and tried to drawback the tongs disconnected her, arsenic I tried to drawback them I caught my small digit connected them. I did outcry out.

"Scarlett said 'dad, you're a wimp'. I said 'how would you similar that?', conscionable mucking about."

Vickers said helium past started "wafting" Scarlett's hairsbreadth and she pushed him distant towards the room antagonistic erstwhile helium swiped astatine the room tongs.

He added: "As I went to beryllium connected the seat, I heard Scarlett outcry 'ow, ow'. There was hold of a mates of seconds. I looked up consecutive astatine her and I said: 'what's the matter?'

"She was conscionable staring. She had a pinkish fluffy pyjama apical connected and each of a abrupt tons of humor started coming out.

"I got disconnected my chair, Sarah had grabbed a towel. It was similar 'what the f***?'" Vickers broke down arsenic helium told the tribunal however helium had been refused support to be his daughter's ceremonial portion connected remand successful situation astatine HMP Durham.

He said Scarlett was "our life, our full purpose" and a "fantastic daughter". He told the jury: "I spoiled her. As my mum would say, she had maine wrapped astir her small finger."

Mr McKone enactment to Vickers: "Isn't the world that this mentation of a swiping question towards a brace of tongs, causing a weapon to spell into Scarlett's thorax by 11cm, is conscionable a prevarication by you?"

Vickers replied: "No, it is not. It surely is not. The constabulary presume that I person held a weapon and stabbed my girl which is thing that conscionable wouldn't happen.

"Why would I harm my daughter? If idiosyncratic held a weapon to my caput and told maine to stab my daughter, I would beryllium shot."