A father convicted of murder despite claiming to have stabbed his daughter in a ‘freak accident’ has a history of serious violence, it can be revealed.
Simon Vickers, 50, told a jury his daughter Scarlett, 14, was killed during a ‘playfight’ in the kitchen before dinner, but the forensic evidence proved he had lied and ‘deliberately’ stabbed her with force because the wound was too deep.
What the jury did not hear was that Vickers was convicted of wounding with intent and sentenced to two years’ detention in 1993 when he was aged 19.
He has six previous convictions in total.
Further details of his criminal past are not known but are likely to be given at the sentencing hearing on 10 February.
No evidence was heard at his trial to suggest problems with violence from within the family.
Schoolgirl Scarlett died from rapid blood loss on June 5 last year after a kitchen knife pierced her chest and heart at the family home in Darlington, County Durham.
Vickers, who admitted drinking four glasses of red wine and half a cannabis joint before the tragedy, denied deliberately harming his only child and said it was a 'freak accident'.
He claims to have 'accidentally' thrown the knife at Scarlett during what he referred to as a 'playfight'.
Vickers said the family had been in a 'happy' mood and were looking forward to a summer holiday in Gran Canaria.
But during the trial an expert pathologist said that as a result of the nature of the wound, the weapon must have been held.
Vickers told the jury of a 'theory' that Scarlett may then have accidentally come onto the knife after it 'hit the side of the hot-plate and stuck out over the side of the counter'.
But Mark McKone, KC, prosecuting, suggested Mr Vickers could have been 'irritated' with Scarlett after she and her mother were throwing grapes in the kitchen.
He said in a closing speech to jurors: 'This has gone beyond horseplay and Mr Vickers could and should have realised there was a risk in that small kitchen of causing serious injury with a knife.'
Vickers faces life imprisonment when he is sentenced on February 10 - after a jury at Teesside Crown Court convicted him of murder by a majority on Monday.
Following his murder conviction, police released footage showing Vickers being booked into custody where he complained about a holiday in six weeks and claimed his daughter's death was an accident.
In the chilling footage, the murderer tells officers: 'I just want to know how my daughter's doing. We were mucking about, playing in the kitchen, and for some reason this has gone really weird. We were mucking about. I can't believe this.
'Please someone tell me. What's going on? We are going on holiday to f*****g Gran Canaria in six weeks. F*****g 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.'
Jurors also heard how he told police upon his arrest: 'I must be the unluckiest man in the world'.
But the Crown Prosecution Service said Vickers' account of his daughter's death was 'wholly inconsistent' with the evidence, saying the wound could only have been inflicted if the knife used was 'firmly gripped'.
Vickers, who worked at the 3M manufacturing plant in Newton Aycliffe, insisted through his trial that he did not deliberately pick up a knife but accepted he must have caused Scarlett's fatal injury.
He added: 'The police assume that I have held a knife and stabbed my daughter which is something that just wouldn't happen.
'Why would I harm my daughter? If someone held a gun to my head and told me to stab my daughter, I would be shot.'
In a 999 call made by Scarlett's mother, Sarah Hall, told an emergency operator: 'We were messing about, having a fun-fight. My partner threw something and he didn't realise.'
Ms Hall said in the frantic call: 'My daughter, she's on the floor, she's losing quite a bit of blood. I don't know what happened. She's going in and out of consciousness.'
Vickers could be heard in the background screaming: 'Scarlett, Scarlett, talk to me Scarlett. 'Oh my God, she's gone blue.'
He later told police, recorded on a body-worn camera: 'I was mucking about. There wasn't any effort into it. 'What the f*** is going on? 'We were mucking about. This is unreal.'
Chillingly Scarlett posted a tragic final TikTok video showing her posing in her bedroom mirror just hours before she was killed by her father.
In the clip posted on July 4, only a day before her death, she can be seen in an all-black outfit, playing with her hair as she holds her phone up in front of her face.
The TikTok, which is captioned 'Ignore the mess pls', is set to the song 'Born To Die' by US singer Lana Del Rey.
Anna Barker, Senior Crown Prosecutor with CPS North East, said: 'The account provided by Simon Vickers about how his daughter, Scarlett, sustained a fatal injury is wholly inconsistent with the forensic evidence in this case.
'As part of our case against him, the Crown Prosecution Service instructed a medical expert, whose analysis made it clear that the nature of the wound sustained by Scarlett could only have been caused if the knife used had been firmly gripped as she was injured.'
'We have worked closely with Durham Police to meticulously piece together the tragic events which led to Scarlett's death. Our thoughts remain with her family, for who this must remain a difficult time.'
Durham Police Detective Superintendent Craig Rudd said: 'Scarlett Vickers would have celebrated her 16th birthday this year. She had her whole life ahead of her.
'Yet it was cruelly cut short by her own father - a man who was meant to protect her. We may never know why or what caused Simon Vickers to do what he did that night.
'Sadly, today's verdict will not bring Scarlett back, but he will now face the consequences of his actions.
'I would like to thank my investigation team for their tireless efforts in getting justice for Scarlett, and the community for their co-operation and understanding while we carried out our inquiries.
'Our thoughts remain with those who cared about Scarlett.'
