THE violent past of a killer dad who claimed he murdered his 14-year-old daughter in a “play-fight” has been revealed.
Simon Vickers claimed he was just “messing about” when he plunged a knife 11cm into Scarlett’s chest and penetrated her heart.
Simon Vickers stabbed his daughter to death in the kitchen[/caption]
Scarlett suffered catastrophic blood loss[/caption]
But jurors saw through his evil web of lies and the 50-year-old was yesterday convicted of murdering his only child.
It can now be revealed that Vickers has a criminal background with six previous convictions.
The killer dad was banged up for two years in 1993 after being found guilty of wounding with intent, the Daily Mail reports.
Further details of his violent past are likely to be exposed when Vickers is sentenced over Scarlett’s death on February 10.
The monster, who had been drinking wine and smoking cannabis on the night he killed his daughter, claimed he had accidentally hurled a knife at Scarlett.
But Teesside Crown Court heard the 11cm wound was too deep to have been a tragic mistake.
The heartless dad also attempted to claim that he was the victim after his daughter died in a pool of blood on the kitchen floor.
After his arrest, Vickers told police: “That was it. We were horse-playing.
“I must be the unluckiest man in the world.”
Chilling footage also showed him being booked into the custody suite moaning about an upcoming holiday.
He 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.
“Please someone tell me. What’s going on? We are going on holiday to f***ing Gran Canaria in six weeks. F***ing hell. I don’t believe this is happening.
“I don’t understand how this has happened. Honestly.”
‘PLAY-FIGHT’ LIES
Vickers claimed the playfight started when he and Scarlett began throwing grapes at each other while mum Sarah Hall made dinner.
He said he went to “try and get her” but his daughter tried to push him away so he grabbed the tongs and chucked them.
The dad continued: “She just shouted ‘ah, ah ah’ and fell to the floor.
“Her lips were going bluer and she wasn’t listening when I was shouting at her.
“Sarah took over and the ambulance came and, f***ing hell.”
Vickers described his only child as the “love of my life” and told police his world had “gone to s***”.
He also denied telling paramedics at the scene that he picked up a knife and that it “just went in” after Scarlett “lunged towards me”.
The dad added: “There is no way in the world I would stab my child. I threw those tongs at her.
“I want to die myself. My only child – I don’t know what to say. I can’t even cry. I don’t even know what’s wrong.”
Scarlett’s heart was penetrated by the knife[/caption]
The blade was plunged 11cm into her chest[/caption]
The court heard the dad gave “three different accounts at least before his formal police interview” of what happened.
But prosecutor Mark McKone KC said Vickers must have stabbed his daughter “deliberately with the knife”.
Detective Superintendent Craig Rudd, who led the investigation for Durham Constabulary, 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 cooperation and understanding while we carried out our enquiries.
“Our thoughts remain with those who cared about Scarlett.”
Scarlett was discovered in a pool of blood at the family home[/caption]
