Court to review killer dad's 'lenient' sentence

The prison sentence given to a man convicted of murdering his 14-year-old daughter will be reviewed by the Court of Appeal after claims it is too lenient.

Simon Vickers, 50, was jailed for life with a minimum of 15 years in February after being found guilty of murdering Scarlett Vickers at their home in Darlington in July 2024.

Having received an application under the Unduly Lenient Sentence (ULS) scheme, Solicitor General Lucy Rigby KC said she agreed it appeared to be too low.

Vickers had claimed Scarlett's stabbing death was a "freak accident" while the pair were "mucking about".

Vickers' trial heard that Scarlett suffered a 4in (11cm) deep wound to her heart when she was stabbed in the kitchen of her family home on Geneva Road on the evening of 5 July.

Both her father and mother claimed the injury was inflicted accidentally but a pathologist said it was "practically impossible" for it to have been caused by anything other than a knife being held firmly in a hand.

A spokesperson for the Attorney General's Office said: "I can confirm the Solicitor General has referred Simon Vickers' sentence to the Court of Appeal as she agrees that it appears unduly lenient.

"It is now for the court to decide whether to increase the sentence."

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