IT would have been ‘practically impossible’ for a 14-year-old girl to have died from a knife ‘thrown’ by her dad, a pathologist told a court today.
Dr Jennifer Bolton described how Scarlett Vickers suffered a 11 cm (4.3in) stab wound to the left ventricle of her heart in the kitchen of the family home in Darlington, Co Durham. Her father Simon Vickers, 50, told police and paramedics that he and Scarlett had been ‘messing around’ as he prepared food and denies her murder or manslaughter.
He told police: “One minute I was cooking, then next there was blood gushing from her chest.” He also claimed that he had picked up a spatula to throw at his daughter and did so without realising he was also holding a knife. The force of the blow to the left ventricle of her heart caused her to fall to the kitchen floor with blood pouring from a chest wound, Teesside crown court heard.
Teesside Crown Court, where the case is being heard
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PA Archive/PA Images)
Mark McKone KC, prosecuting, said that a pathologist report had established that the force of the blow was such that it went deep into Scarlett’s chest, and ‘must have been held firmly in the defendant’s hand’. Dr Jennifer Bolton, who conducted a postmortem on July 6 last year, the day after Scarlett died, found the kitchen knife had penetrated her heart and also gone into her lung. Mr McKone asked if she considered if the knife could have been thrown. She replied: “If the knife is thrown, it would have to hit the body at 90 degrees to the skin. If the angle is different, then it would simply rebound off.
“Clothing also has the potential to deflect the knife. So if someone were to throw the knife, it would have to hit the body at 90 degrees. But in Scarlett’s case, it went into the body for 11 cms. “Kitchen knives are not designed to be thrown through the air so it is practically impossible to throw the knife in such a way…. for it to have gone in for 11 cms and then apparently come out again.”
She confirmed that the knife would have been ‘in a firm grip’ when it came into contact with Scarlett. The teenager died because the knife penetrated the left ventricle of her heart, which pumps blood all around the body. Dr Bolton said that she could have spoken, or taken a few steps, before she fell unconscious and died. Under cross examination, she said that if the blow had gone a few centimetres either side, or hit Scarlett’s rib, then she may have survived.
Teesside crown court has heard how paramedic Andrew Crow arrived at 10.50pm as Scarlett’s mother Sarah Hall was trying to perform CPR. He recalled how Scarlett’s mum said that Scarlett and her dad were play fighting and ‘chucking’ knives at each other’. Mr. Crow said that the defendant picked up a knife off the side counter of the kitchen and said: “We were messing on, we were play fighting and she lunged towards me, and it just went in.”
Scarlett fell with blood pouring from the wound, the jury heard. The stab wound was about 4.3in deep and damaged Scarlett’s heart. She bled to death and was declared dead at the scene. PC Adam Tobling saw the defendant and Sarah Hall sitting together on the sofa when he arrived. The PC noted that both Sarah and the defendant had blood on their hands and clothing and they were both visibly upset. The defendant had a cut to a finger.
He heard Sarah say: “He has picked up the spatula, and not realised the knife was with it at the same time.” Vickers said: “We were cooking tea, we were mucking about, playing around and started throwing objects at each other,” he added. Ms Hall then said: ‘I have taken the kitchen knife out to cut garlic bread, he picked the spatula up at the same time, and not realised the knife was with it.” In police interviews, Vickers was asked if he was responsible for causing Scarlett’s death and said “I must be,” the court heard.
The defendant described picking tongs with his right hand, twisting and ‘throwing them almost blindly over his left shoulder/arm’. He told police that there ‘was not any effort’ into the swing of his arm with the knife. Scarlett shouted “Argh” and then “all this blood started coming down the side and she fell to the floor”, he added. He said that he had a good relationship with Scarlett and that they were ‘always play fighting, it was ‘quite normal’. Vickers denies murder, and the alternative charge of manslaughter. The case, due to last 10 days, continues.