A murdered teenager posted a tragic final TikTok video of herself posing in her bedroom mirror just hours before she was killed by her father.
In the clip, posted on July 4, just a day before her death, Scarlett Vickers, 14, can be seen wearing an all-black outfit, playing with her hair while holding her phone in front of her face.
The TikTok, captioned 'Ignore the mess pls', is set to the song 'Born To Die' by American singer Lana Del Rey.
Simon Vickers, 50, was today found guilty of murdering his 14-year-old daughter, Scarlett, after stabbing her in the heart.
Vickers insisted his only child died in a 'freak accident' at their home in Darlington, County Durham, after he 'accidentally' took away a knife.
But the accuser claimed he stabbed his daughter 'intentionally' because the eleven-centimetre wound in her chest was 'too deep' to have been caused accidentally.
Schoolgirl Scarlett died on June 5 last year from rapid blood loss after the knife pierced her chest and heart.
VIckers faces a life sentence when he is sentenced on February 10 – after a jury at Teesside Crown Court today convicted him of murder by a majority vote.
Scarlett Vickers, 14, pictured in her latest TikTok – posted just hours before her murder
The TikTok, filmed in the bedroom in front of an unmade bed, was captioned “ignore the mess pls”
Scarlett's TikTok posts portray her as an ordinary teenage girl, posing for her followers in her bedroom at home
Following his murder conviction, police released footage showing Vickers being taken into custody where he complained about going on holiday in six weeks and claimed his daughter's death was an accident.
In the chilling footage, the killer tells officers: 'I just want to know how my daughter is doing. We were messing around, playing in the kitchen, and for some reason this turned out really weird. We were messing around. I can't believe this.
'Please tell me. What's going on? In six weeks we are going on holiday to Gran Canaria. F*****g hell. I don't believe this happens.
'We were cooking tea. Just messing around in the kitchen. I don't understand how this 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 “completely inconsistent” with the evidence, saying the wound could only have been inflicted if the knife used was “gripped tightly”.
Emergency services were called to the family's semi-detached home in Geneva Street shortly before 11pm on July 5 last year.
Scarlett was found bleeding to death on the kitchen floor by paramedics and could not be saved.
Schoolgirl Scarlett died on June 5 last year from rapid blood loss after the knife pierced her chest and heart
Scarlett, featured in a TikTok video, was found bleeding to death on the kitchen floor by paramedics and could not be saved
Simon Vickers (pictured), 50, has been convicted of murdering his 14-year-old daughter Scarlett
Vickers told police the pair were “just messing around” while his partner of 27 years, Sarah Hall, cooked spaghetti bolognaise. Pictured: Scarlett Vickers
Footage shows Vicker at the police station, where he claimed he was just 'messing around' with his daughter and was going on holiday to Gran Canaria in six weeks
Vickers told police the pair were “just messing around” while his partner of 27 years, Sarah Hall, cooked spaghetti bolognaise.
He said: 'We were making tea, we were playing and we started throwing objects at each other.'
Vickers, who worked at the 3M factory in Newton Aycliffe, insisted at his trial that he did not deliberately pick up a knife but accepted that he must have caused Scarlett's fatal injury.
Dr. Jennifer Bolton, a forensic pathologist, who carried out an autopsy on Scarlett's body, told the court that the possibility of an accidental stabbing was 'virtually impossible'.
She said the knife had to have been “held tightly” to pierce Scarlett's pajamas and chest.
The prosecution did not put forward a motive for the killing, but Mark McKone QC said Vickers 'must have lied' to police because his story did not match the pathologist's findings.
Vickers, who admitted drinking four glasses of red wine and half a cannabis joint before the tragedy, denied deliberately harming his only child.
He said the family were in a 'happy' mood and looking forward to a summer holiday in Gran Canaria.
Emergency services were called to the family's semi-detached home on Geneva Road (pictured) on June 5 and found Scarlett collapsed on the kitchen floor.
Scarlett posted a tragic final TikTok video in which she posed in her bedroom mirror just hours before her death
Prosecutors allege Vickers, who had denied murder, must have 'intentionally stabbed his daughter with the knife' (pictured)
Vickers told the jury of a “theory” that Scarlett may have accidentally landed on the knife after it “hit the side of the hob and extended over the side of the counter.”
Vickers said: “I had done nothing illegal. For all I knew I had been throwing pliers. We were messing around, innocent fun. There wasn't a single knife in it.'
He added: 'The police believe I held a knife and stabbed my daughter, 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 from Scarlett's mother, Sarah Hall, she told an emergency worker: 'We were messing around and having a nice fight. My partner threw something and he didn't realize it.'
Mrs Hall said during the panicked call: 'My daughter, she's on the floor, she's losing quite a bit of blood. I don't know what happened.
“She goes in and out of consciousness.”
Vickers could be heard shouting in the background, “Scarlett, Scarlett, talk to me Scarlett. “Oh my God, she turned blue.”
Floral tributes and balloons (pictured in July) were left outside the teenager's home after the tragedy
He later told police, recorded on a body-worn camera: “I was messing around. No effort had been made. 'What the hell is going on? “We were messing around. This is unreal.'
The prosecutor alleged that Vickers could not have thrown or swiped a knife into her chest.
Mr McKone suggested he may have been 'annoyed' by Scarlett after she and her mother threw grapes in the kitchen.
In a closing address to the judges, he said: 'This goes beyond horseplay and Mr Vickers could and should have realized that there was a risk of causing serious injury with a knife in that small kitchen.'
Nicholas Lumley QC, defending Vickers, claimed Scarlett's death was a 'tragic, tragic accident' and that there had been 'no hint of disharmony'.
He said: 'She was their only child. He had no wish or desire to harm her in any way. All three of the family had a normal Friday evening at home.
'They were messing around in the kitchen in a normal, playful manner when Mr Vickers suddenly realized that Scarlett had been injured.
'Her body must have come into contact with a sharp knife and that caused her to die quickly.
'He, Simon Vickers, will bear moral responsibility for his daughter's death for the rest of his life.'
Scarlett's death caused an outpouring of grief from her headteacher, Su Gill, of Haughton Academy School, who described her as a 'lovely, respectful and polite girl'.
“Scarlett was a lovely girl and an important member of the Haughton Academy community,” Mrs Gill said.
“She was always impeccable, respectful and polite.
'A very friendly girl, with a great sense of humor. She was popular with her friends and will be greatly missed by everyone at school.”
The statement continued: 'A very friendly girl with a great sense of humour, she was popular with her friends and will be greatly missed by everyone at school.'
Anna Barker, chief prosecutor at CPS North East, said: 'Simon Vickers' account of how his daughter, Scarlett, suffered a fatal injury is completely 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 Scarlett suffered could only have been caused if the knife used had been firmly gripped when she was injured. '
“We have worked closely with Durham Police to piece together the tragic events leading to Scarlett's death. Our thoughts remain with her family, for whom this must remain a difficult time.'
Chief Inspector Craig Rudd, of Durham Police, 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 supposed to protect her. We may never know why or what caused Simon Vickers to do what he did that night.
“Unfortunately, today's ruling 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 to obtain justice for Scarlett, and the community for their cooperation and understanding as we conducted our investigation.
“Our thoughts remain with those who cared for Scarlett.”
