The Attorney General has been asked to review Simon Vickers’ sentence for murdering his daughter Scarlett after it was claimed it was “too lenient”.
The Darlington dad, 50, was jailed for life with a 15-year minimum term last month after a jury found him guilty of murdering 14-year-old Scarlett at their home on an “ordinary, happy, family Friday night” last July.
He claimed a play-fight in their kitchen went wrong, and he’d accidentally thrown a knife towards her, but Scarlett suffered an 11cm stab wound which jurors heard would have been “practically impossible” to inflict unless the blade was being gripped firmly.
A spokesperson for the Attorney General's Office (AGO) confirmed that Vickers’ sentence had been referred under the Unduly Lenient Sentence Scheme.
They said: “We have received a request for this sentence to be considered under the Unduly Lenient Sentence (ULS) scheme.
“The Law Officers have 28 days from sentencing to consider the case and make a decision.”
It means they have until March 10 to make a decision.
Jailing him on February 10 at Teesside Crown Court , judge Mr Justice Cotter said: “It was a momentary but devastating act of anger. It stole one young, precious life and ruined your life, your wife’s life and Scarlett’s relatives and friends.
“The clock cannot be turned back, and you must now face the consequences that the law intends.”
WATCH: The judge passing sentence to Simon Vickers
Last month, Simon’s family was said to be looking at grounds to appeal his conviction as they are convinced he is innocent, the Mirror reported.
It came as Scarlett’s mum Sarah Hall was said to be standing by her partner of 27 years despite him being jailed for murder.
During the trial, Ms Hall said: “It was an accident. I know he would never harm her. She was my little girl, my best friend, she always came first for the both of us.”
The Unduly Lenient Sentence Scheme allows anyone to ask for a Crown Court sentence they believe is too low to be reviewed by the AGO.
Only one person needs to ask for a sentence to be looked at.
The AGO will then decide whether to send it to the Court of Appeal, which could pass a new, longer sentence.
A document listing all sentences referred under the scheme says a review of Vickers’ sentence is “under consideration”.
Scarlett suffered a fatal stab wound to the chest when she was in the kitchen of her family home. The knife went through three layers of her clothing, going between her ribs to pierce her heart and lung.
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Vickers told police they had been playfighting in the kitchen, and he accidentally threw the knife at his daughter, thinking he was throwing a spatula.
He gave three different versions of what happened that night after he smoked cannabis and drank some wine.
He described himself as the “unluckiest man in the world”.
The court heard he had a previous conviction from 1993 for slashing a man’s face with a Stanley knife.
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