Scarlett Vickers: Father denies murder of daughter, 14 who posted TikTok selfie video hours before death

Scarlett Vickers, 14, was found dead with a single stab wound to the chest at her family home in Darlington, County Durham, in July on July 5. Her parents, Simon Vickers, 48, and Sarah Hall, 44, were both initially charged with her murder. On Monday the case against Ms Hall was discontinued, a court spokesperson said.

Vickers pleaded not guilty to both murder and manslaughter, and was remanded until his next appearance at Teesside Crown Court on Tuesday, when an application for bail will be made.

Scarlett was a pupil at Haughton Academy in Darlington, and in a tribute the school said: “She was always immaculately turned out, respectful and polite. 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.

“Staff and pupils at Haughton Academy and the Education Village Academy Trust are extremely saddened by the news and we would like to pass on our thoughts to everyone affected by this tragedy. The trust is working hard to support pupils and staff through this very difficult time.”

Her death came just hours after she had posed for the camera in a heartbreaking video posted on TikTok. She shared the video from her bedroom with the caption: "Ignore the mess pls." Many flooded her comments with condolences, with one saying: “a month today u got took from us scarl💔 missing you like crazy hope I’m doing u proud up there beautiful.”