The case against a Darlington woman accused of killing her daughter in their family home has been discontinued.

Sarah Hall, 44, is no longer part of the murder investigation into the death of 14-year-old Scarlett Vickers.

She died from a single stab wound to the chest following an incident at their home on Geneva Road on July 5.

The girls’ father, Simon Vickers, remains charged with murder and manslaughter.

Today, Monday, August 5, he formally entered ‘not guilty’ pleas to both charges at Teesside Crown Court before Judge Francis Laird.

A bail application for the 48-year-old will be heard at the court tomorrow.

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A trial date has been fixed for October 2.

Scarlett, a pupil at Haughton Academy in Darlington, died despite efforts to save who paramedics who carried out open chest surgery on her kitchen floor.

An inquest into her death has been opened and adjourned pending further investigation.