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| Ben Butler jailed for murdering daughter Ellie after custody battle | Ben Butler jailed for murdering daughter Ellie after custody battle |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| A father who murdered his six-year-old daughter just 11 months after she was returned to his care following a custody battle has been jailed. | A father who murdered his six-year-old daughter just 11 months after she was returned to his care following a custody battle has been jailed. |
| Ben Butler, 36, inflicted catastrophic head injuries upon Ellie while looking after her at their home in Sutton, south-west London, in October 2013. | Ben Butler, 36, inflicted catastrophic head injuries upon Ellie while looking after her at their home in Sutton, south-west London, in October 2013. |
| He was also found guilty of child cruelty over a shoulder injury, as was Ellie's mother Jennie Gray. | He was also found guilty of child cruelty over a shoulder injury, as was Ellie's mother Jennie Gray. |
| He was jailed for a minimum of 23 years. Gray was jailed for 42 months. | He was jailed for a minimum of 23 years. Gray was jailed for 42 months. |
| Gray, a graphic designer, had admitted perverting the course of justice. | Gray, a graphic designer, had admitted perverting the course of justice. |
| The exonerated father who went on to kill | The exonerated father who went on to kill |
| More on this story on BBC London Live | More on this story on BBC London Live |
| Following the guilty verdict at the Old Bailey, Butler shouted out: "I'll fight for the rest of my life - unbelievable," before adding: "I want to be sentenced now so I can fight in the Appeal Court." | Following the guilty verdict at the Old Bailey, Butler shouted out: "I'll fight for the rest of my life - unbelievable," before adding: "I want to be sentenced now so I can fight in the Appeal Court." |
| He added: "I will fight forever to prove this wrong. My daughter was jumping in the house. I'm 100% not guilty." | He added: "I will fight forever to prove this wrong. My daughter was jumping in the house. I'm 100% not guilty." |
| Gray said: "Big mistake. Spend another 10 years proving you wrong." | Gray said: "Big mistake. Spend another 10 years proving you wrong." |
| Butler was convicted in 2009 for shaking Ellie as a baby, although this was later quashed on appeal. | Butler was convicted in 2009 for shaking Ellie as a baby, although this was later quashed on appeal. |
| The couple then won a High Court judgement to have Ellie returned to their care in 2012. | The couple then won a High Court judgement to have Ellie returned to their care in 2012. |
| Mrs Justice Hogg had sided with Butler despite objections from police, social services and Ellie's maternal grandfather, Neal Gray. | Mrs Justice Hogg had sided with Butler despite objections from police, social services and Ellie's maternal grandfather, Neal Gray. |
| At the time, Mr Gray - who had cared for Ellie since she was a baby - had allegedly warned the judge she would have "blood on your hands". | At the time, Mr Gray - who had cared for Ellie since she was a baby - had allegedly warned the judge she would have "blood on your hands". |
| A serious case review found Sutton Children Services felt "powerless to act" following the High Court's ruling. | A serious case review found Sutton Children Services felt "powerless to act" following the High Court's ruling. |
| It found Mrs Justice Hogg's ruling in the Family Court went much further than simply quashing Butler's previous conviction and had exonerated him, as, in her eyes, he was a victim of a miscarriage of justice. | It found Mrs Justice Hogg's ruling in the Family Court went much further than simply quashing Butler's previous conviction and had exonerated him, as, in her eyes, he was a victim of a miscarriage of justice. |
| That had the effect of telling social services to "back off" - despite social workers' concerns about returning Ellie to her parents, the review concluded. | That had the effect of telling social services to "back off" - despite social workers' concerns about returning Ellie to her parents, the review concluded. |
| Alex Clark, headteacher of Avenue Primary Academy in Sutton which Ellie attended for 10 months before she died, said school staff had concerns about the family and had offered the parents such which they did not accept. | |
| He said Butler and Gray would not meet teachers to why Ellie had missed periods from school. | |
| "Generally, they were very difficult to work with. When we asked questions they sometimes became angry and defensive and on two occasions Jennie Gray made reference to her solicitor. | |
| 'Infantile and sentimentalised fantasy' | 'Infantile and sentimentalised fantasy' |
| In sentencing Butler, Judge Mr Justice Wilkie told him: "You are a self-absorbed, ill-tempered, violent and domineering man who... regarded your children and your partner as trophies, having no role other than to fit in with your infantile and sentimentalised fantasy of family life with you as the patriarch whose every whim was to be responded to." | In sentencing Butler, Judge Mr Justice Wilkie told him: "You are a self-absorbed, ill-tempered, violent and domineering man who... regarded your children and your partner as trophies, having no role other than to fit in with your infantile and sentimentalised fantasy of family life with you as the patriarch whose every whim was to be responded to." |
| Jurors were told Butler battered his daughter to death in a volcanic loss of temper. | Jurors were told Butler battered his daughter to death in a volcanic loss of temper. |
| He did not call 999 for two hours and instead called Jennie Gray back from work in the City of London. | He did not call 999 for two hours and instead called Jennie Gray back from work in the City of London. |
| They then concocted an elaborate plot to destroy evidence and stage the scene of an accidental fall before alerting the ambulance service. | They then concocted an elaborate plot to destroy evidence and stage the scene of an accidental fall before alerting the ambulance service. |
| 'Grotesque charade' | 'Grotesque charade' |
| The couple even involved Ellie's younger sibling by sending the child into a room on the pretext of fetching Ellie for cake, jurors were told. | The couple even involved Ellie's younger sibling by sending the child into a room on the pretext of fetching Ellie for cake, jurors were told. |
| The child can be heard on the 999 call saying Ellie "won't wake up". | The child can be heard on the 999 call saying Ellie "won't wake up". |
| Mr Justice Wilkie told a sobbing Gray that she may have been "exceptionally naive and stupid" to believe Butler and take part in the cover-up. | Mr Justice Wilkie told a sobbing Gray that she may have been "exceptionally naive and stupid" to believe Butler and take part in the cover-up. |
| He added: "You played your full part in the grotesque charade that was the 999 call whilst subjecting your dead daughter to the indignity of pointless CPR when you knew full well she had been dead for two hours." | He added: "You played your full part in the grotesque charade that was the 999 call whilst subjecting your dead daughter to the indignity of pointless CPR when you knew full well she had been dead for two hours." |
| Ellie's grandmother Linda Gray died on 19 April - the first day of the murder trial - but the news was kept from Jennie Gray until sentencing at her father's request. | Ellie's grandmother Linda Gray died on 19 April - the first day of the murder trial - but the news was kept from Jennie Gray until sentencing at her father's request. |
| In a joint statement, written ahead of the trial, Ellie's grandparents said they had struggled to come to terms with the "shock and horror" of her death. | In a joint statement, written ahead of the trial, Ellie's grandparents said they had struggled to come to terms with the "shock and horror" of her death. |
| "Ellie was a very beautiful, bubbly and intelligent little girl who always had a smile on her face and even at such a young age she was nobody's fool. She was our life and she gave so much pleasure to us and our family too. How we all miss her." | "Ellie was a very beautiful, bubbly and intelligent little girl who always had a smile on her face and even at such a young age she was nobody's fool. She was our life and she gave so much pleasure to us and our family too. How we all miss her." |
| Without referring directly to their daughter or Butler throughout the statement, they said: "We did not realise that some people could be so wicked." | Without referring directly to their daughter or Butler throughout the statement, they said: "We did not realise that some people could be so wicked." |
| The court heard harrowing evidence of a toxic family life dominated by a man described in court as "angry, overbearing and manipulative". | The court heard harrowing evidence of a toxic family life dominated by a man described in court as "angry, overbearing and manipulative". |
| Butler had a "volatile temper" which could "explode at any time". | Butler had a "volatile temper" which could "explode at any time". |
| In the months leading up to Ellie's death he sent hundreds of abusive and threatening texts to Gray containing the most obscene and vile language, often directed at Ellie and a younger sibling. | In the months leading up to Ellie's death he sent hundreds of abusive and threatening texts to Gray containing the most obscene and vile language, often directed at Ellie and a younger sibling. |
| Jurors heard how he frequently beat Gray up and threw her out onto the streets. | Jurors heard how he frequently beat Gray up and threw her out onto the streets. |
| A video clip played in court also showed him swearing aggressively on a phone call in the family kitchen in front of Ellie. | A video clip played in court also showed him swearing aggressively on a phone call in the family kitchen in front of Ellie. |
| Malcolm McHaffie, deputy chief crown prosecutor for CPS London, said: "Ellie Butler was murdered in her home, where she should have felt safe, by her violent father who should have loved and protected her. | Malcolm McHaffie, deputy chief crown prosecutor for CPS London, said: "Ellie Butler was murdered in her home, where she should have felt safe, by her violent father who should have loved and protected her. |
| "We may never know exactly what happened in the last few hours of Ellie's life, but the CPS built a strong case to show that her death was the result of deliberate violence by Butler." | "We may never know exactly what happened in the last few hours of Ellie's life, but the CPS built a strong case to show that her death was the result of deliberate violence by Butler." |
| Timeline | Timeline |