A man has been sentenced to life with a minimum of 23 years for murdering his six-year-old daughter in a fit of rage and his partner Jennie Gray, bagged 42 months jail for child cruelty and preventing the course of justice.
Ben Butler, 36 and his partner Jennie Gray. 36, killed his daughter Ellie just 11 months after winning her back in a high-profile custody battle.
He inflicted horrific head injuries on the youngster while looking after her and her sibling at home in October 2013.
On hearing their sentence, Butler mumbled angrily as the verdicts were returned and vowed to "fight forever", while Gray said: "Big mistake, big mistake, big mistake."
Unemployed Butler, of Sutton, south London, had been found guilty of assaulting Ellie in 2007 but the conviction was quashed on appeal.
In November 2012, he was "exonerated" by a family court judge who declared a "happy ending" as she handed Ellie back.
The killing came months after the children were returned to their parents following accusations that Butler violently shook Ellie when she was seven weeks old
The Old Bailey jury was told that after battering Ellie to death Butler put off dialling 999 for two hours and instead summoned Gray back from work in the City of London.
The pair then concocted an elaborate plot to destroy evidence and create the scene of an accidental fall before phoning the ambulance service.
The former EastEnders actress Gray screamed and shouted at the operator and carried out CPR, despite knowing her daughter was dead.
Ellie's was said to died from severe head injuries and it were compared to those of a high-speed road crash victim.
Butler claimed she fell whilst playing with their Jack Russell puppy and could have turned fatal when she jumped up and down watching Peppa Pig on television.
Gray admitted attempting to cover up for her partner but said it was only to protect an "innocent man".
Its painful that little Ellie died in the hands of those who is suppose to care and protect her.
May her soul rest in peace.
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