Ellie Butler inquest: Grandfather of girl, 6, killed by dad says 'no stone should be left unturned' in hunt for answers

Ellie Butler: The six-year-old was murdered by her father
PA
Kiran Randhawa9 March 2018
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The grandfather of a six-year-old girl who was killed by her father said today that “no stone should be left unturned” in the hunt for answers over her death.

Ahead of Ellie Butler’s inquest next week, Neal Gray, 72, said he wants those responsible for the “unbearably cruel” failures that led to her murder to be held to account.

Mr Gray, who brought up Ellie with his wife Linda until the last 11 months of the girl’s life, said he wants “justice to prevail”. He has demanded to know why his granddaughter was put at “such obvious risk of harm” by being placed back into her parents’ care by a court.

Ellie’s father Ben Butler was convicted in 2009 for shaking her as a baby. She went to live with her grandparents but Butler’s conviction was quashed on appeal.

Butler and Ellie’s mother, Jennie Gray, then won a High Court judgment which meant Ellie was returned to their care.

Murder: Ellie, left, was killed by her father Ben Butler, right
Metropolitan Police

Eleven months later, in October 2013, Butler murdered his daughter at the family home in Sutton after months of subjecting her and Gray to abuse.

In 2016 Butler, who had a history of violence, was jailed for life to serve a minimum term of 23 years.

Gray got a 42-month jail sentence for child cruelty and perverting the course of justice for her part in what the judge called a “cynical cover-up”.

Mr Gray told the Standard: “No stone must be left unturned in establishing what happened.

“This inquest must identify who had ultimate responsibility for ensuring the placement was safe for Ellie, who was overseeing the placement, and who was monitoring how it was going.

Ellie Butler was six years old when she was killed
Metropolitan Police

“After Ellie was taken from us, her mother and father came to the attention of various agencies: the Children’s Services department, Cafcass [the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service], two schools, GP services, hospitals, the police not to mention a specific independent social work agency appointed by the court to oversee the transition.

“What did each of these agencies do to ensure that Ellie’s welfare was protected? Did they take appropriate action in response to the numerous warning signs?”

Mr Gray, from Wallington, Surrey, whose wife died on the first day on Butler’s trial in May 2016, said the murderer was “by all accounts, a monster”. He added: “I would like to know how a child could have been put at such obvious risk of harm by being placed in his care, unmonitored.”

The inquest starts on Monday at Croydon coroner’s court and is due to last two weeks.

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