Bulletin: Ben Butler: U.K. Now on trial for allegedly killing his 6-year-old daughter Ellie, court has heard that a conviction for previously assaulting her had been quashed. Prosecutors told the Old Bailey jury that Ellie's parents acted out an ‘elaborate’ charade to cover up murder. "Butler is on trial for murder while both parents are accused of child cruelty. He has denied murder and has jointly denied child cruelty with Gray." The Guardian;
PUBLISHERS NOTE: I previously posted on a decision in which a court quashed Ben Butler's conviction for assaulting his baby daughter Ellie. Now Butler is on trial for allegedly murdering 6-year-old Ellie at the family home in 2013.
Harold Levy: Publisher; The Charles Smith Blog.
STORY: "Ben Butler trial: daughter killed after assault conviction quashed," published by The Guardian on April 19, 2016.
SUB-HEADING: "Parents of Ellie Butler acted out ‘elaborate’ charade to cover up murder, Old Bailey jurors told."
PHOTO CAPTION: "Ben Butler and his daughter Ellie. He allegedly caused ‘catastrophic head injuries’ while her mother was at work."
GIST: "A man accused of killing his six-year-old daughter had his conviction for assaulting her as a baby quashed, a court was told. Ben Butler, 36, who is on trial for murder and child cruelty, had
been found guilty of causing serious head injuries to Ellie Butler in
2007, when she was put into foster care. When his conviction was quashed
in 2010, Butler and his partner Jennie Gray sought her return in the
high court. In November 2012, Ellie was sent back to live at the family home in
Sutton, south-west London. Less than a year later, she was found dead in
her bedroom. Butler allegedly caused “catastrophic head injuries” while
Gray was at work in the City in October 2013. He then acted out an “elaborate” charade with the child’s mother to
cover up the murder, jurors heard at the opening the trial at the Old
Bailey on Tuesday. Butler is on trial for murder while both parents are
accused of child cruelty. He has denied murder and has jointly denied
child cruelty with Gray. The trial continues."
I have added a search box for content in this blog which now encompasses
several thousand posts. The search box is located near the bottom of
the screen just above the list of links. I am confident that this
powerful search tool provided by "Blogger" will help our readers and
myself get more out of the site.
The
Toronto Star, my previous employer for more than twenty
incredible years, has put considerable effort into exposing the
harm caused by Dr. Charles Smith and his protectors - and into
pushing for reform of Ontario's forensic pediatric pathology
system. The Star has a "topic" section which focuses on recent
stories related to Dr. Charles Smith. It can be found at:
Two Blogs Now: The Charles Smith Blog; The Selfless Warriors Blog: I created the Charles Smith Blog in 2007 after I retired from The Toronto Star to permit me to keep digging into the story of the flawed pathologist and the harm he had done to so many innocent parents and caregivers, and to Ontario’s criminal justice system. Since then it has taken new directions, including examinations of other flawed pathologists, flawed pathology, and flawed science and technology which has marred the quality of justice in courtrooms around the world. The heart of the Blog is my approach to following cases which raise issues in all of these areas - especially those involving the death penalty. I have dedicated 'The Selfless Warrior Blog’ (soon to appear) to those exceptional individuals who have been ripped out of their ordinary lives by their inability to stand by in the face of a glaring miscarriage of justice. They are my ’Selfless Warriors.’ Enjoy!