Ellie Butler murder trial to hear evidence from mother

The trial of the father accused of killing six-year-old Ellie Butler in a fit of anger will hear evidence from the little girl's mother later.

Graphic designer Jennie Gray, 36, was at work in the City of London when her partner Ben Butler allegedly attacked the little girl, causing catastrophic head injuries.

Jobless Butler, 36, urgently called her home to Sutton, south-west London, on the afternoon of October 28 2013 but waited two hours before calling 999, the Old Bailey has heard.

In that time, the couple had allegedly destroyed evidence in an attempt to cover up the circumstances of Ellie's death, the court has heard.

Gray has admitted perverting the course of justice but denied child cruelty by failing to get treatment for a broken shoulder Ellie suffered weeks before.

Jurors have been told how Butler was convicted of shaking Ellie when she was a baby but cleared on appeal.

The couple won custody of their daughter in November 2012, 11 months before she died.

The prosecution have cited a stream of abusive text messages Butler sent to Gray in the months before the killing, portraying him as a violent man, constantly on the brink of losing his temper.

Butler has denied murdering Ellie and child cruelty, saying she must have suffered a head injury when she fell on the stairs while playing with new Jack Russell puppy Minnie, two weeks before she died.