Ben Butler guilty of murdering six-year-old daughter Ellie in violent rage

'Pure evil' father inflicted horrific head injuries on his young daughter and then attempted an elaborate cover-up with his partner

Ellie Butler suffered head injuries normally found in road crash victims (REX Features)

Ben Butler has been found guilty of murdering his six-year-old daughter Ellie in a violent rage in 2013, 11 months after he won her back in a high-profile custody battle.

A trial at the Old Bailey heard how the 36-year-old inflicted horrific head injuries on his daughter during a sudden loss of temper while he was looking after her and her younger sibling.

Butler, who faces life in jail, was described as "pure evil" by a former partner whose witness statement was not read to the jury, but can now be reported.

And it can now be revealed that in 2014, a High Court judge had already ruled that Butler killed Ellie during a hearing to consider the future of the younger child.

After the verdict was given in court on Tuesday, Butler shouted angrily that he "wants to be sentenced now". "There is no need [to adjourn]," he said. "Sentence me now so I can fight in the appeal court and prove this wrong. I will fight forever to prove this wrong."

The court is expected to return for sentencing later on Tuesday afternoon.

Butler's partner Jennie Gray, also 36, was convicted of child cruelty. She had already admitted perverting the court of justice. In court, she muttered "big mistake, big mistake, big mistake" as Butler's murder ruling was given.

The trial heard how Butler battered his daughter to death in a momentary but volcanic loss of temper.

On October 28 2013, the father inflicted catastrophic head injuries on Ellie and then shut the door on her as she lay dead or dying on the floor of her bedroom, the court heard.

Butler claimed Ellie cracked her skull by tripping on the stairs while playing with the puppy more than two weeks before her death.

But medical experts for the prosecution said she had at least one blunt force impact from being thrown against a wall or struck with a heavy blunt weapon.

Her severe head injuries were compared to those of a high-speed road crash victim.

Butler put off dialling 999 for two hours and instead summoned Gray back from work in the City of London.

The pair concocted an elaborate plot to destroy evidence and stage the scene of an accidental fall before alerting the ambulance service.

In the chaotic call, former EastEnders actress Gray screamed and shouted at the operator and carried out CPR, despite knowing her daughter was dead.

The couple even involved Ellie's younger sibling by sending the child into her room on the pretext of fetching her for cake, jurors were told. The child can be heard on the 999 call saying Ellie "won't wake up".

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.

Additional reporting by PA