Ellie Butler’s grandfather rages at those who let her down and asks ‘where did it go wrong’
Six-year-old was brutally murdered by 'pure evil' dad Ben Butler
ELLIE Butler's devoted grandfather has said he and his wife repeatedly asked themselves "how did we have a daughter so evil?".
In an emotional interview Neal Gray said he and wife Linda, who died on the first day of the murder trial, repeatedly asked themselves how their daughter Jennie Gray, 36, could have stood by while her partner killed the six-year-old.
He told the: "Lin and I soul-searched for years. Even in the last days, my wife was saying: 'Where has it gone wrong? Where have we gone wrong? How have we produced a child who can be so evil as to stand by and see her partner kill her own child?'”
Little Ellie was brutally killed by her “pure evil” dad Ben Butler, 36, after he flew into a fit of rage.
In June Butler was jailed for 23 years while her mum Jennie was convicted of child cruelty and handed a 42-month sentence.
Mr Gray, 71, has disowned Jennie, the youngest of his three children, as did his wife.
The couple also have a son Jamie, 41, an electrical engineer, and daughter Julie, 40, an archaeologist who he said "never gave us a day's trouble".
He told the Daily Mail: ‘They were all brought up the same, all given the same. We were as proud as punch of them. But somewhere, Jennie took the wrong road and mixed with the wrong crowd."
Mr Gray and his wife cared for Ellie, six, after jobless Butler was accused of shaking her as a baby.
Letters revealed to the jury show how Jennie criticised her daughter’s behaviour in a 10-point list which included “lying, not doing as she’s told and acting like a child prior to her years”.
When asked what he thinks of his daughter while appearing on This Morning in June, Mr Gray replied: “I hate her.
“I hate her for everything she has done. She has destroyed a life.
“She has destroyed many lives. My wife died on the 19th April this year, the day the court case started.
“Well I think if all this stress hadn’t been brought on, with the trial, my wife might still be here.”
Mr Gray, 71, is fighting to reopen the inquest into his his granddaughter's death in the hope of getting answers as to why she was released back into her parent's care.
Last month Mr Gray told the Daily Mail he picked up a picture of his wife and told her: "I’m going to see Miss Lynch today. She’s a nice lady. I think she’s going to make things right. You look after Ellie and tell her we haven’t stopped fighting for her. I miss you both very much."
He then travelled to Croydon Coroner's Court for a hearing in front of Selena Lynch, senior coroner for south east London, who will determine if the inquest into Ellie's death should be reopened.
Mr Gray has been calling for a public inquiry into Ellie's death.
He said he wants everything "open and above board" after being forced to hand her back to her parents 11 months before her death.
Speaking about his granddaughter Mr Gray recalled: “She was one unique little girl that gave so much happiness.
“She used to say ‘nanna, don’t let them take me away’.
“He (Butler) was just one nasty person.”
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Mr Gray said he last saw Ellie during a 30-minute visit at a McDonald's in Sutton, south London, the day before she died.
He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "She wasn't the Ellie we knew. She had bruises on her forehead and her face and scratches, her hair was all bedraggled, she had odd shoes, odd socks, clothes and she looked as though she'd been dragged through the back of a hedgerow."
Mr Gray said Ellie hadn't resisted returning with her parents, but added: "You could see her eyes were sunk in and there was sadness in her eyes."
He said: "Now the court case is over I hope to pursue a judicial review or an article 2 inquiry.
"In layman's terms, a public inquiry surrounding this case to find out why the judiciary didn't do their job correctly, why the social services failed Ellie - especially the private side.
"I want it all open and above board, and I want everybody to answer because everybody failed Ellie completely and utterly."
Mr Gray had warned the family judge who returned her to the care of her abusive dad she would have “blood on his hands”.
He made the chilling prediction in court as his granddaughter was removed from his care after spending thousands of pounds battling to keep her in their care.
Mrs Justice Hogg, 69, gushed it was a “happy end” after returning custody of Ellie and her younger sibling to their parents, and in an extremely unusual move made her full judgement public.
She added: “It is a joy for me to oversee the return of a child to her parents.”
But within a year of returning to the "house of horrors" Ellie would be killed by her dad.
Ellie died after suffering a string of injuries, including a broken shoulder, during months of physical abuse at her father's hands.
Butler's convictions for attacking Ellie as a baby were quashed on 17 June 2010 as new medical evidence called into question whether a jury could be sure of Butler's guilt beyond all reasonable doubt.
As the pair were sentenced in June, Jennie cried out “we’ll be back” as they vowed to prove their innocence.
They held hands, looked each other in the eyes and exchanged their final words before the jury of eight women and four men returned their verdicts after two days of deliberations.
During the trial it emerged Jennie had faked a 999 call for help after finding her daughter’s lifeless body at their home in Sutton.
The haunting call was made up to two hours after Ellie’s death – and acted out by the parents who knew their daughter was dead.
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