Jennie Gray was convicted after admitting previously to perverting the course of justice over a ‘cover-up’ to protect the six-year-old’s father, Ben Butler after her murdered Ellie
The mother of a six-year-old girl who was murdered by her father has lost a Court of Appeal bid to challenge her convictions.
Jennie Gray was convicted of child cruelty and perverting the course of justice after a ‘cover-up’ to protect her partner Ben Butler in 2013.
Butler was convicted of murder of Ellie in June 2016 following a trial at the Old Bailey and jailed for life with a minimum term of 23 years.
Gray, 38, was sentenced to 42 months in prison.
She applied to the Court of Appeal for permission to bring challenges in relation to both child cruelty and perverting the course of justice. But her bid was rejected on Friday morning.
In 2016, the pair were found guilty of child cruelty for leaving the child with an untreated shoulder fracture shortly before she was murdered.
Ellie suffered ‘catastrophic’ head injuries at the family home in Sutton, South London, in 2013.
Her death came 11 months after she was returned to her parents following a custody battle.
The six-year-old was cared for by her grandparents, Neal and Linda Gray, for the majority of her life.
Gray was convicted of child cruelty and perverting the course of justice after a ‘cover-up’ to protect her partner Ben Butler, who murdered his daughter Ellie. Ellie suffered ‘catastrophic’ head injuries at the family home in Sutton, South London, in 2013
She was returned to her parents in November 2012 after Butler’s conviction for violently shaking her as a baby was quashed.
Her grandfather Neal Gray, who has severed all contact with his daughter, said he was ‘very upset’ that she had decided to apply for leave to appeal to overturn her conviction.
Butler was accused of beating Ellie to death during a violent rage while he was home alone with her.
Her death came 11 months after she was returned to her parents following a custody battle. The six-year-old was cared for by her grandparents, Neal and Linda Gray, for the majority of her life
Gray pleaded guilty to perverting the course of justice after admitting to attempting to make it appear that her daughter had died two hours later than she actually did.
The parents claimed the death was the result of an accident.
Gray (left) was sentenced to 42 months in prison while her partner Butler (top) received a minimum sentence of 23 years for Ellie Gray’s (bottom right) murder
Butler’s defence was that Ellie may had fallen while jumping on her bed while imitating cartoon character Peppa Pig.
The parents have both appeared twice via video link from prison at inquest hearings into Ellie’s death.
Linda Dobbs, the retired high court judge presiding over the inquest, said the hearing would be article 2-compliant, which means the role of the state in Ellie’s death would be examined.
‘Were there failures on the part of the authorities, agencies and individuals to protect Ellie’s life and prevent her death?’ said Dobbs. The full inquest is due to begin on 12 March.