Father told 999 his daughter had 'fallen' two hours after 'beating her to death in fit of rage'
Ben Butler, 36, is accused of beating his six-year-old daughter Ellie (pictured) to death at their home in Sutton, south London (Picture: REX)
A father accused of battering his six-year-old daughter to death rang 999 two hours after she had died and told them she had ‘fallen’, a court has heard. 
When emergency services arrived at the home of Ben Butler and Jennie Gray, they found Ellie Butler in her pink pyjamas lying on the floor, with Peppa Pig still playing in the background.
Her head had been smashed in.
Mandatory Credit: Photo by David Crump/REX/Shutterstock (3467346a) Picture Shows Ben Butler And His Daughter Ellie / Ellie Butler Has Died At Her Home In Sutton South London. Her Father Has Been Arrested And The Death Is Being Treated As 'unexplained. Picture Shows Ben Butler And His Daughter Ellie / Ellie Butler Has Died At Her Home In Sutton South London. Her Father Has Been Arrested And The Death Is Being Treated As 'unexplained.
Medics found Ellie unresponsive when they reached her home (Picture: REX)
Her parents, both 36, called 999 two hours after she was fatally hurt while home alone with her father and another child on October 28. 2013, a court has heard.
The prosecution has said a post-mortem examination ruled out an accidental fall and her death was put down to Butler either beating her over the head with a heavy object or throwing her against the floor or wall.
Butler, from Sutton, denies Ellie’s murder and both he and Gray have pleaded not guilty to child cruelty over an earlier shoulder injury.
FILE PHOTO - Ellie Butler's mother Jennie Gray. A dad "with a short fuse" murdered his six-year-old daughter before attempting to cover it up as a tragic accident with her mother, a court heard (Tues 19th). See National story NNDAD. Ben Butler, 36, caused "devastating" fractures to daughter Ellie's skull while he looked after her at the family home in Sutton, south London, the Old Bailey heard. It is then claimed he made calls to his partner Jennie Gray, 36, the girl's mum, before planning and carrying out a "carefully co-ordinated and elaborate cover-up". Butler denies murdering the child on October 28, 2013, and they both deny a child cruelty charge. But graphic designer Gray has admitted perverting the course of justice. Prosecutor Ed Brown QC told the jury: "Ellie was the daughter of Ben Butler and Jenny Gray, these defendants. "She died as a result of catastrophic head injuries. "Ellie was in Ben Butler's sole care in their home at the time the fatal injuries were inflicted. "Jennie Gray, Ellie's mother and the second defendant, was at work in central London at the time." "No-one else was in the house at the time except another child, who cannot be named for legal reasons, who the pair claimed alerted them to the "accident".
Ellie Butler’s mother admitted perverting the course of justice (Picture: NTI)
Gray has admitted perverting the course of justice by hiding or destroying evidence after she rushed home from work an hour before the 999 call.
She told an operator: ‘It’s my daughter, she’s not breathing.’

In the background, Butler could be heard saying Ellie has ‘fallen down’.
Once responders arrived, Ellie was found to be ‘very cold and blue’ with no heartbeat.
FILE PHOTO - Forensic police officers search bins at Shanklin Estate, Croydon,London - Re Ellie Butler murder. A dad "with a short fuse" murdered his six-year-old daughter before attempting to cover it up as a tragic accident with her mother, a court heard (Tues 19th). See National story NNDAD. Ben Butler, 36, caused "devastating" fractures to daughter Ellie's skull while he looked after her at the family home in Sutton, south London, the Old Bailey heard. It is then claimed he made calls to his partner Jennie Gray, 36, the girl's mum, before planning and carrying out a "carefully co-ordinated and elaborate cover-up". Butler denies murdering the child on October 28, 2013, and they both deny a child cruelty charge. But graphic designer Gray has admitted perverting the course of justice. Prosecutor Ed Brown QC told the jury: "Ellie was the daughter of Ben Butler and Jenny Gray, these defendants. "She died as a result of catastrophic head injuries. "Ellie was in Ben Butler's sole care in their home at the time the fatal injuries were inflicted. "Jennie Gray, Ellie's mother and the second defendant, was at work in central London at the time." "No-one else was in the house at the time except another child, who cannot be named for legal reasons, who the pair claimed alerted them to the "accident".
Forensic police officers search bins at the family home in Sutton following the incident on October 28. 2013 (Picture: NTI)
First responder Sarah Hardy told the court: ‘I asked again what had happened to her and I believe her dad said “I don’t know. I thought she was in her bedroom sleeping”‘.
More medics arrived and they continued to try to save Ellie but there was no response.
It was only when ambulance crew member Penny Robson looked at the back of Ellie’s head that she stumbled upon a ‘boggy mass’ at the back of it.

She also described seeing fluid coming from the child’s mouth or nose.
Earlier, the court heard from two neighbours who saw Butler outside the family house just 15 minutes before the emergency call.
Marion Cook said Gray later broke down and told her Ellie ‘fell off her bed and hit her head on a radiator.’
The trial continues.