The trial of the father accused of murdering his six-year-old daughter in a fit of rage will hear evidence from the little girl's mother today.

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

Mr Butler, 36, urgently called his partner and asked to to return to their home in Westover Close, Belmont, on the afternoon of October 28 2013 but waited two hours before calling 999, the Old Bailey has heard.

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

Ms 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.

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Jurors have been told how Mr 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 Mr Butler sent to Ms Gray in the months before the killing, portraying him as a violent man, constantly on the brink of losing his temper.

Mr 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.