Who is Ben Butler?
Ben Butler was 33 at the time Ellie's death.
In court he was described as an 'angry, self-centred, violent man who was also domineering and had a short fuse'.
His previous convictions throw a spotlight on his character.
In April 2004 he was convicted of assault. Butler admitted the offence and in explanation told the court he had believed the man he attacked had previously punched his friend and was about to attack him. He said he pleaded guilty on the basis of "excessive force".
August 8 2005 - Common assault. Butler pleaded guilty
November 10 2005. Actual Bodily Harm, given a police caution.
2006 - Number of convictions for attempted robbery, intimidation of a witness and assault. He served time in prison having been sentenced to three years for the attempted robbery.
On June 24 2010 - Conviction for battery. Butler again pleaded guilty. He had taken his jacket off and punched the victim in the mouth as they stood in a kebab shop. Butler claimed he did it in retaliation because he believed the victim had "touched up" Jennie Gray
Both the 2005 cases relate to his former girlfriend Hannah Hillman. By Nov 2005, the pair had broken up but agreed to meet to discuss their relationship.
Miss Hillman describes Butler sitting at the bar of a pub with a "look in his eyes. She went on, " It was almost like he would 'foam at the mouth'
Butler would often try to use his ' cheeky-chappy, cockney persona' to try and charm the jury.
Defendants are often shy and nervous when they give evidence in their own defence but not Butler. He walked across the court confidently and would give long, rambling answers to questions. He would swear and then apologise telling the jury it was because he was 'being persecuted by the legal system' doing his best to elicit their sympathy.
Butler, who wore a grey suit and pink shirt when he took the stand would also interrupt his own counsel and the judge with shouts of "I am going to have my say. I've not finished!".
On one occassion Butler lost his temper as a pathologist gave evidence about Ellie's head injury. He stood up in the glass-panelled dock and shouted at the medic accusing him of 'helping to have Ellie cremated so he could 'hide evidence'. Butler then stormed out of the dock and down the staris to the cells.
Born in Carshalton, Butler moved to Cambridgeshire with his mother and stepfather aged two or three.
He grew up believing his stepfather was his real dad and did not find out the truth until he was in his teens. He described his now divorced parents' relationship as 'volatile'.
Butler later returned to school in Carshalton, leaving with 'not so good' grades in his GCSEs.
He worked selling car parts for Audi and VW before working a number of unskilled jobs.
Butler descibed to the jury how he met Gray in March 2007 when he was out drinking at a club in Sutton. He made it clear that Gray had pursued him! The pair had a casual relationship before she fell pregnant about 8 weeks later.
When Gray became the main bread winner of the family working as a graphic designer, Butler turned into a 'resentful stay at home father'. The couples relationship was described as 'dysfunctional and toxic".
Butler blamed his partner for any difficulties which arose, be it real or imagined. The jury were given several examples of his anger boiling over and his inability to cope with the children.
A note written by Jennie Gray about her lover before the birth of their second child read,
'Please don't let Ben leave me but make him learn to like me. Stop violence and make him WANT ME and be there at the birth if I have a baby boy.'
Text messages were also read out in court in which Butler called Gray a 'dog', 'fat loser' and an 'ugly b****' and warned her to 'Stay out my way.'
In one exchange, Butler warned:
'ur done..ur loud voice upstairs. I've lost it proper, get to sleep ur mother scum, f*** off now.'
In another, he said: 'Take Ellie walk streets u ain't coming here..il maim u b****.'
He became so angry on another occasion that he locked Gray out of their flat overnight,
In a chilling video recorded by accident by Butler on his mobile phone, Ellie is standing just yards away as he launches a foul mouthed tirade at the person on the other end of the line yelling " F... O.."
Butler was a man on the very end of his tether, with a short fuse. In the end his anger boiled over with devastating consequences and rather than face the consequences of his actions he tried his best to cover up his crime.
The jury saw through his web of lies and deceit and tonight the man who thought he could out-wit the legal system is behind bars.