A father accused of killing his six-year-old daughter stormed out of the dock today after 'losing' it while an expert was giving evidence.
Ben Butler, 36, is accused of battering his young daughter to death in a fit of rage three years ago.
At the Old Bailey this morning Butler shouted “How dare you?” as he accused a pathologist of cremating six-year-old Ellie Butler “behind our back”.
Mr Butler is on trial charged with the murder of his daughter Ellie Butler on October 28 2013 while she was at home with her mother and another child.
He and his partner, Jennie Gray, also 36, are jointly charged with child cruelty over a broken shoulder the little girl suffered weeks before her death which went untreated.
Butler and Gray both began shouting from the dock of Court Eight at the Old Bailey while hearing evidence from pathologist Dr Andreas Marnerides.
The outburst started when prosecutor Ed Brown QC asked him if Ellie's cremation was carried out in consultation with Butler's solicitors.
Butler shouted: "How dare you? You took samples and cremated her behind our back. You hid evidence. You hid evidence."
After he left the dock, his lawyer, Di Middleton, said: "I apologise on Mr Butler's behalf. It's a particularly sensitive subject. I can deal with it in the absence of the jury."
Trial judge Mr Justice Wilkie said: "He lost it for a reason you explained and absented himself.
"Are you content for him to be absent for the remainder of the evidence or do you want to wait for him to calm down?"
When Butler re-entered the dock, the judge told him he must try to "restrain" himself.
He said: "Mr Butler, I am perfectly happy for you to remain in court and I understand that some issues may be very sensitive for you, but you must try your best to restrain yourself."
Butler and Gray, of Sutton, south west London, deny the charges against them. Gray has previously admitted perverting the course of justice over an alleged cover-up in the wake of Ellie's death.
The trial continues.
Additional reporting by PA
