Dad accused of murdering daughter said he 'shut the door and went to lie on the floor' after finding body
A father accused of murdering his six-year-old daughter said he closed her bedroom door and went to lie down after finding her lifeless body.
Ben Butler, 36, is on trial at the Old Bailey accused of murdering Ellie at their home in October 2013.
Today Butler gave evidence as to what happened on the day of Ellie's death and spoke about the moment he found her dead on the floor.
He said: "I walked in. I look down on the floor and there was Ellie.
"She was on her back. They (her eyes) were open and her eyes were big, her pupils were big.
"I am so sorry that I let you down, it just took all my breath away from my body. I didn't expect to see that."
Butler went on to describe what he did in the moments after finding Ellie on the floor.
He added: "I dropped on my knees and I couldn't move. I couldn't breath properly.
"I didn't help the way I should have helped. I tried to help, I tried to shake her and she wouldn't wake."
Asked by his defence barrister QC Icah Peart what he did next, Butler replied: "I just walked out the door. I shut the door behind me. I was in shock. The only way to describe it is like a car accident when everything goes slow.
"I had to go downstairs and lie on the floor.
"It took me a while to get up from the floor. I tried desperately hard to erase that memory so it is not easy for me but at some point I contacted Jennie."
The court heard how Butler claimed not to tell Jennie what had happened until she got home.
He added: "I suffer from anxiety and I wasn't thinking straight. If I had told Jennie she would have told me to call an ambulance and I just didn't."
Mr Peart asked: "What did you do?"
Elizabeth Cook/PA
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