The tragic and avoidable death of a little girl led to a murder conviction this week for her father and a child- cruelty conviction for her mother, and swingeing criticism of a family court judge.
Little Ellie Butler, 30 Dec 2006, was handed over to her grandparents at ten weeks old after her father was charged with shaking her. He was convicted but that was quashed on appeal; and he then appealed to have his daughter returned. Against the advice of social services, police, her grandparents’ and indeed the child’s own wishes, the judge ignored Ben Butler’s previous violent and criminal history, and sent her back into the home where she was killed 11 months later. The judge said the father had been the victim of a miscarriage of justice which effectively prevented social services from interfering thereafter.
Ellie was a Sun Capricorn with a Taurus Moon; with an afflicted Saturn opposition Neptune and trine Mars Pluto in Sagittarius. Her ‘victim’ 12th Harmonic is equally stark with Mars square Saturn Venus, trine Pluto; and a hugely disruptive Uranus opposition Pluto square Mercury opposition North Node.
Justice Mary Hogg, 15 Jan 1947, the judge, is the daughter of the late Quintin Hogg, Lord Hailsham, formerly Lord Chancellor as was his father before him; and sister of Viscount Hailsham (former MP Douglas Hogg). So an impeccable pedigree if totally lacking in sense in this case. She resigned last week before the trial began.
She is also a Sun Capricorn though in her case conjunct a go-ahead Mars Mercury and sextile Jupiter in Scorpio so ambitious and moneyed. She also has the Saturn Pluto in Leo of that year natally square a Scorpio Moon. Saturn Pluto has moved by Solar Arc to square her natal Mars exactly this year; with tr Uranus square her Mars Sun. So a crushing end to her career though no apology has been forthcoming and the judiciary did not take part in the subsequent serious case review.
Poor little child.