Mylee Billingham's father guilty of murdering her in stab attack
A father who stabbed his eight-year-old daughter through the chest in an apparent act of revenge against his ex-partner has been found guilty of murder.
William Billingham, aged 55, used a kitchen knife to kill Mylee Billingham after dragging her by the coat into his bungalow - moments after holding the blade to the neck of her mother, Tracey Taundry.
A trial at Birmingham Crown Court heard how Ms Taundry dialled 999 from outside Billingham's house in Brownhills telling operators to hurry as Mylee was screaming "stop it daddy".
Jurors deliberated for just over an hour before unanimously convicting Billingham of murder and a separate charge of making a threat to kill 34-year-old Ms Taundry.
He will be sentenced tomorrow.
The unemployed factory worker opted not to give evidence, claiming he had no memory of stabbing Mylee through the chest, and was guilty of the lesser offence of manslaughter due to depression.
But prosecutors argued that Billingham "turned his anger" on Mylee to spite Ms Taundry after she began a same-sex relationship.
The guilty verdict on the murder charge led to a restrained cry of "yes" from the public gallery, where members of Mylee's family, including her mother, were sitting.
After the foreman returned the verdicts, the jury were informed by the judge that Billingham underwent an operation part-way through the trial after injuring his wrists while on remand.
The jurors were earlier told to ignore bandages covering Billingham's lower arms - after he missed three days of his trial due to a stay in hospital.
The father-of-six underwent surgery after the apparent attempt to end his own life on September 21.
Adjourning sentence in the case until tomorrow, Judge Paul Farrer QC thanked those sitting in the public gallery for their calmness during the nine-day trial.
The judge said: "Can I thank the public for the calm and dignified way in which you have all conducted yourselves at all stages of this trial."
Billingham, who faces a mandatory life sentence, stared at the floor in the dock and showed no obvious emotion after he was convicted.
A town in mourning for Mylee
Mylee's death rocked the community with dozens of pink ribbons placed around Brownhills in the aftermath.
Many appeared near St James Church and on lamp posts and among floral tributes outside the home in Valley View.
The church itself was opened for a day of reflection to allow people to light candles to remember Mylee.
Dozens of people lined the streets to bid a final farewell to the tragic schoolgirl ahead of her funeral in April.
Her mother Tracey carried a doll and a piece of Swiss roll, which was Mylee's favourite cake, after leaving the funeral service.
Mourners were invited to wear bright clothing in memory of the eight-year-old.
Her mother asked, instead of the traditional black attire, people should wear ‘all things bright and beautiful just as she was’.
Background from the trial
Prosecutors argued that Billingham "turned his anger" on Mylee to spite Ms Taundry after she began a same-sex relationship.
Opening the case at the start of the trial, prosecutor Karim Khalil QC said of the killing: "It was swift, deliberate, clinical, brutal. It was not some manic unfocused assault.
"This was no accident and it was not a slight injury - it was a deep, violent thrust of a lethal weapon into the most vulnerable part of his young daughter's body."
Billingham claimed, during the trial, that he 'did everything' with best friend Mylee during an assessment with a defence psychiatrist.
It came six months after he was charged with murdering the school girl.
Giving evidence during the murder trial, Dr Nuwan Galappathie told Birmingham Crown Court Billingham had said his relationship with Mylee was 'fantastic'.
Billingham told the medic: "Mylee was a best friend. We did everything together - watched TV, played games, puzzles, football. She played for the school, I took her to dance and football matches. She liked to be outside."
The jury was shown CCTV footage of young Mylee buying a treat from a shop with her father just hours before he killed her.
WATCH the CCTV footage:
Jurors were shown the footage from the Costcutter shop, which shows a jubilant eight-year-old running and picking up a treat after her father gave her the ok to buy something.
As the video was shown to the jury, the defendant opted not to look, slumping forward in the dock and shielding his eyes
The pair entered the shop, near Billingham’s home, at 6.53pm.
Just over two hours later police arrived at his house to find a lifeless Mylee lying face up, grey in pallor, and covered in blood.
On body camera footage shown to the court, Pc Stacey Banbury is heard to gasp as she comes across the bodies after finding the front door key inside the letterbox and letting her self in.
The officer wept in the witness box as she recalled dragging Billingham’s body away to reveal a bloodied Mylee.
While a colleague tried to resuscitate the youngster, she dragged Billingham into the living room and could feel him resisting her.
“His eyes were flickering. Every so often he opened his eyes and looked at me but when he saw I was looking, he would close them again. He wasn’t trying to assist in any way,” she said.
