Girl, eight, cried ‘stop it daddy’ – murder trial told

THE MOTHER of an eight-yearold girl has told a murder trial how the youngster shouted “stop it daddy” moments before she was dragged into her father’s bungalow and stabbed to death.

Tracey Taundry told jurors her ex-partner William Billingham first held a knife to her throat and then took hold of their daughter by the coat as she called out for her mother.

Billingham, of Valley View, Brownhills, near Walsall, denies murdering daughter Mylee at his home and making a threat to kill Miss Taundry as she arrived to collect the primary school pupil.

On the second day of a trial at Birmingham Crown Court, Miss Taundry told how she slipped as Mylee was “grabbed” by Billingham on the night of Saturday, January 20, this year.

Giving evidence to the 55-yearold’s trial, Miss Taundry said she heard a “tink” near Billingham’s front doorstep and then spotted a knife as she waited for Mylee to fetch a bag.

Miss Taundry told the jury: “He said ‘I’m going to kill you’. He had a knife to my neck. I started running backwards, away from the house... I slipped.”

Asked where Mylee was at the time she slipped, Miss Taundry, who could be heard sobbing behind a screen shielding the witness box, added: “She was standing on the drain outside the front door, just to the side. She was crying, she was upset and she was shouting ‘mummy, stop it daddy... mummy’. He walked towards her, grabbed her by the hood and dragged her back in the door.”

Miss Taundry said the front door was then slammed shut, leaving her unable to enter the house. She could then hear Mylee saying “mummy, mummy” inside the property, but did not hear Billingham say anything.

Prosecutor Karim Khalil QC asked Miss Taundry: “Are you able to give any sense of how long it was after she went into the house before you stopped hearing her voice?” Miss Taundry replied: “Seconds.”

The grieving mother’s evidence followed the close of the prosecution’s opening speech, during which Mr Khalil claimed Billingham, a father-of-six, had only made comments about his own welfare as police tried to revive his daughter.

Police gained entry to the property quickly, the trial was told, where they were confronted with a “terrible” scene.

The trial continues.