Preliminary inquiry begins for Trent Butt, accused of killing daughter

The courtroom in Harbour Grace was packed Thursday morning for the start of the preliminary inquiry to determine if Trent Butt will stand trial for allegedly killing his five year-old daughter last April in Carbonear.

Quinn Butt's body was found in her father's home at 12 Hayden Heights on April 24, 2016 when firefighters responded to a report that the house was ablaze.

It's alleged that Trent Butt, 38, murdered his daughter before setting fire to the house. He is also charged with arson. 

The police have not said what actually killed Quinn Butt.

Since Butt was charged, people have come out to the courthouse in Harbour Grace to support Quinn Butt's mother, Andrea Gosse, and to protest violence against women and children.

'Too much. It needs to stop'

Linda Dwyer has been coming out since the start. "We are here to stand up for justice more than anything and for awareness of what happened to Quinn Butt. It's not only Quinn Butt. There's Zachary Turner, and a lot of other children. It's too much. It needs to stop."

Carolann Lynch is another supporter. "For Quinn, who isn't her to speak for herself, and to show that everybody's behind the family."

Quinn Butt's great-grandmother, Mamie Yetman, was also in court Thursday. Yetman said Quinn's mother is doing okay, given everything she has been through. 

"She'll be all right," said Yetman. "She got a lot of family. That's the main thing."

"I hope the family gets everything resolved, to a somewhat normal life," she said. "Which they might never have [again]. Just a normal life."

The preliminary inquiry is set for two weeks, and what is presented to court cannot be reported.

If Butt is ordered to stand trial, it won't happen soon. Murder trials take place in Supreme Court. Harbour Grace only has a provincial court. 

The docket at Supreme Court in St. John's is so blocked, the trial wouldn't likely begin before February 2018, at the earliest.

This week, Carbonear town council voted to demolish Butt's house. 

"As it stands there right now, it's a constant reminder of the tragedy that happened on that night," said Mayor George Butt Jr., who is not related to Trent Butt.

• Fire-ravaged home where Quinn Butt's body found causing neighbours angst