'Justice for Quinn' supporters rally outside courthouse for Trent Butt's 1st appearance

Trent Butt, the man accused of killing his five-year-old daughter, Quinn Butt, made his first appearance in provincial court Wednesday, while people outside the Harbour Grace court held signs remembering the girl.

• Father charged with murder after body of girl, 5, pulled from Carbonear house fire
• Tragedy in Carbonear: Tributes pouring in for Quinn Butt

Police allege Butt, 37, killed his daughter Quinn and then set fire to his home on Hayden Heights in Carbonear on April 24.

Butt appeared in the Harbour Grace court room via video link from Her Majesty's Penitentiary in St. John's Wednesday morning.

Members of Quinn Butt's family packed the gallery, some holding signs remembering the little girl.

Meanwhile, other supporters rallied outside the courthouse, brandishing signs in pink and purple — Quinn's favourite colours — calling for "Justice for Quinn" and an end to domestic violence.

The matter was quickly set over, with Butt set to appear in court again June 17.

'Very emotional case, obviously'

Trent Butt in court

9 years ago

Duration 1:07

Trent Butt's lawyer, Mike King, speaks to reporters after his court appearance.

Butt's lawyer, Mike King, said his priority is to ensure his client receives a fair trial.

"It's a very emotional case, obviously. I understand how the public feels — it's a tragedy," said King.

"Having said that, Mr. Butt, like every other person charged with an offence, is innocent until proven guilty. My role is to ensure he receives a fair trial and he's treated fairly by the justice system."

When asked by reporters what his client's condition was, King said he would "rather not get into specifics about Mr. Butt or his condition."

Everybody's really emotional and we just want justice, and we are very impatient for it.- Cindy Cranford

However, people who gathered outside the courthouse holding signs for Quinn Butt weren't happy with what they were hearing.

"Treated fairly? I don't think anyone was treated fairly before and now he's gonna be treated fairly? This is disgusting," said Robin Slade.

Quinn supporters

9 years ago

Duration 1:27

The CBC's Terry Roberts spoke to protesters outside the courthouse in Harbour Grace Wednesday.

"We're hurt — we're more than hurt. It's unreal, to think that his lawyer is going to stand in front of us and say he's going to be treated fairly."

Meanwhile, Cindy Cranford, who was holding a sign of support for Quinn and her family, said everyone deserves to be treated fairly, but this is a sensitive case for many people.

"In this situation, everybody's really emotional and we just want justice, and we are very impatient for it because there's so many system failures and if it wasn't for a failure of this system, we wouldn't all be here today," said Cranford.

According to Cranford, the tragedy could have been avoided if Quinn and her mother were treated fairly.

"If there was a fair system, he would never had had unsupervised visits with her and he would never have gotten the chance to do this to her," said Cranford.

"We are disappointed, we're really upset, and we can only hope that justice will be done."