A twisted killer who murdered a mum and tot and buried them beneath his kitchen floor has launched a bid for freedom.
Andrew Innes 52, struck Bennylyn Burke, 25 over the head with a hammer before striking her with a sword and burying her at his home on Troon Avenue, Dundee, on February 21, 2021.
Two days later, the predator strangled little Jellica Burke, two, and buried her next to her mum.
He denied two counts of murder, two counts of sexual assault and one count of misleading police who were looking for Bennylyn and Jellica after they had been reported missing from their home in Bristol.
Following a five-day trial at the High Court in Edinburgh that ended on February 6, a jury found Innes guilty on all counts after deliberating for less than three hours.
Intend to appeal
The same day, Lord Beckett jailed Innes for life and ruled he must serve at least 36 years before applying for parole – the second-longest sentence in Scottish legal history.
However, Innes’s legal team have now told the court they intend to appeal against the conviction and the sentence.
They now have just over two months to lodge that appeal and state the reason for their move.
The court will then decide if there are sufficient grounds for an appeal hearing, which would then take place before three judges.
A Scottish Court Service spokesman said: “The court has confirmed a notice of intention to appeal against conviction and sentence was lodged on February 17.
“Currently any note of appeal should be lodged by April 14.”
Relationship broke down
During the trial, the court heard how Bristol man Lexington Burke met Bennylyn online in 2017.
He met her in the Philippines and they got married.
The couple had a daughter, Jellica, who moved to the UK with Bennylyn and they initially lived in Bristol with Lexington.
However, the relationship broke down and Bennylyn and Jellica moved into temporary accommodation towards the end of 2020.
She began talking online with Andrew Innes, who drove from Dundee to Bristol to meet Bennylyn in February 2021 – despite strict Covid-19 lockdown restrictions making such a journey illegal.
Innes told her he would give her a job and accommodation – but Bennylyn took no clothes with her and wanted to return to Bristol.
A fit of rage
Around about February 21, 2021, Innes murdered Bennylyn and then killed Jellica several days later.
He told the court Bennylyn reminded her of a “hybrid” of his estranged wife who had left him and another partner who had dumped him by text message and so he flew into a fit of rage.
Innes’s lawyers tried to blame ‘drug induced psychosis’ for the killings because Innes had been prescribed steroids to treat his Crohn’s disease.
However, during the trial, a medical expert called by the defence – the only witness they called to the stand – said it was extremely unlikely that steroids could have been to blame.
After the case, Bennylyn’s family spoke to The Courier exclusively about their pain at losing two members of their family.
They revealed they had written to the judge to demand the longest-possible sentence for Innes.
With the support of Bennylyn’s family, The Courier has compiled a detailed series tracking why Bennylyn came to the UK, how she met Innes and how he committed his evil crimes.
You can read our articles below:
