Troon Avenue killer Andrew Innes has been convicted of murdering Bennylyn Burke and her two-year-old daughter Jellica.
He was also found guilty of raping a primary school-age girl police rescued from his house.
Here we look at how the tragedy unfolded and using a 3D model detail the final moments of Bennylyn and Jellica’s lives.
Early February 2021
Andrew Innes uses internet dating site Filipino Cupids to find a “new lifetime partner”.
He said his type is “ultra-feminine” and petite with long black hair.
Using a “scraper” tool to target specific women – and categorise them on a spreadsheet – he pays for the premium version of the website so he can contact Bennylyn Burke.
He arranges to meet her in her home town of Bristol.
She offers to meet for coffee but he, in his words, “upsells” to a picnic.
Wednesday, February 17
Innes takes a double dose of his steroid medication to prepare for the 16-hour round trip to Bristol.
He packs an overnight bag but intends to drive back in the small hours.
The weather is awful so they picnic inside her flat.
He wants to visit the Clifton Suspension Bridge before he drives home.
Innes said Mrs Burke asked to come with him.
He suggests this is a “once in a blue moon opportunity” for her to visit him in Dundee.
Thursday, February 18
Innes drives Mrs Burke and her daughter Jellica to his home in Troon Avenue.
They set off at 12.33pm arrive at 8.42pm.
Innes says he can’t remember what they did that day.
Friday, February 19
The weather is “dreadful” so instead of exploring the local area, Innes, Mrs Burke and Jellica spend the day inside the house watching TV.
In Bristol, Mrs Burke’s estranged husband and father of Jellica, Lexington Burke becomes concerned about his wife’s whereabouts.
They are not around for an pre-arranged meet-up.
He calls police after he is contacted by local social workers who are equally concerned.
Saturday, February 20
They spend the day sight-seeing.
Innes takes Mrs Burke and Jellica to Camperdown Park, up Dundee Law and to the V&A, although it is closed because of Covid-19.
He also shows them the “cartoon characters” in the city centre.
Innes picks up his prescription of Prednisolone at a local pharmacist.
He claims to have planned to drive Mrs Burke and Jellica back to Bristol the next day, in time for school.
Sunday, February 21
After taking a double dose of his steroid medication, Innes stays up through the night and busies himself with household chores.
In the morning, he sets off to buy petrol but drives to B&Q in Dundee’s King’s Cross Road.
In his evidence, he could not say why he went to the DIY store but he was captured on CCTV buying a hammer.
Innes is embarrassed he went out for petrol but came back with a hammer…
…so he “hides” it from Mrs Burke, who is in the kitchen preparing for the journey home.
Another child is in the house, playing with Jellica.
Innes claims he thinks Mrs Burke – standing by the kitchen sink – has turned into a hybrid of his wife and a woman who had dumped him in the “most horrible way”.
In an “apocalyptic” rage, he smashes Mrs Burke over the head with the hammer.
He decides it makes for too unwieldy a weapon so goes to his office to grab a Samurai sword.
He stabs her with it. The blade punctures her lung.
He remembers beating her as she lay on his living room floor “until she stopped moving”.
The killing is witnessed by the other child who the trial also hears say Jellica went missing in a game of hide and seek.
Innes carries Mrs Burke’s body upstairs.
He intends to put her in the bath but he is forced to drop her on the landing.
Tuesday or Wednesday, February 23/24
Innes said he killed Jellica about two or three days after he killed Mrs Burke.
In court, he did not explain how he asphyxiated her.
“It seemed like the logical thing to do,” he said.
Innes never revealed in court how he killed her.
Friday, March 5
Police Constables Gavin Burns and Rhianne Brogan arrived at Innes’ home as part of a missing persons inquiry for Avon and Somerset Police.
In the search for missing Bennylyn Burke, officers found only one car had travelled from Bristol to Dundee around the time of her disappearance – Innes’ Renault Scenic.
Innes initially tells police he drove Mrs Burke to Glasgow and dropped her at a roadside cafe in Cumbernauld, leaving her and Jellica in the company of an unknown white man.
When officers become suspicious, Innes confesses: “She’s under the kitchen floor.”
He is arrested and the house is sealed off.
Monday, March 8
Innes appears on petition at Dundee Sheriff Court, accused of murdering Mrs Burke and her daughter.
He makes no plea and is remanded in custody.
Thursday, March 11
Police begin the excavation of Andrew Innes’s kitchen.
He has already told them they are “three of four feet down”.
Detective Inspector Scott Carswell said specialists were brought in “to recover the bodies in a dignified manner.”
Police riot shields are used to protect the bodies while a large piece of concrete is removed from the ground.
Thursday, March 18
After seven days of digging through two layers of concrete and soil, officers recover the bodies of Mrs Burke and her daughter.
They have been wrapped in black rubble bags.
Wednesday, March 31
Both bodies are formally identified.
Monday, September 27
Andrew Innes appears via video link for a pre-trial hearing at Glasgow High Court.
The court appoints a solicitor after his application for legal aid is rejected.
A trial is set at a follow-up preliminary hearing.
January 31 – February 6 2023
The trial begins with the jury hearing Innes’ admission he killed Mrs Burke and Jellica but denies murdering them through diminished responsibility.
He also denies rape and attempting to defeat the ends of justice.
After five days of harrowing evidence, he is found guilty of the double murder and raping the other youngster.
He leaves the High Court after being handed the mandatory life sentence, with an order he serve at least 36 years behind bars.
Credits
Words by Jamie Buchan
3D model by Emma Morrice
Videos by Callum Main
Scrollytelling by Lesley-Anne Kelly
Lead graphic by Gemma Day
