A Dundee app designer killed a woman and her two-year-old daughter before burying their bodies in concrete under his kitchen, a court has heard.
Andrew Innes stabbed 25-year-old Bennylyn Burke before bludgeoning her with a hammer.
He asphyxiated her little girl Jellica.
The 52-year-old has gone on trial accused of a double murder at his home in Troon Avenue in early 2021.
Jurors were told it was an established fact – agreed by both prosecutors and the defence – Innes was responsible for the deaths of Mrs Burke and her daughter.
The court heard he wrapped their bodies in rubble bags and buried them in concrete beneath his kitchen floor.
However, Innes denies murder, claiming a special defence of diminished responsibility.
He further denies attempting to defeat the ends of justice.
It is further alleged he sexually assaulted and raped another girl on various occasions during the same two-week period.
Innes, listed as a prisoner at Perth, denies all charges.
Stabbed and hit with hammer
On the first day of the trial at Edinburgh High Court, a joint minute of established facts was read out to the jury.
Junior prosecution counsel Frankie Morgan read from a statement of evidence which has been agreed between prosecutors and Innes’ legal team.
Mr Morgan said: “On an occasion between February 20 2021 and March 5 2021, both dates inclusive, at 21 Troon Avenue, Dundee, the accused stabbed Bennylyn Burke… on the body with a knife and repeatedly struck her on the head with the handle of said knife and a hammer and did thus cause her death.
“On an occasion between February 20 2021 and March 5 2021, both dates inclusive at 21 Troon Avenue, Dundee, the accused asphyxiated Jellica Burke… and did thus cause her death.
“Having killed Bennylyn Burke and Jellica Burke the accused wrapped a rubble bag, blanket and tarpaulin around the head and body of Bennlyn Burke and put the naked body of Jellica Burke in rubble bags and concealed both bodies in concrete beneath the kitchen floor at 21 Troon Avenue, Dundee.”
The trial heard Innes contacted Mrs Burke on an online dating site.
He met her and Jellica in Bristol and drove them in a Renault Scenic to his home in Troon Avenue on February 18 2021.
The bodies of the mother and daughter were recovered by police in March, about a month after they were reported missing from their home in Bristol.
Victim post-mortems
Mr Morgan told jurors a post-mortem of Mrs Burke revealed a solitary stab wound of about 34mm on the right side of her chest.
She had multiple injuries to her skin which were in keeping with repetitive blows by a blunt instrument.
Mr Morgan said it appeared Mrs Burke was “still mobile” at the time the wounds were inflicted.
Jellica suffered deep bruising above her ear and other injuries consistent with force applied to her neck, such as strangulation.
Her cause of death was recorded as “mechanical asphyxia by manual pressure to her mouth and neck.”
The court heard Innes was diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder.
In early Feburary 2021, he was treated at Ninewells Hospital for Crohn’s Disease.
He was prescribed a daily dose of Prednisolone, a steroid medication.
‘Abducted child’
Innes is further accused of pretending to police investigating the Burkes’ disappearance he had driven them to the Old Inns Cafe in Cumbernauld.
It is alleged he told constables Gavin Burns and Rhianne Brogan he left them at the café in the company of an unknown man and had no further contact with them.
Prosecutors say between February 20 and March 5, he abducted a young child by tying rope to door handles, preventing them from opening, and detained her against her will.
He is further accused of sexually assaulting and raping the girl on various occasions during the same two-week period.
Another charge states on an occasion between February 20 2021 and March 5 2021, Innes “did cause” Jellica Burke to “participate in sexual activity”.
The other child cannot be identified for legal reasons.
‘Defeat the ends of justice’
A further charge states that between February 20 2021 and March 5 2021, Innes attempted to “defeat the ends of justice” by doing a number of things to “avoid detection, arrest and prosecution” for murdering Bennylyn and Jellica.
They include wrapping the bodies and burying them in concrete beneath the kitchen floor at 21 Troon Avenue, Dundee.
He is also said to have removed flooring and kitchen units from 21 Troon Avenue, Dundee and discarded the items in a skip.
He also allegedly pretended Bennylyn was in hospital and Jellica was in Bristol when the alleged truth was they were dead.
Innes is accused of planning to flee his Troon Avenue home.
The trial, before Lord Beckett, continues.
Tribute to “caring and positive” woman
Bennylyn’s sister Shella Aquino said her sibling left her home in the Philippines for the UK in 2019, in search of a better life.
“It is like my heart has been torn by the pain,” she said in tribute after she died.
Neighbours also paid their respects to Bennylyn, describing her as a “caring and positive person” who made friends with locals and became a key part of the community.
She had lived in Quezon City in the Philippines before moving to the Bristol area.
Dozens of friends held a vigil in Bennylyn’s honour at the city’s Brandon Hill, where she used to enjoy picnics.
The gathering said prayers for the family and shared memories.
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