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Dundee murder accused Andrew Innes ‘put hammer in woman’s head’, says girl

Bennylyn Burke.
Bennylyn Burke.

A young child allegedly abducted and raped by murder accused Andrew Innes said she saw Bennylyn Burke lying on his kitchen floor.

The girl said the 25-year-old appeared to be trying to talk to her but “was so weak”.

She told investigators Innes had a hammer and “put it in her head.”

A pre-recorded interview with the primary school-age youngster was played to jurors at Edinburgh High Court.

App designer Innes, 52, is on trial accused of murdering Mrs Burke and her two-year-old daughter Jellica.

He admits killing the pair but has pled not guilty to murder, claiming diminished responsibility.

Pre-recorded evidence

Innes further denies abducting, raping and sexually assaulting a child at his home in Troon Avenue.

Police tape at the scene in Troon Avenue.
The house at Troon Avenue. Image: Steve Brown / DC Thomson.

The alleged young victim, who cannot be identified, said in the video she had gone to get water from the kitchen when she saw Mrs Burke on the floor.

“She could still move her hand but she was so weak,” she said.

“I tried to call the police but Andrew was there.”

The girl said: “It was like she was trying to say (something) to me but I couldn’t hear it.”

She added: “I know Andrew had a hammer.

“He put it in (Mrs Burke’s) head.”

Asked about the hammer, the girl said it was “quite heavy”.

Girl afraid

The girl was asked if Innes had done anything to his kitchen.

“He changed the floor,” she said.

“It was black and then it was white.”

She also told of “jobs” she was made to do at Innes’ house.

“It’s always at night,” she said.

“I don’t want to stay in Andrew’s house.

“It’s so crazy. I don’t want to go there.”

She said she was afraid, “Andrew might kill me.”

Forensics officers at Troon Avenue, Dundee.
Forensics officers at Troon Avenue, Dundee. Image: Steve MacDougall / DC Thomson.

Innes, listed as a prisoner at HMP Perth, is accused of sexually assaulting and raping the girl on various occasions between February 20 and March 5, 2021.

It is alleged he abducted the child by tying rope to door handles, preventing them from opening, and detaining her against her will.

Admitted killings

A joint minute of agreed evidence read to the jury earlier in the day, confirmed Innes stabbed Mrs Burke with a knife and bludgeoned her with a hammer and asphyxiated Jellica.

The killings happened at 21 Troon Avenue, where he then wrapped their bodies and buried them in concrete under the kitchen floor.

Their bodies were found by police in March 2021, about a month after they were reported missing from their home in Bristol, from where Innes had collected them.

Bennylyn Burke and Jellica
Bennylyn Burke and Jellica. Image: Police Scotland/PA Wire.

Innes is further accused of attempting to defeat the ends of justice by pretending to police investigating Mrs Burke and Jellica’s 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.

He denies all charges.

The trial before judge Lord Beckett continues.

Read here how Innes has admitted killing the pair.

Read here about how police say he confessed to the killings and Mrs Burke’s estranged husband’s fears for her.

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