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Prosecution case finishes in Troon Avenue murder trial

Andrew Innes Bennylyn and Jellica Burke. Image: DC Thomson.

The Crown case in the Troon Avenue murder trial has finished.

As the case now moves on to defence evidence, The Courier looks back at what has been heard so far.

The end of the prosecution portion of the trial means the identity of the accused is no longer in question so, for the first time in the case, the face of killer Andrew Innes can be publicly revealed.

The trial is taking place at the High Court in Edinburgh.

App designer Innes, 52, has admitted killing Bennylyn Burke, 25, and her two-year-old daughter Jellica and burying their bodies under the floor at 21 Troon Avenue, Dundee.

However, he denies murdering them, using a defence of diminished responsibility.

He further denies raping another small child and attempting to defeat the ends of justice as he tried to cover his tracks.

Andrew Innes. Image: Kenny Smith/ Dc Thomson.

A charge he abducted that child was withdrawn on the third day of the trial.

Joint minute admitting crime

A joint minute of evidence agreed by the Crown and defence was read to the jury.

It was revealed Innes contacted Mrs Burke on an online dating site.

He met her and Jellica in Bristol and drove them to his home in Troon Avenue on February 18 2021.

Bennylyn Burke and her two-year-old daughter Jellica.
Innes has admitted killing Bennylyn Burke and her two-year-old daughter Jellica.

Innes admitted killing the pair and hiding their bodies in concrete under the floor of the kitchen.

On an occasion between February 20 2021 and March 5 2021, he stabbed Mrs Burke with a knife and repeatedly struck her on the head with its handle and a hammer.

He asphyxiated little Jellica.

The court heard he wrapped their bodies in rubble bags and buried them in concrete.

Little girl’s video

A video interview featuring the little girl Innes is accused of raping was played to the jury.

The youngster told the interviewer how she saw Innes hit Mrs Burke with a hammer.

“He put it in (Mrs Burke’s) head,” she said.

She went on to say she thought Jellica had been killed during a game.

She said: “Andrew pretended that Jellica was hiding because we were playing hide-and-seek but he actually killed her.”

21 Troon Avenue, Dundee
21 Troon Avenue, Dundee. Image: Steve Brown / DC Thomson.

She told the interviewer about where Innes had touched her during the alleged abuse.

Police evidence

The jury has heard from police officers, who said Innes confessed his crime to them.

At one point during an interview, he told officers of Jellica, he “couldn’t look after that child. That child was screaming”.

When asked where she was, he replied: “She’s in with her mum. Under the floor.”

He added: “It’s going to take you some time. They are three or four feet down.”

He told them Mrs Burke had attacked him with a sushi knife.

Forensic evidence was discussed including DNA from both Innes and Jellica found on a condom in the house and Mrs Burke’s blood on a hammer.

The trial, before Lord Beckett, continues.

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