Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Troon Avenue killer Andrew Innes ‘changed story three times,’ trial told

Andrew Innes changed his story about the killing, the trial heard.
Andrew Innes changed his story about the killing, the trial heard.

Dundee murder accused Andrew Innes changed his account of how he killed Bennylyn Burke three times, jurors have heard.

The software engineer initially said he defended himself when she attacked him with a sushi knife.

He later told a psychologist he heard a voice in his head, asking him to kill her.

This week, the 52-year-old told a jury at his trial he struck her with a lump hammer, then stabbed her with a sword after she appeared to transform into a hybrid of his wife and a woman he had an affair with.

Innes admits killing Mrs Burke and her two-year-old daughter Jellica but claims he acted with diminished responsibility.

His lawyers say he lacked criminal responsibility for the alleged murders.

He is further accused of raping and sexually assaulting a primary-age girl at his Troon Avenue Home.

Innes is accused of murdering Bennylyn and Jellica Burke. Image: Police Scotland.

And he faces allegations he attempted to defeat the ends of justice by – among other acts – burying the bodies of Mrs Burke, 25, and Jellica in rubble sacks under his kitchen.

He denies all charges.

A kind of entity

On the fourth day of the trial at the High Court in Edinburgh, consultant psychiatrist Dr Gordon Cowan said he had met Innes several times.

He said: “It is clear that Mr Innes held resentment to his ex-partners and the lady in front of him reminded him of these ladies and he became uncontrollably angry at her.

Andrew Innes
Andrew Innes. Image: Kenny Smith/DC Thomson

Dr Cowan said: “When he was first asked about it, he said he was defending himself from attack.

“He then spoke of an internal monologue with a voice, a kind of entity, advising him to hurt the woman.”

The court heard Innes told a previous psychologist: “I think the other guy wanted me to get angry and he was asking me to kill her.

“I said: ‘Don’t be stupid, she’s done nothing wrong.'”

Dr Cowan said Innes latterly spoke about the hybrid “vision”.

Psychotic behaviour?

The trial heard Aberdeen University graduate Innes took a double dose of prescription steroid medication before he killed Mrs Burke on February 21 2021.

Defence advocate Brian McConnachie KC asked if his client’s behaviour could have been as a result of steroid-induced psychosis.

Dr Cowan pointed out prior to the killing, Innes had gone out to get petrol and shopped at B&Q.

“If someone is so floridly psychotic that they were exhibiting hallucinations and delusions and that they were acting so erratically and disordered that they were killing people then no, they would not be going around doing their day-to-day business without anyone noticing.

“It does not fit in with the account of florid psychosis.

“It does not fit in with the crime.”

Andrew Innes is on trial at the High Court in Edinburgh. Image: PA wire/ Andrew Milligan.

Dr Cowan said, in his view, there was no evidence to support acquittal due to mental disorder, if he was found to have perpetrated the offences.

He added: “I am not of the opinion that his actions were indicative of mental disorder.”

Dr Cowan said his findings did not support the claim Innes acted with diminished responsibility.

The trial, before judge Lord Beckett, adjourned until Monday.

The Troon Avenue murder trial so far:

For the latest court cases across Tayside and Fife, join our Courts Facebook page.