Double murderer Andrew Innes loses final appeal against conviction
- Published
Andrew Innes was jailed for a minimum of 36 years in February
A man who killed a woman and her daughter and buried their bodies under his kitchen floor has lost a new bid to overturn his conviction and sentence.
Andrew Innes was jailed for life with a minimum of 36 years in February for the murders of Bennylyn Burke, 25, and her two-year-old daughter Jellica.
Appeal judges refused the 53-year-old's second application to appeal, effectively ending the case.
He was not present in court for the decision to refuse the application.
Innes had been found guilty of the murders after a five-day trial at the High Court in Edinburgh.
The court heard that Innes stabbed and beat Bennylyn Burke to death with a hammer before strangling Jellica at his home in Dundee.
He had lured Bennylyn from Bristol to Dundee after targeting her through a dating website in February 2021.
Jellica and Bennylyn Burke were murdered by Innes at his home in Dundee
Last month, a judge ruled there were no arguable grounds for Innes' appeal against his conviction and jail term to proceed.
An appeal against that refusal, at what is known as the second sift stage, was denied on Tuesday.
During the trial, Innes admitted killing Bennylyn and Jellica but denied murder, claiming that he had diminished responsibility.
Judge Lord Beckett told the jury that there had been no evidence during the trial to show that Innes had been suffering from mental impairment at the time of the killings.
As a result, the judge instructed them to find Innes guilty of both murders.
The Big Cases - Found Under the Floor
The story of Bennylyn and Jellica who were murdered after starting a new life in the UK.
