A Scottish man has been found guilty of murdering a mother and her two-year-old daughter and then burying their bodies under his kitchen floor.
Andrew Innes, 52, lured 25-year-old Bennylyn Burke from Bristol in England to Dundee in Scotland after the pair met on a dating site.
Innes drove Burke and her two-year-old daughter Jellica from their home to Dundee on February 18, 2021, and the pair were reported missing two weeks later, per BBC News.
Burke moved to the UK from the Philippines in 2019, the High Court in Edinburgh heard. She met the 52-year-old on the dating site the same month she went missing.
Innes stabbed Burke at his home, before beating her to death with a hammer. He then strangled two-year-old Jellica and buried their bodies underneath his kitchen floor using rubble bags and concealing them in concrete.
On March 5, 2021, police became aware of a car on Innes' driveway that had made a return trip to Bristol during the COVID-19 lockdown.
When the authorities questioned the 52-year-old about the mother and her child's whereabouts, he claimed to have driven them to Glasgow where he left them with another man.
However, after further questioning, Innes admitted to murdering Burke and her daughter and gave the police the location of their bodies.
During the trial, the jury heard that Innes became "apocalyptically angry" because Burke resembled two women who had wronged him in the past, and he further claimed that he was battling steroid-induced psychosis.
Forensic psychologist Dr. Gordon Cowan disputed these claims, revealing that he believed Innes was not impaired during the attacks and in his prepared report wrote: "There is no evidence to support a finding of diminished responsibility if he was to be found to have committed the offenses."
Innes admitted that the attacks happened two days after Burke and her daughter arrived in Dundee, and he had used a Samurai sword and a hammer to murder the 25-year-old.
Judge Lord Beckett instructed the jury to find Innes guilty of murder due to the lack of evidence that he was mentally impaired, as Innes pleaded guilty to the killings but denied murder based on diminished responsibility.
The jury also found the 52-year-old guilty of sexually assaulting Jellica, as well as the rape of another child.
The jury deliberated for two hours and 26 minutes before coming to their verdict, and judge Lord Beckett handed down a life sentence, with Innes having to serve a minimum of 36 years in prison before he can apply for parole, meaning he would be 88 years old.
Detective Chief Inspector Graham Smith, as cited by the BBC, said: "[The murders] shocked and appalled us all. This was a harrowing investigation that deeply affected all involved.
"In almost 30 years of policing, the depravity shown by Andrew Innes was beyond anything I or my colleagues had witnessed before."
Detective Chief Inspector Graham Smith continued: "His actions showed no regard for human life or the suffering and anguish he has brought to the loved ones."
Our thoughts are with the loved ones of Bennylyn and Jellica.
