Katie Kenyon: Axe killer jailed for murdering ex-girlfriend day after digging her grave

Victim wanted to stop murderer harming other women, family said

Andrew Burfield, 51, has pleaded guilty to the murder of Katie Kenyon in Lancashire in April (PA Media)

A “cruel and vindictive” murderer has been jailed for life with a minimum term of 32 years after killing a mother-of-two.

Andrew Burfield, 51, admitted to the murder of his ex-girlfriend Katie Kenyon, 33, whose body was found in a makeshift grave in a forest.

Burfield changed his plea to admit the murder on the third day of his trial at Preston Crown Court.

He was re-arraigned on the charge on Wednesday morning and the jury in the case formally found him guilty.

His trial heard he killed Miss Kenyon, of Padiham, Burnley, on 22 April and buried her body in a grave, which he had dug the day before her death, in the Forest of Bowland in Lancashire.

Preston Crown Court heard Burfield travelled to Gisburn Forest with a set of ladders and a spade borrowed from his parents.

He went back to the location the following day with Ms Kenyon, travelling in his Ford Transit van and stopping off at McDonald's on the way, the court heard.

The jury was told Burfield spent just over 42 minutes in the forest, where he killed her and buried her body.

He then sent messages to himself and her children from her phone, the jury was told.

Sentencing Burfield, the judge said: “In your relationship with her before you murdered her I'm satisfied you were manipulative and controlling while she was vulnerable.

“She looked to you for love and support, in return you planned to carry out her murder.”

Katie Kenyon was described as a loving mother (Family)

He described Burfield's guilty plea as “a final recognition your game plan had failed”.

Mr Justice Goose said Ms Kenyon, who had two children aged 12 and 14, was told by Burfield he would take her to therapy on 22 April, but instead he planned to kill her.

He said: “It was a ferocious and cruel attack. You calmly placed her in a grave and covered her body.”

In a statement which she read to the court, Ms Kenyon's sister, Sarah Kenyon-Holden, said the family went through a “full week of torture” as police searched for her.

She said: “Katie told us she wanted to stop Andrew Burfield from being able to do what he did to her to other women.

“She wanted to stop him. She wanted answers. This cost her her life.”

Andrew Burfield admitted to the murder on the third day of trial (Lancashire Police)

Tim Storrie KC, defending, said: “We wish to make it clear that to no degree does he avoid responsibility for what he did and for the turmoil he has wreaked on Katie Kenyon and the community in which she lived.”

Speaking outside court, detective chief inspector Allen Davies said Burfield “barbarically and violently” killed Ms Kenyon.

He said: “Andrew Burfield is a man who has elected to run a trial despite the overwhelming evidence in this case - not only of the fact that Andrew Burfield has barbarically and violently killed Katie, he has also pre-planned what he was going to do, to an extent I have never seen in my entire police service.

The Burfield used to kill Katie Kenyon (Lancashire Police)

“Through investigation we were able to establish that Mr Burfield had travelled up to Bolton-by-Bowland a day prior to Katie’s murder.

“He did that for the purpose of digging a shallow grave, which he would subsequently place Katie within.

“The extent of his planning went far beyond the night before.

“Three weeks previous to her murder he’d written messages that he’d gone on to send to her family and her children, knowing that his intention was to kill her.

“What I would like to point out and I don’t want to forget is that Katie is a happy, loving, mum of two children. She had her whole life ahead of her.

The coffin for Katie Kenyon is carried into St Leonard’s Church, Padiham, near Burnley (Peter Byrne/PA) (PA Wire)

“Andrew Burfield is a cruel, vindictive man who has taken her life away from her and taken her life away from her children.”

David McLachlan KC, prosecuting, told the jury Burfield was arrested following Ms Kenyon's disappearance and interviewed four times, initially denying any knowledge of her whereabouts.

In his penultimate interview, there was a “revelation” and his version of events changed, Mr McLachlan said.

Burfield, of Todmorden Road, Burnley, told police he had taken Miss Kenyon, who he had been in a relationship with since 2019, to Gisburn Forest for a picnic and she had “bet” him he could not hit her can of Coke with his axe.

The court heard he told police: “I went for the tree at the side of her and it, it hit her in (her) head.”

He claimed she had been hit with the back of the axe and she had no other injuries, but the jury heard a post-mortem showed she was struck an estimated 12 times.

Ms Kenyon's body was discovered by police on 29 April.

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