This is the chilling moment a killer collapsed beside the shallow woodland grave where he had buried his ex-girlfriend after murdering her with an axe.
Andrew Burfield, from Burnley, told police he accidently killed Katie Kenyon, 33, when he threw an axe at a tree and it rebounded after she had ‘bet him he could not hit a can of Coke with it.’
But in reality he dug a shallow grave in the Forest of Bowland, Lancashire, before luring the mother-of-two to the spot the following day and bludgeoning her to death.
He then texted Katie’s children off her phone, pretending to be her in a bid to cover his tracks.
A post mortem showed Ms Kenyon was struck an estimated 12 times, with a forensic pathologist saying Burfield’s version of events was ‘completely implausible’.
The 51-year-old builder finally pleaded guilty to her murder on the third day of his trial at Preston Crown Court yesterday. Today, he was jailed for life with a minimum of 32 years.
Unsettling footage released by Lancashire Police today shows the moment the killer led officers to the murder site.
Burfield, handcuffed and in a white suit, is seen walking to the grave before kneeling down to show police where he hid the mother’s body.
Detectives, who had arrested Burfield on suspicion of murder, said they were struggling to locate the exact burial spot in the forest and wanted to find Katie’s body for her family.
Newly released photos show the van he used to pick Katie up on April 22 this year before taking her to the shallow grave.
They also show the axe he used to kill Katie, along with the bin where he hid the flip flops she wore that day and where her blood was found on a Tesco’s bag.
Andrew Burfield, 51, told police he accidently killed Katie Kenyon, 33, when he threw an axe at a tree but finally pleaded guilty to her murder on the third day of his trial
He was jailed for life this morning with a minimum of 32 years at Preston Crown Court, which heard the mother-of-two was hit at least 12 times with the axe
Unsettling footage released by Lancashire Police after today’s sentencing show the moment the killer led officers to the murder site
Burfield, handcuffed and in a white suit, is seen walking to the grave site as he kneels down to show police where he hid the mother’s body
Detectives, who had arrested Burfield on suspicion of murder, said they were struggling to locate the exact burial spot in the forest and wanted to find Katie’s body for her family
Newly released photos show the axe he used to kill Katie, along with the bin where he hid the flip flops she wore that day and where her blood was found on a Tesco’s bag
He then texted Katie’s children off her phone pretending to be her in a bid to cover his tracks, the court heard
On April 21 he travelled to Gisburn Forest with a set of ladders and spade he had borrowed from his parents. Pictured: A toolbox presented to court in evidence
On April 21 Burfield travelled to Gisburn Forest with a set of ladders and spade he had borrowed from his parents.
He went back to the location the following day with Miss Kenyon, travelling in his Ford Transit van and stopping off at McDonald’s on the way.
Yesterday, the court heard that Burfield ‘created’ messages impersonating his ex-girlfriend to be sent to her children, including one which said: ‘I love you and I’m sorry’.
The callous messages and thought that went into crafting them were a sign that ‘murder was on his mind’, prosecutors said.
The court heard he attempted to hide his involvement in the disappearance by sending a message to Katie’s children informing them they would have to ‘stay with their Dad for a while’.
He was arrested following her disappearance and interviewed four times, at first denying any knowledge of her whereabouts.
But he then changed his version of events in his penultimate interview, claiming he accidentally killed her by throwing an axe at a tree during a picnic.
Burfield changed his plea on the third day of his trial on Wednesday.
Jurors were told he borrowed a spade from his father and had driven to Gisburn Forest, where he dug a grave for her the day before the killing.
The new footage also shows the sentenced killer being interviewed by police and a clip of him wearing a prison jumpsuit during transportation
He went back to the location the following day with Miss Kenyon, travelling in his Ford Transit van and stopping off at McDonald’s on the way. Pictured: Items of clothing in a washing machine found at Todmorden Road, Burnley
Burfield spent just over 42 minutes in the forest, where he killed her and buried her body. Pictured: Items found in a rubbish bin
Katie vanished on April 22, sparking a week-long search which ended with the discovery of her body by police on April 29
Undated handout photo issued by Lancashire Constabulary of the van used by Burfield which he drove Miss Kenyon in to the Forest of Bowland, Lancashire, where he killed her and buried her
Burfield, of Todmorden Road, Burnley, initially denied murder and told officers he had accidentally killed Katie, from Padiham, when he threw an axe after she bet him he could not hit a can of Coke with it. Pictured: A picnic box found at the address in Burnley
Burfield changed his plea to guilty on the third day of his trial at Preston Crown Court. He was sentenced to life by judge Mr Justice Goose on Thursday. Pictured: Fireplace at Todmorden Road, Burnley
Following the killing, he used her phone to write messages to himself and her children, with one saying: ‘I want you to know that I’m truly sorry for everything.’
Another message read: ‘Hey dude, I love you and sorry’, with a broken heart emoji attached to it, suggesting Katie had to ‘go away somewhere’.
Other messages created by Burfield included: ‘I love you. I’m sorry. Your dad will be looking after you for a while.’
Opening the trial on Monday, David McLachlan KC, told the jury Burfield was arrested following Katie’s disappearance and interviewed four times.
But he said CCTV footage showed Burfield getting into his white Ford Transit van with Katie around 9am on the morning of April 22 and heading to the murder site.
Speaking outside court, Detective Chief Inspector Allen Davies said he welcomed the 11th hour plea and described Burfield as ‘nothing short of a vindictive monster’.
‘In my entire police service, I have never dealt with a case involving such an extent of cold and callous pre-meditation,’ he said.
Mr McLachlan KC told jurors how Burfield – who had been in an on-off relationship with Miss Kenyon since 2019 – killed the mother-of-two after they split up.
Miss Kenyon had been scared of Burfield, telling her mother in chilling messages: ‘I’m paranoid to death hes ganna do summert… couldn’t sleepall night xxxx’.
Mr McLachlan said on the night before the murder, Burfield had been on an ‘important mission’ which was ‘to dig Katie Kenyon’s grave’.
The prosecutor added: ‘He was in the area where her body would later be recovered for just under one hour.’
The court heard he borrowed ladders and a spade from his father the day prior to Miss Kenyon’s death.
Miss Kenyon, from Padiham, near Burnley, messaged Burfield the following morning, saying: ‘Ready and excited for a new chapter.’
She then drove to his house in Burnley before getting into his van and travelling to Gisburn. Burfield spent 42 minutes in the forest, where he killed her and buried her body.
Technical analysis showed Miss Kenyon’s phone travelling back from Gisburn at around 11.15am, but only one person was visible in the van on CCTV.
Mr McLachlan said: ‘The phone may have been in Andrew Burfield’s van but Katie Kenyon certainly was not.
‘Katie Kenyon, the prosecution say, at this stage, was in a carefully constructed grave that had been dug the night before by Andrew Burfield.’
Search teams found Ms Kenyon’s body on April 29, and a post mortem examination carried out on May 1 concluded she died from head injuries
File photo dated April 2022 of court artist sketch by Elizabeth Cook of Andrew Burfield
Miss Kenyon’s daughter sent her a message later that day and received a response of two laughing face emojis.
But Mr McLachlan said the message was sent by Burfield as ‘part of a charade’. The court heard voice messages Burfield left for Miss Kenyon in which he said he was a ‘bit worried’ about her.
Mr McLachlan said the pair had a ‘difficult relationship’, with Burfield making a court claim of more than £4,000 against Miss Kenyon, who in turn blocked him from contacting her by phone.
Jurors heard that during an email exchange on April 6 he wrote to her that this would be their ‘last goodbye’, adding she would be ‘always remembered’.
Speaking outside court, Detective Chief Inspector Allen Davies said he and Miss Kenyon’s family welcomed the guilty plea.
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.
A horse drawn hearse for the funeral of Katie Kenyon at St Leonard’s Church in Padiham, Lancashire
Andrew Burfield, 51, was arrested and told police that he killed his ex by accident when they went for a picnic in Gisburn Forest, Lancashire
‘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.
‘Andrew Burfield is a cruel, vindictive man who has taken her life away from her and taken her life away from her children.’
Mr Davies also described the ‘unimaginable pain and suffering’ Miss Kenyon’s family had suffered as a result of Burfield’s actions, describing him as ‘nothing short of a vindictive monster’.
‘Not only has he murdered Katie in a cold-blooded and horrifically violent attack, but he has then tried to conceal her body and repeatedly lied and changed his story to try and cover up his vile actions.’