A murderer who slaughtered his ex-girlfriend with an axe and then buried her body in a makeshift grave has been jailed for at least 32 years.
Andrew Burfield took Katie Kenyon for what would be her final meal at McDonald's before driving her to a forest where he'd already dug her grave.
He told the vulnerable mum-of-two he was taking her to a therapy unit so she could get help.
After the murder he made a fake 999 call and when he'd eventually been caught bizarrely told police it was all an accident involving a bet and a Coke can and was even captured leading officers to the burial site in a chilling video.
The 51-year-old spectacularly changed his plea to admit to the murder of Ms Kenyon, 33, on the third day of his trial yesterday.
He was re-arraigned on the charge before the jury formally found him guilty.
Burfield was then sentenced to life in prison today, with a minimum of 32 years.
Mr Justice Goose described him as "highly dangerous" and having "carried out a planned and savage attack".
He added the defendant had been "manipulative and controlling" during the relationship when his victim was "vulnerable".
Ms Kenyon's family said her murder has had an "indescribable affect" on them "emotionally" and "things will never be the same again".
"She was literally robbed of her life, we have been robbed of her by Andrew Burfield and the children have lost their mum because of him," they added.
Preston Crown Court had heard the defendant killed Ms Kenyon on April 22 and buried her in the Forest of Bowland, Lancashire.
In an effort to cover his tracks, Burfield messaged himself and his victim's children off her phone, the jury was told.
He then reportedly used his own phone to send Ms Kenyon voice notes, begging for her to call him.
The evil killer used the same phone his victim had messaged her mum with just weeks before, when she had said she feared for her life.
On the morning of her death, Ms Kenyon had sent her killer a message saying she was "ready and excited for a new chapter".
Burfield told police he had accidentally killed her when he threw an axe at a tree.
Opening the trial on Monday at Preston Crown Court, David McLachlan KC, prosecuting, said Burfield was arrested following Ms Kenyon's disappearance and interviewed four times.
He initially denied any knowledge of her whereabouts.
In his penultimate interview there was a "revelation" and his version of events changed, Mr McLachlan said.
Burfield, of Burnley, told police he had taken Ms Kenyon, also of Burnley and who he had been in a relationship with since 2019, to Gisburn Forest for a picnic.
He claimed she had "bet" him he could not hit her can of Coke with his axe.
The court heard he then threw the axe to a tree but missed and hit her head.
In the police interview, Burfield said: "I just sat there with her in my arms, covered in blood. Honest to God, it was like sommat from a film."
He claimed she had been hit with the back of the axe and had no other injuries, but the jury heard a post mortem showed she was struck an estimated 12 times.
Burfield told police he couldn't get her body to the van, so he took a spade and dug a hole to put Ms Kenyon in as he didn't want anyone to see her, or animals getting to her.
He said he dug down around 1.5ft and covered the shallow grave with twigs and leaves.
Burfield said he then put Ms Kenyon's phone and bank cards in a fire and took the ashes to a bin outside a Spar.
Her body was discovered by police on April 29.
Mr Justice Goose told Burfield during sentencing this morning: "She looked to you for love and support, in return you planned and carried out her murder.
"This was not heat of the moment. It involved planning, lies, the destruction of evidence and an implausible defence.
"Your murder of Katie was as cruel as it was savage. The calmness you displayed before, during and after prove your dangerousness.
"The messages suggested you loved her but at the same time you manipulated her. You created a debt and used it to scare her while pretending to help her. You advised her to seek help for anxiety."
The judge said Burfield told Ms Kenyon he was taking her to a therapy unit "for the start of a new life" on the day he murdered her.
"You planned to kill her that day. You planned this as early as April 4 when you wrote notes on your phone to her children.
"You encouraged her to look forward to her new start and she believed you."
He explained how the killer had driven to Gisburn Forest to dig a "very precise and tidy grave", having turned his phone off to avoid detection.
The next day, Burfield parked up with Ms Kenyon in a layby "carrying a cool box pretending it was refreshment", the judge continued.
"There you killed her. It was a ferocious and cruel attack. You calmly placed her in the grave taking great care to hide it with soil and branches."
Tim Storrie KC, defending, said there was "probably a more complicated psychological decision" that led Burfield to allow a trial to begin.
"In the end he had one gift left, to put an end to the case," he said.
The lawyer went on to say there is nothing his client could add "without trespassing on the grief" of his victim's family.
He described Burfield as "utterly friendless".
"He has achieved for himself isolation for his entire life and no-one will remember him with love," he added.
Ms Kenyon's sister Sarah Kenyon Holden read out the family's impact statement to the court.
She said as soon as her sister was reported missing the family "sensed" Burfield was behind it.
She said: "I cannot describe the anguish of not knowing where Katie was. Who could she be with? Where was she? Was she alive? Was she locked away somewhere and could not get out?
"We lived in hope that she would be found alive and that she was safe, it was a coping mechanism but with each police visit and the passage of time we knew deep down that the outcome was not going to be a good one."
Referring to when Ms Kenyon's body was found, she continued: "We felt that we had no choice but to visit the forest and see the location for ourselves.
"It was awful to have to go up there, knowing that it was Katie's final journey, wondering what she was thinking and if she knew what was going to happen.
"I went up there with my sister and my mum. We all felt completely numb, it was unbelievable. Being there and seeing the area was totally heart breaking. There were a million thoughts going through our minds again.
"Did Katie suffer? Did she know what was going to happen? What had he done to her? It was so frustrating."
She said the next day they visited Ms Kenyon's body at the mortuary.
"Her face was bruised but she still looked so beautiful… but she was behind glass.. We could not touch her or hold her and it felt impersonal," she said.
"I wanted to say goodbye to her, to say things to her and to hold her but we could not do any of this. Burfield even took that away from us all."
Ms Kenyon was kept in a closed casket for her funeral due to her injuries, which Ms Kenyon Holden said prevented her loved ones from seeing her again.
She added that being put through a trial has been a "heartbreaking process".
"Katie's murder has had an indescribable affect on our family emotionally and things will never be the same again.
"I cannot put it into words. Every Christmas, birthday, holiday and other significant date or event will be scarred by Katie's absence and the reasons behind her absence.
"The most painful part of this is that is not Katie's choice. She did not choose to leave us, she was not unwell and it was not an accident.
"She was literally robbed of her life, we have been robbed of her by Andrew Burfield and the children have lost their mum because of him.
"Not only has he taken Katie from us but he has taken our lives as we knew them too.
"The very worst part of all this is that Katie’s children literally lost their mother overnight in the most horrific way.
"She did everything for them and was more than just a mum, she was their mum, dad and best friend all rolled into one."
Ms Kenyon Holden said her sister told her family before she died she "wanted to stop" Burfield from "being able to do what he did to her to other women.
"She wanted to stop him and she wanted answers and this cost her her life."
