A murderer who told his ex-girlfriend they were going for a picnic but drove her to her own grave could get a longer sentence.
Andrew Burfield killed Katie Kenyon by repeatedly hitting over the head with an axe. He then covered her body in a grave he had pre-prepared and sent text messages to her children to pretend she was still alive, reports LancsLive.
Katie's family first became suspicious of Burfield when they received texts with poor grammar and spelling. Burfield repeatedly denied he killed Katie, who he had been in a relationship with, in police interviews, but eventually confessed to the murder.
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Burfield tried to convince detectives the murder was an accident, however those lies were not swallowed up and faced with overwhelming evidence he eventually admitted his guilt on day three of a murder trial at Preston Crown Court.
Earlier this month, he was jailed for a minimum of 32 years after eventually pleading guilty. Mum-of-two Katie was last seen getting in to a van in Padiham on April 22 this year. Lancashire Constabulary launched an extensive public appeal and search to find Katie, with a total of 60 specialist officers spending seven days searching for 33-year-old.
The search involved Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service personnel, mounted police, dog teams, mountain rescue volunteers and drones. Katie's body was found seven days after she went missing, hidden beneath leaves and twigs, in a grave so well concealed a forensic archaeologist could not find it, the prosecution told the jury.
It was only discovered when Burfield went along to the scene with police and pointed to the area the body could be found. The court heard how Katie's family were suspicious that Burfield was responsible for her disappearance and that he even called the police to his own home when he feared he would be assaulted by her brother-in-law.
Officers visited Burfield a number of times at his house. During a visit on Saturday April 23 they noticed the log burner was lit, but when detectives returned to arrest him on suspicion of kidnap they noticed the fire was out, and the grate had been cleaned.
A devastated community gathered to remember Katie following her death, with a vigil taking place in Memorial Park, Padiham. Family members, friends, couples and elderly people laid bouquets of colourful flowers around candles and photos of Katie at the park's fountain monument. Her funeral took place at St Leonard’s Church.
Purple and white floral tributes, simply stating, 'Mum' and 'Katie' adorned the top of her traditional, white horse drawn carriage which slowly proceeded up the winding road towards the church for the service.
As he sentenced Burfield, Mr Justice Goose told him: "You are a highly dangerous man and this is a very serious case of murder. The court has heard from Katie's sister n behalf of the family. The profound loss you have caused them all will never be erased.
"Your mitigation is very limited. After all your efforts to avoid detection and your lying in interviews, finally you took the police to the place you had buried her." Warning the killer he may die in prison, the judge added: "You should prepare yourself for the prospect you may never be released, such is your dangerousness."
That sentence is now being challenged as unduly lenient under a scheme which means anybody can appeal against a sentence if they believe it to be unfairly low. The Attorney General’s Office will review that request and decide whether to send it to the Court of Appeal, who can make a decision about the sentence.
An AGO spokesperson told LancsLive: “We have received a request for this sentence to be considered under the Unduly Lenient Sentence (ULS) scheme. HM Law Officers have 28 days from sentencing to consider the case and make a decision.”
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