How Bennylyn and Jellica Burke were lured to their deaths

Bennylyn Burke and her young girl were lured hundreds of miles from Bristol to Dundee by a calculating slayer who murdered them and past buried their bodies nether his room floor.

They had travel to the UK hoping for a amended life, and their deaths caused shockwaves which were felt by her shattered household thousands of miles away.

It was a Thursday successful February 2021 and Shela Aquino was video-chatting with her sister Bennylyn.

Shela was calling from her location successful the Philippines.

The sisters had been separated for 18 months, since Bennylyn moved to the UK.

But they were adjacent and spoke each day, contempt the eight-hour clip difference.

This time was different. Bennylyn was the rider successful a car travelling to Scotland, on with her two-year-old girl Jellica and different child.

The antheral she was with was taking the 25-year-old from Bristol to his location successful Dundee for the weekend.

They had met connected a dating website a fewer weeks earlier and seemed to get on.

But chartless to Bennylyn, helium had deliberately targeted and groomed her.

They arranged to conscionable and the antheral drove 440 miles during lockdown to sojourn Bennylyn successful Bristol.

Bennylyn told her sister that the 50-year-old seemed benignant and caring.

Shela said: "I told her to springiness it a try, that possibly she volition beryllium blessed this time."

She said her sister "took pity" connected the antheral aft helium made the agelong travel south, and was "curious" astir Scotland.

During their video chat successful the car, Shela asked her sister if she could spot "the foreigner".

"So she showed maine the feline - I had the accidental to greet him. I said: 'Hello sir'.

"They were already connected the road. We started chatting, I adjacent joked with him."

Shela said the antheral was tall, bladed and balding. His sanction was Andrew Innes.

Born successful June 1970, Innes attended Alva Academy past studied astatine Aberdeen University earlier moving successful machine gaming for respective firms successful Dundee.

He told Shela that helium besides lived successful Japan with his Japanese woman and their children, but their matrimony broke down and helium was deported backmost to the UK successful 2019.

Innes had joined 34 dating sites, including 1 called Filipino Cupid - which Bennylyn had besides joined to question companionship.

Police aboriginal discovered that Innes had compiled a spreadsheet of information harvested from the site.

It graded women according to their age, height, weight, and if they had children.

His "top scores" were women successful their mid to precocious 20s with young children.

This was however helium met Bennylyn.

Three days earlier they met successful person, his net searches included "what is chloroform utilized for" and underfloor storage.

During their archetypal chats, Innes asked Bennylyn to enactment for him successful Dundee arsenic a assemblage relations manager for £1,000 a month, but she refused, saying she could bash the occupation from Bristol.

Innes besides asked Bennylyn for intimate photos, which she besides declined.

But astatine immoderate point, they decided to conscionable successful idiosyncratic successful Bristol.

Bennylyn Burke was calved successful November 1995 successful the Philippines, and worked hard arsenic a teen to implicit her degree.

In 2015, Bennylyn, who was lone 4ft 6in tall, met Lexington Burke, a landlord from the UK astir 40 years her senior, connected a dating website.

They joined successful Samar, Philippines, successful July 2018 and their girl Jellica was calved the pursuing month.

In 2019, the mates moved to the UK, arriving connected 20 August, Jellica's archetypal birthday.

But the matrimony broke down wrong months, leaving Bennylyn a azygous genitor - and vulnerable.

However, she told her sister that she felt "different" and "free" aft yet moving into her ain level successful Kingswood, 3 miles extracurricular Bristol.

Vicky Whipp, from the MumsInBath Facebook group, was 1 of the section radical who rallied circular to assistance the young mother.

"She was the sweetest idiosyncratic I've ever met, she was truthful lovely," she said.

Vicky described Jellica arsenic lively and confident, with "lots of personality".

Bennylyn worked successful a attraction location for a fewer months and sold car vacuum cleaners online, sending wealth location to her family, who described her arsenic "the breadwinner".

Vicky said she had wanted a amended beingness and a aboriginal successful the UK. "She was determined - she missed her household but she wanted to enactment here."

Bennylyn, Jellica, and different kid arrived astatine Innes' location successful Dundee connected the evening of Thursday 18 February 2021.

They spent the adjacent time sightseeing astir Dundee, visiting attractions similar the V&A and Camperdown Park.

Tellingly, they had not packed overnight bags and had nary plans to enactment successful Dundee for long.

Shela chatted to her sister the pursuing day. It would beryllium the past clip that they spoke.

"Bennylyn showed maine his house. She showed maine this achromatic happening that was similar a veranda."

The adjacent day, Shela grew acrophobic that her sister was not replying to her messages.

On the Monday, she received a connection from Innes.

He told her that Bennylyn and Jellica and different kid were successful Glasgow with different antheral she met online, a teacher.

He claimed Bennylyn wanted to fell astatine his location due to the fact that Jellica's begetter wanted custody of his daughter, and wanted Bennylyn to beryllium deported to the Philippines.

Innes said Bennylyn was harmless successful Glasgow, and that helium told her to get escaped of her mobile telephone if she wanted to fell from the authorities.

When Shela pleaded to talk to her sister, Innes replied: "I expect she volition get successful interaction with you erstwhile she gets settled down."

Shela said she couldn't interaction Bennylyn connected Messenger, and asked: "Sir tin you archer maine my sister is alive?"

Chillingly, helium replied: "Scotland is simply a precise peaceful country, we don't person overmuch transgression astatine all.

"Please effort not to worry, I'm definite your sister is perfectly safe."

Four days later, Shela contacted "Sir Andrew" again.

He told her the "other gentleman" successful Glasgow had messaged him to accidental that Bennylyn and Jellica were "settling successful to their caller regular precise well".

Innes said she would beryllium successful interaction "when she feels harmless to bash so".

He added: "She's blessed to person recovered idiosyncratic bully and desperately relieved that her babe won't beryllium taken distant from her."

He said helium needed to "draw a enactment nether this" and get connected with his life.

He says helium volition delete everything from his telephone and machine "not conscionable to support myself, but besides to support her, truthful the constabulary can't find her if they hunt my house".

Shela asked Innes to grounds a video of Bennylyn, but helium sent an aged video of her instead.

She told Innes: "I anticipation we chat again sir." He replied: "Maybe 1 time we can, erstwhile the particulate has each settled."

On 1 March, 2 weeks aft leaving Kingswood, Bennylyn and Jellica were reported missing erstwhile they missed an appointment.

Two days aboriginal a hunt was launched by police, who said they were becoming progressively concerned.

Shela said her household were already disquieted erstwhile Bennylyn couldn't beryllium reached, and described a bleak premonition.

She said: "Our older member had a dream. He was looking astatine photos of Bennylyn and Jellica.

"He saw immoderate faces clearly, but others were blurred. That was erstwhile we felt thing was wrong."

After being contacted by Avon and Somerset Police, officers successful Dundee arrived astatine Troon Avenue astatine 15:20 connected Friday 5 March.

Police successful England had accusation that Bennylyn whitethorn person been successful the metropolis the erstwhile week.

They had identified a car that had travelled from Dundee to Bristol and backmost during lockdown.

Officers saw the car successful Innes' driveway and knocked connected his door.

The serviceman successful complaint of the case, Det Ch Insp Graham Smith, said Innes confirmed that helium took Bennylyn and 2 children up to Dundee, but claimed they were present successful Glasgow.

Innes refused to let officers into his house, saying that helium was self-isolating and that his girl had conscionable travel retired of the bath.

The officers saw the girl, who was afloat clothed, wrong the location and insisted they were allowed in.

They were met with a country of "complete disarray". The room units had been removed, determination was nary cooker, and pots and pans were connected the stairs.

The miss was taken speech by 1 of the officers. She confirmed that she was not Innes' daughter.

The officers asked him wherever Bennylyn was and Innes replied: "I killed her, she's nether the floor. We got into a combat and I killed her."

Det Ch Insp Smith said: "I deliberation the officers volition undoubtedly person saved that child's life."

Innes was arrested and questioned by detectives.

Det Ch Insp Smith says Innes was "cold and callous" and showed nary remorse.

He told officers that the 2 bodies were buried "three oregon 4 feet down" successful the room nether a ample magnitude of concrete.

With Innes successful custody, and the kid taken to safety, the hunt of his Troon Avenue location began.

Det Ch Insp Smith said those progressive were faced with a "horrific" scene.

After 2 weeks of painstaking work, the grim find was made of 2 bodies successful rubble bags nether the room floor.

Bennylyn had been stabbed and beaten to decease with a hammer. Jellica had been strangled.

A telephone telephone from Det Chf Insp Smith confirmed the quality Shela had been dreading.

Shela said: "He said that Bennylyn was recovered successful a achromatic bag, a achromatic garbage bag. Baby Jellica was besides there."

Bennylyn's father, Benedicto Aquino, said helium was "crushed and gutted" aft being fixed the news.

"I asked wherefore she was killed successful Dundee," helium said.

"My girl doesn't prime fights, she was kind, God-fearing, friendly.

"Why bash that to her? What an abomination that helium murdered an guiltless child."

Almost 2 years aft the murders, Innes stood proceedings astatine the High Court successful Edinburgh.

Bennylyn's family, including Shela and Benedicto, flew successful from the Philippines for the trial, arsenic did Jellica's begetter Lexington Burke.

On time three, Innes took to the stand. His grounds veered from rambling speech of dragons to tearful self-pitying outbursts and graphic descriptions of his horrific crimes.

He claimed that helium attacked Bennylyn aft reasoning "crazy things" due to the fact that she resembled 2 women helium felt had betrayed him, and blamed steroid medicine for his behaviour.

But the assemblage did not instrumentality agelong to find him blameworthy of the 2 murders.

Det Chf Insp Smith said unit astatine the National Crime Agency described the lawsuit arsenic a once-in-a-generation inquiry.

And helium added: "My absorption is connected the household of Bennylyn and Jellica and however they retrieve from this."

Bennylyn's household privation her remembered arsenic a bully and caring mother, who came to the UK to question the champion for her family.

Shela says: "She was kind, determination was thing atrocious we could accidental astir her."

Two weeks aft their bodies were discovered, a radical of Bennylyn and Jellica's friends had gathered astatine Brandon Hill Park successful Bristol to wage their ain tributes.

They met connected the writer beneath Cabot Tower, wherever they had erstwhile enjoyed picnics together.

Candles and flowers were placed connected a reddish broad connected the ground, on with pictures, a teddy carnivore and placards.

White balloons tied to a adjacent histrion read: "You are loved. You are missed. You are remembered."

Additional reporting by Virma Simonette