The Heinous Case Of Bennylyn and Jellica Burke

these are amongst the very worst crimes which have come before the high court of justiciary this is probably one of the most horrific cases that I and my team have been involved in the National Crime agency described this as our once in a generation crime and I sincerely hope that no one else sees this ever again 25 year old Benny Lynn Aquino was originally from the Philippines she was incredibly popular down to earth and much loved with her sister shella saying she didn't know anybody who disliked her Benny Lynn had been Keen to pursue her education and shella had worked to support her while she went to school asked their father benedicto the family came together to help her and ensure that she graduated she was described as intelligent kind beautiful and dependable she cared deeply for her family and her brother said she would protect him from bullies in 2015 she met a British man called Lexington Burke on a dating website a romance blossomed and after going out to the Philippines the pair were married in a big wedding in Samar on the 28th of July 2018. one month later on the 19th of August they welcomed their first child a little girl called jelica Angelica's first birthday the family would relocate to the United Kingdom it was the first time Benny Lynn had left the Philippines and she was hopeful that there would be a bright future ahead of her in the UK she worked hard in the UK and sent money back to her family in the Philippines to support them sadly by the end of 2020 the marriage had started to fall apart and Benny Lynn moved into emergency accommodation a first floor flat in Kingswood three miles outside of Bristol she made friends in her sheltered accommodation like the mums in bath group who helped her by giving her food and other Goods members of the group would visit her as would her friends in Bristol with people Keen to show and give her as much support and love as possible even though their marriage had broken down the couple had agreed to custody arrangements for jellica towards the end of February 2021 Lexington had made several attempts to contact Benny Lynn but he got no response she wasn't replying to his text messages or answering his calls he had posted a note through her letterbox but this too had gone unanswered the social work department had also contacted him to see if he had heard from her as they had been unable to reach her and she had missed an appointment this was totally out of character and as he reached a point of extreme concern he contacted the police and Benny Lynn jelica and another child who was seven years old were reported missing on the 1st of March it's important to note here that information on this case refers to this seven-year-old girl but other news sources would later state that this was Benny Lynn's eldest daughter no name or information has been given as she cannot be legally identified and all steps must be taken to protect our identity she will be referred to throughout this episode as Jane Doe Avon and Somerset police launched an investigation and quickly uncovered the lead a car had been traced driving into gloucestershire around the time they had last been seen before being driven back up north and over the border into Scotland the driver was seen on CCTV filling up his car in a petrol station the investigators reached out to the Scottish police for their assistance in finding the vehicle the car was registered to a man called Andrew Innis who had traveled down from Dundee to pick them up despite the time zone difference between the Philippines and the United Kingdom shella and banilin always found time to talk to each other and were in regular contact before the three of them had gone missing on Thursday the 18th of February Benny Lynn had been talking to her sister on a video call Benny Lim was in Andrew's car and they were all driving up to Scotland Sherlock asked if she could see him and Benny Lim flipped the camera around and showed the man driving the car there were no overnight bags it was clear that this was not meant to be a long trip [Music] a couple of days after she had arrived in Scotland shella had become concerned as Benny Lynn was no longer replying to her messages on Saturday the 20th of February she sent Andrew two messages knowing that Benny Lim was with him hi hello sir what happened to my sister the following day she received a reply it's a little bit long story but don't worry she's perfectly fine shella messaged back what happened to my sister sir please tell me Andrew responded I met her on a dating website and we chatted for a long time then I went down to visit her where is she now shall I asked she's in Glasgow she didn't tell me her whole story before I only found out last weekend I thought she was divorced already but it seemed she wasn't 100 honest with me about that he said he had dropped them at a cafe in Glasgow with another man she had met online someone that he didn't know he said that Bernie Lynn had wanted to hide away at his property as Lexington wanted custody of jelica and wanted Benny Lin thrown out of the country he told shallow that Benny Lim was safe and that he had advised her to discard her phone if she wanted to get away from the authorities shella begged to speak with Benny Lynn he replied I expect she will get in touch with you once she gets settled down several more messages went back and forth shella said sir can you tell me my sister is alive Andrew replied Scotland is a very peaceful country we don't have much crime at all please try not to worry I'm sure your sister is perfectly safe four days later shella had reached out to him again he told her that the other gentleman from the cafe had messaged him to say they were settling into their new routine very well adding she's happy to have found someone nice and desperately relieved that her baby won't be taken away from her Andrew said he wished to draw a line under this and said that he would wipe his technology not just to protect myself but also to protect her so the police can't find her if they search my house Sherlock had asked him to send a video of Benny Lynn to prove that she was safe and he sent her one she said I hope we can chat again sir he messaged back maybe one day we can once the dust is all settled the video he had sent of her to shella was an old one at 3 20 pm on the 5th of March police officers were dispatched to 21 Troon Avenue this was the address the car had been registered to home to 50 year old Andrew Innes the car was parked outside and there was also a skip containing various items including mattresses and debris after knocking on the door Andrew Innis opened it but only slightly and they spoke to him on the doorstep he refused to allow the officers into his house saying that he was self-isolating and his daughter had just come out of the bath and needed to put some clothes on the officers saw Jane Doe who was fully clothed inside the house through a crack in the door they had a bad feeling and knew something was wrong they insisted he let them inside upon entering the house they described this as being in a state of disarray it was seemingly under renovation kitchen utensils were on the stairs and the cooker in units in the kitchen had all been removed in the living room was Jane Doe who was watching cartoons one of the officers spoke to her she confirmed that Andrew was not her father and they were of no relation to each other when questioned Andrew Innis said he had driven Benny Lynn Angelica to Glasgow and left them at a cafe with a man he didn't know he said he hadn't seen them since they didn't believe the story he was telling and they knew they needed to dig deeper for the truth what came out of his mouth next would leave the officers stunned I killed her she's under the floor we got into a fight and I killed her but where was jelica under the floor with her mom I couldn't look after a child the child was screaming he said upon this shocking confession Andrew Innis was arrested and taken into custody Jane Doe was also taken away to safety the following day on the 6th of March he was charged with the murder of Benny Lynn Angelica and the police now needed to find their bodies when news of the appalling crime began to break and spread the local residents left flowers and toys in tribute to Benny Lin Angelica outside of Troon Avenue as the home for the bodies continued the police began to piece together the chain of events Benny Lynn had been using a dating website called Filipino Cupid as she was seeking companionship it was here that she met 50 year old Andrew Innis the messages had initially just been General Chit Chat and had then moved into video calls he started to steer the conversation in a different direction he asked her to send a photograph of herself that was sexual in nature but she refused he offered her a job as a community relations manager and money to work for him he would also give her somewhere to stay to which she replied if you want to employ me I can do this in Bristol on the 12th of February the pair had agreed to meet up after they had arranged the meeting Andrew Innis had made several internet searches for the murder rates in Scotland as well as what is chloroform used for and underfloor Storage in spite of the strict travel restrictions that were in place due to covid-19 he had traveled down from Dundee to England to meet her in Kingswood a distance of more than 400 miles she had taken pity on him sleeping in his car as he couldn't get into a hotel and he wasn't allowed to stay in her accommodation she had wanted to see Scotland and the beauty it had to offer so she agreed to go with him and stay at his for the weekend various photographs were taken of Benny Lin Angelica in Dundee as they saw the sights and explored the city as well as photographs of Andrew Innis on the 23rd of February he was seen purchasing gravel and DIY tools and the next day a skip turned up at the house the task in front of the officers was massive they called upon the assistance of forensics teams alongside anthropologists archaeologists and geologists to ascertain of what he was saying had actually been true it would take two weeks for the police to excavate the house but they would come to discover that Andrew Innis had not been lying buried roughly three feet down the bodies of jelica and Benny Lynn were found on the 19th of March [Music] back in the Philippines shella received a call it was from bany Lynn's estranged husband Lexington she could not believe what she was hearing and she was tasked with giving the news to her parents who were living in a different part of the country completely traumatized by the death of her sister and niece she was left unable to sleep and kept trying to contact Benny Lynn on messenger Benny Lynn's devastated brother posted to social media we miss you so much since you left the Philippines sis I remember we used to play and you made me dance you always made us happy we will never forget you [Music] as the police continue to look into Andrew Innis they discovered that this software developer had no previous criminal convictions he had been born in Germany on a military base in 1970 he had moved to Dundee from Derby at the age of 24 and had worked with dma design on various video games after attending the University of Aberdeen he would later marry a woman from Japan and moved out there with her the couple shared three children and also lived in California for a while before going back to Scotland once more in 2019 their marriage had fallen apart and he had been deported from Japan back to the UK away from his wife and children Andrew Innis was on 34 dating websites and there were more disturbing discoveries he was very experienced with technology and designed and built what was referred to as a scraper tool that could be bolted onto various websites this meant he could only have women with young children included in the searches he was making on these sites he harvested the data and put it into a spreadsheet where women were graded based on age weight height and whether or not they were mothers to young children the profiles here given the highest scores to were women with young children who were in their mid to late twenties now that the bodies of Benny Lynn Angelica were found it was time for a post-mortem to be carried out this would reveal the horrifying truth Benny Lynn suffered major head injuries and internal bleeding she had also been stabbed in the chest It is believed she was murdered on the 23rd of February the same day he was seen on CCTV buying DIY tools and gravel detective Constable Paul Hardy asked Ennis how long she had been buried under the floor Innis replied last Friday she came up we were going to spend the weekend together I saw she had been chatting to about 50 men on the phone it was either Monday or Tuesday it took me a while to get through the concrete he was adamant it hadn't been planned though he said there was a fight and she came at me and I fought back and now she's dead there was no premeditation she came at me with a sushi knife but CCTV would blow the story apart as he was shown in a b and Q Hardware Store on King's Cross Road in Dundee where he purchased the hammer that he would use to bludgeon her to death he said that he had killed her in self-defense fearing for his life but his story would later change saying he had suffered an auditory hallucination It is believed that this is how Benny Lynn's death had actually occurred as she stood in the kitchen making food he attacked her bludgeoning her repeatedly in the head with the hammer he then went to his office to get a long-bladed knife that Innis had described as a samurai sword before heading back into the kitchen and stabbing her with it he had also bludgeoned her with the handle of the blade and again with the hammer all of this had happened in front of seven-year-old Jane Doe he proceeded to wrap up her dead body in a rubble sack tarpaulin and a blanket before putting her into the kitchen floor following the murder of Benny Lynn over the next two to three days he had kept jelica alive and sexually abused her he would then murder her by applying pressure to her neck and mouth he wrapped up her naked body in rubble sacks and put her with her mother under the kitchen floor he said that she had wanted her mother and it seemed logical to me to put her with her mom his DNA was also found on her body and DNA belonging to both jellica and Dennis was found on a condom in a bin at the house following the murders he had told Jane Doe that Benny Lynn Angelica were in hospital and that was why they weren't there officers who interviewed him said he was wallowing in self-pity and showed no remorse for his Dreadful crimes the investigator spoke to Jane Doe she explained that Andrew Innis had what she called a heavy hammer and that he had put it in Benny Lynn's head she said I tried to call the police I couldn't speak she said they had been playing a game of hide and seek when jelica was murdered by Ennis she said I don't know where I just know looking in the bathroom and he shut the door on me Andrew shut the door at me so it must be in the bathroom I should have saved them but I couldn't because I didn't know what was happening during her time at the house she was subjected to an appalling series of rape and sexual assaults she said that after the assaults where she would be handcuffed and gagged he would give her money on one occasion giving her two pounds and 10 pence she described being held captive by him Andrew put a rope on the door and attached it to the other door and I couldn't open it Andrew would open it when he came back I told him I want to go with you because that was my chance to get out Andrew denied the allegations of sexual abuse against Jane Doe when he had been arrested and during an interview on the 5th of March he said I never touched the girl but DNA would later be his undoing DNA evidence was found on clothing and handcuffs Jane Doe had also tested positive for chlamydia Andrew Innis had chlamydia Andrew innis's trial began at the high court in Edinburgh on the 31st of January 2023 with judge Lord Beckett presiding Andrew admitted that he had killed jelica and Benny Lynn but denied murder and argued a defense of diminished responsibility he had also denied charges of attempting to defeat the ends of justice and rape on the third day of his trial he changed his story again he now said that he had become what he called apocalyptically angry after thinking that Benny Lynn resembled both his former partner and estranged wife he said that from the neck down she looked like his estranged wife and from the head up like the former partner he said his former partner had left him in the most horrible way dumping him through a text message and that he thought of all the nasty things my wife had done to me and I got angry the way she treated me I was Furious I started to think some crazy things I remember the blade going in once she was lying on the floor and I was just hitting her until she stopped moving in his testimony he said that the killings had not been planned saying if this was premeditated in any way it would have been cleaner adding that the hammer he had purchased was not a useful weapon he said it's ridiculous that I had returned with a hammer when I went out for petrol Innis told the court that he was able to remember the initial strike and struggle that ensued in the kitchen before it moved out into the living room he said it was an anger I have never experienced before in my entire life when asked in his cross-examination what he had done with the bodies he replied I dug them a respectable grave and gave them a Christian burial and then replaced the floor that's all I did his original plan had been to bury them at sea but instead decided to conceal their bodies under his kitchen floor as he was already in the process of refurbishing the room it was obvious that he had a deeply controlling nature when he admitted he had been seriously angry when his former wife had got a new haircut that he didn't approve of he also said he'd attempted to castrate himself with an electrical cord there were moments when innus would break down in the witness box and cry while speaking a huge part of the trial focused on his State of Mind psychiatrist Dr Gordon Cowan who specializes in forensic psychiatry had met within us eight times following his arrest and gave evidence on the fourth day of the trial he explained that Innes story had undergone multiple variations and changes saying it had initially been self-defense then he had been suffering with auditory hallucinations and finally a combination of both Dr Cowan said it's clear he held resentment towards his ex-partners and this lady in front of him in some way reminded him of these ladies and he became angry and controllably angry at her foreign to the jury he said he acted in self-defense from an attack then he spoke of an internal monologue with a voice of a kind of identity that was advising him to hurt the woman and he was saying she's done nothing wrong it's really difficult to know for sure the symptoms if any Mr Innis has at this time innocabian diagnosed with crohn's disease a condition that would lead to him being hospitalized in February of 2021 a nine Wells Hospital on the outskirts of Dundee he was prescribed steroids to help ease the symptoms defense lawyer Brian McConaughey asked Dr Cowan if Innis could have been experiencing psychosis induced by steroid use as innocent said he was insane as a result of the steroids he had been prescribed to take 40 milligrams a day but the court heard he had taken an increased dose in the days before the murders the fact that he had purchased the hammer from bnq did not add up to this theory of psychosis Dr Cowan said that if someone was going through psychosis to the extent that they were going to commit murder they would not be going about their day as usual with people not noticing there's logic in his thought process so I don't necessarily think it's indicative of somebody who is psychotic he said he emphasized that while it is a rare side effect of the medication within the previous 12 months no patient from NHS tayside had experienced an episode of psychosis resulting from steroids and the majority of his colleagues had never seen it over the course of their entire careers Dr Cowan met Innis in September 2021 in prison and Innis had spoken to members of his family and become aware of steroid-induced psychosis this was the first time he had become aware of this phenomenon and thought it perhaps fit with what happened to him Dr Cowan explained several of the professionals did consider that he had a diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder but the judge later said that this neither predisposed him to violence nor that it gave any reduction on his culpability one of the most heartbreaking moments of the trial came when the pre-recorded interview with Jane Doe was played Andrew killed jellica when we were playing hide and seek she said she added that she didn't know what was happening she also described the horrific sexual violence that she had been subjected to the nature of the evidence was so distressing members of the jury were offered counseling to cope with what they had seen and listened to on the charges relating to Jane Doe Innis accused her of lying saying that some parts of her story didn't add up he argued he would not have used a sock to cover her mouth as she had said as there were hundreds of other items more suitable if I wanted to gag that child I would have used an actual gag he said Innis told the jury that had the police officers arrived at his home just 24 hours later they could have found her murdered body alongside Benny Lynn Angelica after five days the prosecution and defense rested their cases following the evidence that had been presented judge Lord Beckett gave instructions to the jury to find him guilty on both counts of murder after just two and a half hours of discussions they returned their verdict Andrew Innis was found guilty alongside his convictions of murder he was also convicted of rape and sexual abuse Andrew Innis was sentenced to life in prison with a minimum term of 36 years that he must serve before he can even be considered for parole you murdered an innocent woman and her two-year-old daughter in a situation where they had trusted you and traveled with you from Bristol to your home in Dundee these are amongst the very worst crimes which have come before the high court of Judiciary considering the whole circumstances the punishment part on the two charges of murder will be one of 36 years back dated to 8th March 2021 this does not mean that this is a sentence of 36 years you are sentenced to life imprisonment and you will serve at least 36 years before you can be considered for release on parole it will be for the parole board to determine whether you will ultimately be released and they will consider the safety of the public in reaching that decision almost 30 years of policing the level of depravity shown by Andrew Innis is Way Beyond anything myself or my colleagues had witnessed before not only did he callously take the life of a young mother an innocent child he then sought to escape Justice by burying their bodies beneath his kitchen floor he should no regard for human life or for the most suffering that is brought to their loved ones I'd like to end by thanking the family of benell and Angelica for the courage they've shown throughout what's been a horrific ordeal and I hope this conviction in some way helps to bring them a degree of closure thank you very much this is probably one of the most impressive cases that I and the team have been involved in and it's the credit to everyone involved with the commitment and professional they should the National Crime agency described this as our once in a generation crime and I sincerely hope that no one else sees this ever again Benny Lynn's family had traveled from the Philippines to the United Kingdom for the trial they said in a statement that what had happened was the worst cruelty we could ever imagine adding that they would be forever haunted by the appalling crimes she is very much missed by the family their loss incomprehensible to relatives in the Philippines brutal deaths that haunt a sister searching for answers her words translated by a friend so shallow is saying that in the last two years it's been very difficult coping and [Music] traumatized by the fact that they couldn't understand why it happened more than self-pity to the private that he's shown is unimaginable do you think you'll ever be able to forgive Andrew Ennis after this she said she can conferences Behind Bars and will not be able to come out benedicto Benny Lynn's father had had his life completely destroyed by the loss of his daughter and granddaughter the grief was so devastating he had been left unable to work for Lexington what had happened to Benny Lynn Angelica was devastating he described his rage and pain at the cruelty that had been shown towards jelica by Innis and the appalling abuse and death she had suffered it was later confirmed that Andrew Innis intended to appeal his conviction and sentence his appeal was lodged at the high court of criminal appeal in Edinburgh the hearing will take place at a later date no application for him to be released on bail pending his appeal was made and he remains in prison Jim gamble CEO of the unique safeguarding group who had also formally led the child exploitation and online Protection Organization would say that it would be unusual for an offender like Innis if he did not have any previous victims I doubt they are his only victims some people won't realize how close they came to engaging with this awful person we see that all the time we see Predators who Target single mothers not just to manipulate and coercively control them but to gain access to young children I think anyone that knows him that knows of him needs to reflect on what they know about him I'm sure the police are doing exactly that police Scotland said they had contacted law enforcement in countries he was known to have gone to and had also collaborated with Interpol but no other crimes had been uncovered Benny Lynn's father said he cries every day and is struggling to come to terms with what happened for me I still haven't accepted that they're gone he said her family also began campaigning for a charity called kanlungan which offers support and help to people from the Philippines who live in the United Kingdom including those affected by domestic abuse and violence benedicto said I've now decided to dedicate my life to defend the rights of women and children [Music] all Benny Lynn wanted was to love and be loved she made the enormously Brave decision to move away from her home to the country she didn't know hoping for a bright future to this day shella still calls her sister's phone just to hear her voice on the voicemail she said that she will never forget either Benny Lynn or jellica because they will be with her wherever she goes adding I will always be with them [Music] for those of you that like to listen on the go we now have our episodes in podcast form and you can now find this via the link in our description box or by searching truly criminal podcast on your podcasting platforms [Music]

Channel: Truly Criminal

Views: 597,505

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Id: WcPMr4ZYoxI

Length: 31min 10sec (1870 seconds)

Published: Sat Jun 10 2023