Man jailed for life for Katie Kenyon murder

A Lancashire man has been jailed for life with a minimum term of 32 years for killing mum-of-two Katie Kenyon and burying her in a grave.

Lancashire Police have called 51-year-old Andrew Burfield a 'vindictive monster'.

He went on trial at Preston Crown Court earlier this week charged with her murder but changed his plea yesterday (16 November).

A major investigation was launched after Katie, 33, was reported missing from Padiham on 22 April.

Concerned family members thought something was wrong after receiving cryptic text messages sent from Katie's phone, saying she had 'gone away to work on herself.'

Those messages were also sent to Katie's children. One was sent to Burfield himself.

The word 'while' and the name of Katie's dog were misspelled in those messages.

Digital forensic experts managed to recover drafts of the messages backed up in the notes section on Burfield's iPhone, which showed he'd written them at least three weeks before the day they were sent out.

Burfield, who was Katie's ex-boyfriend, called the police to claim he was being threatened and a man was trying to force his way into his house.

Officers returned to his home the next day (23 April) and saw that the log burner was on.

It was later discovered that he put Katie's iPhone in the fire to destroy incriminating evidence.

Burfield messaged a woman he was dating that same evening, saying he was concerned for Katie.

30 minutes later, he was arrested on suspicion of kidnap, with officers still working on the premise that she was alive.

He told officers he had no idea where Katie was, a line he repeated in future interviews.

Footage showed Burfield's van driving towards the Forest of Bowland on 22 April with Katie sat in the passenger seat.

After being contacted by a woman who saw Burfield carrying out building work on 23 April, officers searched a wheelie bin and found blood-soaked bags containing the flip-flops Katie was wearing the day that she disappeared.

Paperwork with Burfield's name and address and a spade were also found.

Footage obtained by police also showed Burfield going to the Forest of Bowland the day before Katie's death.

He took around an hour and a half to dig a deep grave.

Her body was found there on 29 April.

Burfield placed the layers of earth back after burying Katie so it appeared the ground had not been disturbed. He also covered the grave with a root and foliage to try and hide it.

A Home Office post-mortem exam found that Katie was struck 12 times in the head and died from head injuries.

Burfield, of Todmorden Road, Padiham, had taken Katie to the forest in his van and killed her with an axe, before burying her body.

He initially denied any knowledge of her whereabouts before changing his story and claiming that he killed her accidentally.

Burfield claimed that he had taken Katie to the woods for a picnic and said she challenged him to knock a can of Coke out of her hand with an axe he was using to chop wood.

He said he threw the axe at a tree but it bounced off and hit her off the back of the head.

Burfield tried to cover up his crime by washing the clothes he was wearing on the day of the murder, but a spec of Katie's blood was found on the seal of his washing machine.

He was charged with Katie's murder on 27 April, despite her body not being found at that stage.

The axe used to murder Katie was found in the cellar of his home on 28 April.

The following day, Burfield was taken to the murder site.

He walked to the grave site and kneeled down at the exact spot where Katie was buried.

Lancashire Police say the decision to produce Burfield was because of how challenging it was to identify the grave and because of a strong desire to find Katie's body.

Detective Chief Insp Al Davies, of the Force Major Investigation Team, said:

"My thoughts first and foremost today are with Katie’s family. They have suffered unimaginable pain and suffering at the hands of Andrew Burfield, a man who is 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. In my entire police service, I have never dealt with a case involving such an extent of cold and callous pre-meditation. Despite knowing fully what he had done and the overwhelming weight of evidence in this case, he put the family through the unnecessary pain of running a trial. There is no doubt he is facing a very lengthy custodial sentence, which I hope will give Katie’s family some sense that justice has been served.

“I would like to place on record my thanks to all the officers involved in this case who worked tirelessly to secure justice for Katie and her family”. I would also like to thank colleagues from the CPS and KC’s David McLachlan and Emma Kehoe.

“As a force we will continue to prioritise violence against women and girls, to target those who prey on them and to make our communities safe for all.”

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