Andrew Burfield, according to the police, is a “cruel, vengeful man” who initially denied murder “despite the overwhelming evidence.”

A man was sentenced to life in prison with a minimum term of 32 years for the murder of Katie Kenyon, whose shallow burial was discovered in a woodland.

Andrew Burfield, 51, from Burnley, first claimed that the axe attack was an accident, but an autopsy revealed that the mother of two was struck about twelve times.

On the third day of his trial at Preston Crown Court, he changed his plea.

The jury heard that Burfield traveled to Gisburn Forest in Lancashire in April for a picnic with his girlfriend, Miss Kenyon, 33.

He then stated that she had “bet” him that he would not be able to hit her Coke can with his axe.

A forensic pathologist described his story that he accidentally struck Miss Kenyon as “very improbable.”

Burfield then buried her remains in a grave he prepared in the Forest of Bowland in Lancashire the day before she died.

After her death, he allegedly sent himself and her children text messages from her phone.

The police discovered Miss Kenyon’s body a few days later. Burfield initially told investigators he did not know where she was, but later changed his story.

Speaking outside the courtroom after Burfield changed his plea, Detective Chief Inspector Allen Davies stated, “Andrew Burfield is a vicious and vengeful individual” who “chose to conduct a trial despite the overwhelming evidence in this case.”