Andrew Innes killed Bennylyn and Jellica Burke at his home in Dundee almost two years ago.
A jury has been instructed to find a man guilty of murdering a 25-year-old mother and her two-year-old girl at his home in Dundee.
Andrew Innes, 52, stabbed and beat Bennylyn Burke to death with a hammer before strangling her daughter Jellica.
Innes had admitted the killings but denied murder, claiming diminished responsibility.
Judge Lord Beckett told the jury that the special defences lodged by Innes were not available to them.
At the High Court in Edinburgh, he told them: “I’m directing you on charges one and two you will return a verdict of guilty.”
Image source, PA Media
The jury has retired to consider its verdict.
Innes denies sexually assaulting Jellica and raping another child in February or March 2021.
He also denies attempting to defeat the ends of justice.
The court has previously heard that Bennylyn had met Innes online on a dating site.
He took Bennylyn and Jellica to his home in Dundee in February 2021 after driving to meet them in Bristol, where they lived.