Andrew Burfield had claimed he accidentally killed Katie Kenyon when throwing an axe at a tree.
Image source, FamilyA man who told police he killed a woman accidentally when he threw an axe at a tree has admitted murdering her.
Andrew Burfield, 51, changed his plea at Preston Crown Court to admit killing mother-of-two Katie Kenyon, who was hit an estimated 12 times with an axe.
The court had heard Burfield killed Ms Kenyon on 22 April and buried her body in a grave in the Forest of Bowland, which he had dug the day before.
He is due to be sentenced on Thursday.
Opening the trial on Monday, David McLachlan KC, prosecuting, told the jury Burfield was arrested following Ms Kenyon’s disappearance and interviewed four times, initially denying any knowledge of her whereabouts.
However, he said that in Burfield’s penultimate interview, there was a “revelation” and his version of events changed.
Burfield, of Todmorden Road, Burnley, told police he had taken Miss Kenyon to Gisburn Forest for a picnic and she had “bet” him he could not hit a drink can with his axe.
The court heard he told police: “I went for the tree at the side of her and it hit her in the head.”
He claimed she had been hit with the back of the axe and she had no other injuries, but the jury heard a post-mortem examination showed she was struck an estimated 12 times.
