A MURDER accused repeatedly changed his story when explaining why he killed a woman and her two-year-old daughter, his trial has heard.
Andrew Innes, 52, is accused of murdering Bennylyn Burke, 25, and Jellica Burke at his Dundee home between February 20 and March 5, 2021, as well as sexually abusing the toddler and raping another girl.
Forensic psychiatrist Dr Gordon Cowan told the trial on Friday that Innes first said he killed because he was being attacked, and then because he was hearing voices in his head.
Innes told jurors himself on Thursday that he saw Ms Burke as a hybrid between his estranged wife and a lover who dumped him by text, and that led to him feeling “furious”.
READ MORE: Man guilty of threatening to kill Nicola Sturgeon on social media
Dr Cowan told defence KC Brian McConnachie on the fourth day of the trial: “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, uncontrollably angry.”
The court has heard of Innes’s prescription steroid use, which he was given after a stay in Ninewells Hospital because of his Crohn’s disease.
The jury has been told he took one 40mg dose just before midnight and one just after midnight on occasion.
Dr Cowan, who has met the accused eight times, told the court the maximum licensed dose in the UK is 100mg.
The court has heard of steroid-induced psychosis but Dr Cowan, who is the last witness in the trial, said he did not think Innes was psychotic.
He said it was a rare side-effect of the medication, but there was not enough evidence to be specific.
He added that within the last year, no patient in NHS Tayside had suffered an episode of the steroid-induced psychosis and most of his colleagues had never seen a case in their careers.
Speaking about a September 2021 meeting in prison, Dr Cowan said: “He spoke to some family and there was a relative perhaps had steroid-induced psychosis in a hospital admission.
“That was the first time he became aware of this phenomenon and thought it perhaps fit with what happened to him.”
Dr Cowan told jurors there was a point where Innes felt he was psychotic when he killed Ms Burke and not when he killed Jellica, but he later said he had been psychotic during both killings.
Speaking about Innes’s mental state, Dr Cowan said: “In my opinion, on balance, I don’t think there was evidence he was impaired.”
READ MORE: Gary Glitter released from jail after serving half his sentence
Innes denies murdering Ms Burke and Jellica, sexually assaulting Jellica, and raping another child.
He has admitted killing the pair and has lodged a special defence to the murder charges of lacking criminal responsibility and diminished responsibility.
Innes has also denied defeating the ends of justice.
The trial, before Lord Beckett, continues.
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article