Andrew Burfield: Katie Kenyon's killer's sentence to be reviewed

Andrew Burfield initially denied killing Katie Kenyon

A killer who attacked his ex-girlfriend with an axe before burying the mother-of-two's body in woodland is to have the length of his sentence reviewed.

Andrew Burfield, 51, was earlier this month jailed for at least 32 years for murdering Katie Kenyon on 22 April and then trying to dispose of her remains in the Forest of Bowland, Lancashire.

The attorney general's office said it had "received a request for a review".

It will now be considered under the Unduly Lenient Sentences scheme.

The attorney general's office has 28 days from the date of the original sentencing - 17 November - to make a decision about whether to send the case to the Court of Appeal.

Were this to happen, judges would then review the original trial judge's sentence.

'Ferocious and cruel'

Burfield's trial at Preston Crown Court was told he had initially denied any knowledge of Ms Kenyon's disappearance.

He subsequently revealed to police that he had taken her to Gisburn Forest in the Forest of Bowland for a picnic and had "accidentally" killed her.

Burfield claimed Ms Kenyon had "bet" him he could not hit a drinks can with an axe that he was using to chop wood.

Phone records revealed he spent just over 42 minutes in the forest, where he killed her and buried her body.

Katie Kenyon's body was found by police on 29 April

In the hours that followed, Burfield used Ms Kenyon's phone to send messages, drafted the month before her death, to her children and to himself, he also left a voice note from his own device saying he was "a bit worried" about her.

Mr Justice Goose said it had been "a ferocious and cruel attack" which had been followed by Burfield "calmly" placing Ms Kenyon in the grave and covering her body.

It is not known who requested the sentence review.

An Attorney General Office spokesperson confirmed it had received a request to review the sentence.