A TATTOOED bodybuilder who slit the throat of his ex-girlfriend’s new lover was branded ‘the most evil horrific monster walking this earth’ yesterday.

The grieving mother of the victim faced Andrew Burke in court and told him she hoped he would rot in Hell as he was jailed for 26 years for the horrific murder of her daughter.

Burke, 31, butchered travel agent Cassie Hayes in front of horrified staff and shoppers because he was jealous of her relationship with his ex-girlfriend, Laura Williams.

He had been released on bail only the day before, after being convicted of harassing Miss Williams, 29.

Yesterday, a judge said the ‘cold-blooded execution’ was a ‘cowardly act of revenge’. The court heard the horror unfolded on a busy Saturday afternoon in January this year when Burke walked into a Tui travel agent’s branch in Southport where Miss Hayes, 28, worked as an assistant manager.

As families – including children aged nine and 12 – planned their summer holidays in the store, Burke approached Miss Hayes, who was on the phone.

He told a cashier, ‘I just want to apologise for what I am about to do’, then stood behind Miss Hayes, lowered his hood and in an act of ‘unspeakable savagery’, slit her throat with a 12cm kitchen knife.

Prosecutor Gordon Cole QC told Liverpool Crown Court: ‘He lifted her head, exposing her neck with his left arm and then ran his right hand across her throat. It was immediately apparent that there was blood flowing and that Cassie Hayes had had her throat cut.’

Cassie Hayes, pictured with partner Laura Williams, was murdered by Andrew Burke, right, in January at the TUI shop where she worked as a travel agent. Burke had a child with Miss Williams but she left him for Ms Hayes, which led to a harassment campaign by the 31-year-old that culminated in him slitting her throat at a TUI shop in Southport

In the months before the attack Burke posted a string of chilling social media posts, including one of a tattoo on his hands that said 'what goes around comes back around'

Her mother Tracy was in tears outside court today, pictured, before she told Burke he was 'the most evil monster on Earth' for killing her beloved daughter because of a 'misconceived injustice' he believed had been done to him when Miss Williams left him

The judge told Burke, pictured, the vicious attack with a 5in knife was a 'cold-blooded execution' and was an act of 'unspeakable savagery' as he jailed him for 26 years

Ms Hayes' sister Nadine, second right, was pictured hugging friends outside the court today as the family paid tribute to their lost loved one

Burke, whose hands are tattooed with the words ‘what goes around comes back around’, then apologised, saying nobody deserved to see what had happened. But he was also heard saying Miss Hayes ‘had it coming for what she had done to his family’, Mr Cole said.

Chillingly, a final Instagram post with the caption ‘#toolate’, published on the day of the killing, may have been written in the shop while he waited for police to arrive.

He seemed ‘calm’ and showed no emotion, and was lying on the floor when officers burst in, the court heard. He told one: ‘I’m no threat to you, officer. I’ve got nothing else on me. The knife’s on the table.

‘Can you tell the family that was in here I’m sorry, I thought I’d waited till there were no kids in there... It was either kill me or kill her, so I killed her.The only reason I wasn’t still cutting her when you turned up was cos you’d shoot me and I didn’t want to put you through that.’

When he was then arrested on suspicion of murder and cautioned, he asked: ‘Has she died?’ Yesterday in court, it emerged that Burke had previously posted a series of disturbing online threats to Miss Hayes and Miss Williams, as well as to his sister.

However, because he had led an ‘unremarkable and trouble-free life’ until the age of 29, the threats weren’t taken seriously.

Three years ago, Burke, the former assistant manager of a sandwich shop, had posted gushing pictures on social media of his daughter with Miss Williams.

After she left him for Miss Hayes, he sank into a spiral of self-pity.

Last April he said on social media that the last year had been ‘the hardest time I will ever have in my life’.

He wrote about his ‘so-called straight fiancee having an affair with a woman’, adding: ‘Thank f*** for karma’.

In court, Mr Cole said: ‘He continually blamed Cassie for ruining his relationship. He made attempts apparently to take his own life but also spoke of how he would slit Cassie Hayes’s throat and kill her.’

The court heard that Burke’s ‘entire life revolved around his obsession with Laura Williams’. Both his mother and sister had tried to warn others that he was dangerous.

His sister Sarah branded the situation ‘toxic’ and had urged Miss Hayes to take out a restraining order against him.

Police were aware of Burke’s campaign against Miss Williams and Miss Hayes and last May he was issued with a police information notice warning him over any future contact.

#TOOLATE: THE CHILLING SOCIAL MEDIA MESSAGES WRITTEN BY BURKE BEFORE THE MURDER Burke, pictured, was jailed for life with a minimum of 26 years behind bars Andrew Burke posted 'sinister' messages along with a quote that appeared to suggest he was fighting a losing battle against psychological demons on the day he killed Ms Hayes. The Instagram post - which may even have been published after he killed Southport mother Cassie Hayes - was the last of an increasingly menacing set of comments that began months before the January 13 attack. Burke today pleaded guilty to the murder of the 28-year-old on a busy Saturday afternoon at the Chapel Street branch of TUI. In the months before Burke murdered Cassie he posted a stream of personal, often angry, messages across his social media profiles. Those comments suggested he was on the verge of 'breaking' and even included a link to an anti-knife crime campaign. The most shocking was posted on the day of the attack. The simple message #toolate followed a meme - an image with text overlaid - that pointed to a battle against inner demons. The words said: 'The lock on their cage in my mind is rattling. They're reaching through the bars. I don't know if I'm strong enough to stop them again.' After his brutal attack on Cassie, Burke walked to the centre of the branch and lay down as emergency response teams were called and paramedics fought to save her life. In the time it took for him to be arrested he is likely to have had access to his phone - leaving open the possibility the message was published after the killing. That message was just one of many social media posts that ranged from angry and bitter messages about the breakdown of a relationship to claims he suffered from mental health issues. Another Facebook post of Burke's bragged about 'karma' hinting at animosity towards Miss Williams and Ms Hayes Heavily tattooed Burke was formerly in a relationship with Laura Williams, who was Cassie's partner at the time of the attack. The court heard Burke's break-up with Ms Williams 'caused problems', and many of his posts appeared to be comments lashing out over the split and suggesting he suffered depression. On April 3, 2017, the 31-year-old took to Facebook to post: 'I suffer from anxiety and depression I am not ashamed of it anymore and it's not nice. People don't believe me when I tell them because I am always happy and laughing round them and trying to make others laugh. 'At times I do struggle. I can be hard to live with or to be around when I get this way and I know it. 'I try my best to control it and at times I succeed. I manage to get on top of it and control thing's [sic] but at times I break.' Days later he posted an image of a tattoo that runs across his hands saying 'What goes around comes back around', with a message appearing to be hitting out at his ex-partner. It was followed by a further post on Facebook referencing him experiencing 'the hardest time I will ever have in my life' and, referring to his ex-partner, the words: 'Thank f*** for karma.' His last post on Instagram was the #toolate comment on the day of Cassie's death. Burke had in fact been convicted of harassing Ms Williams and was awaiting sentence for that offence when he committed the murder. He had also made 'repeated threats' to kill Cassie and himself in January 2017. As well as admitting murder Burke, of Vincent Street, also admitted possession of an offensive weapon - a 5ins kitchen knife. On Facebook, his last visible post dates back to November when he published a link to an online petition calling for changes to the law to make the sentences for knife crimes more severe. Advertisement

He had already been charged with making malicious communications in January last year after his mother made a statement to police.

She reported him after he threatened to kill himself or Miss Hayes because he held her responsible for the end of his relationship. Burke pleaded guilty to this charge and was fined and ordered to do unpaid work.

Later on, he went to Miss Williams’s house and cut up her clothes. He was convicted of harassment in January this year at Sefton Magistrates’ Court. As he had abided by bail conditions during the case, prosecutors did not oppose the court’s decision to rebail him ahead of his sentence.

On the same day he called his sister and said: ‘I’ll turn left and go home, or turn right, go to Wilkinson’s, buy the biggest knife I can find, go to Southport and slit Cassie’s throat.’

The court heard she dismissed those comments and told him to go home and grow up.

Pictured: The scene of the attack at the TUI shop in January, which took place in front of young children. The court heard Burke apologised to staff and bystanders for 'what he was about to do'

Ms Hayes' mother, pictured centre with friends and family, said she had lost her best friend and branded Burke a 'fat coward' as she confronted him in court

Victim’s mother stares down killer in court and tells him: ‘Rot in hell, you fat evil coward’ 'On January 13, our lives changed forever. You took the most precious gift I ever had in my life, my beautiful daughter, my baby in the most horrific away. 'You are the most evil horrific monster walking on this earth. You do not deserve to breathe fresh air again. You predicted every detail of that day. 'You walked into her shop and told someone what you were about to do. 'You went behind my baby, and made out like you were giving her a cuddle, showing everyone that nothing was wrong. Then you ended my baby's life. 'You took a deep breath, and showed no remorse whatsoever. You watched my baby die, in that lady's arms. 'You are a sick disturbed man, and you should spend the rest of your life behind bars. 'She was my whole world, my everything, my best friend. I have got to live the rest of my life without her. 'I hope you rot in hell, you evil coward of a man, you fat fat evil coward.' Advertisement



But the next day, Burke fulfilled his threat in the most horrific fashion. Burke, from St Helens, Merseyside, admitted murder and having an offensive weapon in a public place.

Members of Miss Hayes’s devastated family were in the packed courtroom yesterday to hear the killer admit his crime.

Her widowed mother Tracy had to leave the room as details of her daughter’s death were read out.

But determined to confront Burke with the lifelong pain he had inflicted, she bravely returned to read out an emotional victim impact statement from the witness box.

The court also heard statements from staff and customers in the travel agent’s, describing how they had been deeply traumatised. A statement on behalf of Laura Williams was handed to the judge but not read out.

Jailing him for a minimum of 26 years, Judge David Aubrey said: ‘You perpetrated a cold-blooded execution in public for the purpose of revenge and in my judgment the killing was an act of unspeakable savagery. This was a cowardly act of revenge designed to kill and did kill a totally innocent person in broad daylight in front of, and witnessed by, so many.’

He said Miss Hayes’s family was left with the ‘agonising loss and the living nightmare of your evil crime’. He ordered that the horrific high-quality CCTV footage of the killing should never be made public.

In a statement at the time of Miss Hayes’s death, Laura Williams told of their hopes of marriage.

She said: ‘Cassie is my partner and words will not explain my sorrow and loss. She is the most amazing, gorgeous, selfless and strong person I know. She is my future wife and my forever.’

Ms Hayes, pictured with her mother Tracy, was described as an 'amazing and kind human being who would do anything for anyone'

Nadine, left with a friend, said the family is 'truly broken' by the death of her sister

In her own words, a mother's anguish On JANUARY 13 at 1.20pm our lives changed forever. You took the most precious gift I ever had in my life, my beautiful daughter, my baby, in the most horrific way ever. You are the most evil, evil monster walking on this whole earth. You do not deserve to breathe fresh air. You predicted every detail of that tragic day. You watched my baby from outside her shop before carrying out the most evil act possible. ‘You walked into her shop and told someone what you were about to do. ‘You went behind my baby and made up to give her a cuddle, showing to people there was nothing wrong, and ended my most beautiful baby’s life. You then took a deep breath with no remorse and you went and sat down and watched my baby die. ‘You are a sick, disturbed man and you do not deserve to walk the streets again. You should spend the rest of your life behind bars. ‘You have taken the most precious thing from me. She was my whole world, my everything, my best friend. I have got to live my life without her. It has torn our lives apart. I don’t know how I’m going to spend each day without her. I just want my baby back and I hope you rot in hell you evil, evil coward of a man.’ – Tracy Hayes addresses her daughter’s killer in court yesterday Advertisement

The assistant manager, pictured with sister Nadine, was also described as a 'selfless, gorgeous and strong' person

A charity website was set up in the wake of Miss Hayes' death to raise funds for the family