A HGV driver from Marlborough is awaiting sentencing in Canada after he admitted murdering his former girlfriend by hitting her with a hammer and shooting her in the head.

Robert Leeming, 36, has denied killing the toddler daughter of his ex-girlfriend Jasmine Lovett.

Leeming was arrested as the main suspect in the deaths of the mother and her almost two-year-old daughter whose bodies were found in shallow graves in Kananaskis, 70 miles west of Calgary.

After been questioned by police, Leeming initially insisted he “did nothing wrong”. But he later admitted he had lost his temper and attacked Jasmine with a hammer and shot her in the head, the Mirror reports.

Leeming, who moved to Canada in 2013 and married a teacher, led the police to the site more than two weeks after the pair went missing on April 23, 2019.

Investigators previously said the pair were doused in gasoline and wrapped in blue blankets before they were covered in dirt and branches, according to the Global Times.

On the first day of his trial, Leeming reportedly pleaded guilty to killing Jasmine and not guilty to killing her daughter Aliyah Sanderson.

Leeming said Aliyah accidentally died after falling down the stairs and he killed Jasmine when she accused him of harming the girl.

He told court that he “just snapped” and attacked Jasmine with a hammer. He then went and got a .22-calibre rifle and shot her in the head.

The trial heard Jasmine had skull fractures and confirmed she was shot in the head, while Aliyah died of blunt force head trauma.

Leeming’s defence lawyer Balfour Der said there was no evidence to prove his client was responsible for Aliyah’s death. He said the medical examiner had testified it was possible the injuries might have been from a fall.

Leeming described Aliyah as a “great kid” and said he didn’t hurt her.

But prosecutor Doug Taylor said a fall did not fit forensic evidence and “defies logic”.

He told the court: “He told lie after lie after he murdered Jasmine, and, so says the Crown, Aliyah. He lied to the police. He lied to the public. He lied to his ex-wife. He lied to his employer.

“All of this was a calculated scheme to get away with murder – and not just one, but two.”

Jasmine and Aliyah were last seen by witnesses on April 16 at Leemings’ home – where they both lived. But they were only reported missing a week later when they did not arrive for a family dinner.

Leeming claimed he saw them on the evening of April 18 before going out on his date with his new girlfriend, who he had been seeing for a few months. He said he had previously been in an intimate relationship with Jasmine, who had lived with him for the past seven months, and he had “no issue with them at all”.

He claimed he and his lodger were “friends” and helped each other with their kids.

Speaking outside court during the trial, Jasmine’s mum, Kim Blankert, told the Global Times: “It’s kind of like getting hit by a truck every day that we come in here, but we still come and stand up for Jasmine and Aliyah.

“It doesn’t matter to me what happens to Robert Leeming because it doesn’t change anything, it doesn’t bring the girls back. Obviously, we want justice, but it doesn’t matter in the long run, as far as the healing goes.

“The healing comes from after this is all over, and we can just move forward and away from all of the violence.”

A date for Leeming’s sentencing will be set on December 3.