Boy, 16, accused of murdering woman before moving her body to a cemetery in a wheelie bin
The teenager buried the 47-year-old mother-of-two in a shallow grave five days after her death, the court heard.
Wednesday 26 February 2020 20:45, UK
A 16-year-old boy is accused of murdering a teaching assistant before transporting her body to a cemetery in a wheelie bin.
Lindsay Birbeck, 47, from Accrington, Lancashire, was last seen alive on the afternoon of 12 August as she headed towards an area known locally as The Coppice.
The mother-of-two was killed there a short time later as she walked through woods behind her home, a court heard.
Mrs Birbeck's concerned family raised the alarm when the keep-fit enthusiast did not return home that evening.
Police launched an investigation and a search operation which initially focused on The Coppice.
Members of the local community went looking for Mrs Birbeck but she was not discovered until 24 August.
Her naked body was found in a wooded area at Accrington Cemetery wrapped in two clear plastic bags, Preston Crown Court heard.
David McLachlan QC, prosecuting, said: "There are two important people in his case - Lindsay Birbeck who sadly is dead and the defendant in the dock who the prosecution say is the killer.
"The young man who went to exceptional lengths to move her body and also did a very good job of hiding her body in a shallow grave in the cemetery.
"He did such a good job that the police or public, notwithstanding the efforts they went to, did not find her body until 12 days after she had gone missing."
Mr McLachlan said the defendant, who cannot be named for legal reasons, pulled a blue wheelie bin along Burnley Road towards The Coppice more than four hours after Mrs Birbeck went missing.
The teenager, now 17, is accused of using it to conceal her body.
The youth retrieved the bin from the The Coppice and hauled it back across Burnley Road to the cemetery five days later, the court heard.
A dog walker rang police on 24 August after he spotted a plastic cover and what appeared to be a leg in woodland at the cemetery, the jury was told.
Mrs Birbeck was identified through dental records and a post-mortem examination concluded the cause of death was neck injuries.
Severe compressive force appeared to have been used, according to a Home Office pathologist.
A CCTV still of a male pulling a blue wheelie bin along Burney Road was issued to the media on 27 August.
The defendant attended a police station later that day with family members.
He admitted moving the bin and burying the body in a prepared statement but said he was not involved in Mrs Birbeck's death.
The teenager said he was walking alone in the area when he was approached by a stranger who promised him "a lot of money" if he disposed of a body.
He stated: "He showed me where the body was and he went away straightaway leaving me to 'get rid of the body'.
"I have not met this man before. I have not met him since, nor have I had any contact with him. He has not paid me any money.
"He told me that he would leave the money for me near where the body had been at first once everything was clear."
The youth, who has autism and ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder), denies murder.
The trial is estimated to last up to three weeks.