‘Easygoing teenager could be easily led’
JON MACPHERSON
ATEACHER who taught the teenager accused of the murder of Lindsay Birbeck has told jurors he could be ‘quite easily led’ if he was ‘told to take something somewhere’.
The teenager was also described as being ‘free, easygoing and quite placid’ and that he had never displayed any aggression to staff or other pupils. He denies murder.
The name of the school and the teacher giving evidence cannot be published because of reporting restrictions in the case.
The jury heard evidence from a teacher at the defendant’s school who described him as ‘very quiet and withdrawn’.
He said the youth would mostly give ‘yes, no or don’t know’ answers, adding: “If you started a conversation with him it was very difficult to do that.”
The teacher said the defendant preferred the outdoors and practical activities and when asked by prosecutor David McLachlan QC if he was ‘fit and able to do it’ the teacher agreed saying: “He was always good at walking. He’s a strong lad.”
The jury was told that the teacher was informed by a colleague on WhatsApp of a police CCTV appeal on August 27 and after viewing the video clip was ‘99pc sure’ it was the defendant. He said he was also aware of Lindsay Birbeck’s disappearance after seeing missing posters at a recent festival.
The teacher said during his time at the school he only had a ‘handful of conversations with [the defendant]’ and only about subjects of ‘real interest to him’.
When asked by defence barrister Mark Fenhalls QC if he had ever seen the defendant angry, the teacher replied: “He was free, easygoing, quite placid.
“I never saw any aggression towards me or any other pupils at the school.”
Mr Fenhalls then asked the teacher: “Did you ever find that when he was stressed or anxious he would like to go out into the countryside and it calmed him down?”
He replied: “Not that he got particularly stressed at school.
“During the day if he was in a bad mood or did not want to engage in anything then I would suggest a walk because it was something practical and healthy.”
The court was told that the ‘value of money’ never came up in conversations between the teacher and the defendant and only in maths lessons.
The jury were then referred to the teacher’s statement where he said: “I would just like to add that [the defendant] could be quite easily led. If he was told to take something somewhere he probably would do and not ask a lot of questions about why he was doing it.”
The teacher told the court that if he asked the defendant to do something practical he would ‘do it without question’.
A headteacher who also taught the accused in the Lindsay Birbeck murder trial has told jurors at the trial she had never seen him being ‘exploited’ because of his ‘vulnerabilities’.
Preston Crown Court also heard that she had not been in a situation where she had to ‘test whether he knew right from wrong’ but she ‘never felt any concerns or worries being around him’.
Giving evidence, the headteacher described the defendant as ‘very, very quiet’ and would ‘ never prompt a conversation with you’.
She said: “You would always have to speak to him. Usually you got one or two word answers from him. Occasionally you would get a sentence or two if it was something he was interested in.”
When asked by prosecutor David McLachlan QC what the defendant’s reaction would be if he didn’t want to do something, she said: “He would either shake his head or just say no and that would be it.
“You would get no reaction from him.
“He is very different from all my other pupils where I might get inappropriate language used or they might get reactive or aggressive at times.
“He would very much just say no and that was it. You would try and encourage him and he would say no.
“There wasn’t much of a reaction from him.”
The headteacher was then asked if the defendant ‘knew right from wrong’. She said: “I don’t think I’ve very been in a situation where I’ve had to test whether he knew right from wrong. I never felt any worries or concerns being around him.”
The headteacher said: “When I was first made aware of this my initial reaction was that he could be asked to do something and he would do it without question.
“He’s the sort of person who would do something without questioning. He is somebody who will either do something or not do something but he might not necessarily question what he is about to do.
“Out of all my pupils he is somebody who would never cause me any bother whatsoever.
“When he came into school he just got on with his work or if he didn’t want to do his work he would just sit there quietly.”
The trial continues