Boy killed teaching aide and moved body in wheelie bin, court told

A TEENAGE boy murdered a teaching assistant then dragged her body through the streets inside a wheelie bin, a court heard yesterday.

Lindsay Birbeck, 47, was killed in woodland near her home and her body was moved five days later to Accrington

Cemetery, Preston Crown Court heard. The primary school teaching assistant’s body was found in a shallow grave 12 days after she vanished on Aug 12 last year.

A 17-year-old boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, told police he buried the body after he moved it inside a wheelie bin to the cemetery but he denies murder. The teenager, who was 16 at the time of the killing, claimed he had been asked to “get rid of a body” by a stranger who had promised him money.

Jurors heard Mrs Birbeck had disappeared after going for a late afternoon walk through a wooded area near her home in Accrington. David Mclachlan, prosecuting, claimed that the motherof-two was attacked in the woods by the boy within 30 minutes of leaving her home.

On Aug 17 the teenager was seen dragging the wheelie bin through the streets between the wood and the cemetery. Mr Mclachlan told the court: “Several witnesses saw a male pulling a wheelie bin. The bin appeared to be heavy. The prosecution case is that the reason for this is simple: the wheelie bin now contained the body of Lindsay Birbeck.”

He said that Mrs Birbeck’s body was found buried and wrapped in two transparent plastic bags on Aug 24 by a dog walker. A post mortem examination found that she had died from severe neck injuries.

The court heard that the teenager told police he moved the body but denied any involvement in her death. The jury was told that a glove found at the defendant’s home at an Accrington farm had traces of the victim’s and the teenager’s DNA. The case continues.