Youth blames mysterious stranger for death of woman hidden in wheelie bin

A TEENAGER accused of murdering a teaching assistant said he was offered money by a stranger to move her body, a jury has heard.

The naked body of Lindsay Birbeck, 47, wrapped in two plastic bags, was discovered in a shallow grave at the back of Accrington Cemetery, Lancashire, on August 24 last year.

Twelve days earlier, the motherof- two and keep- fit enthusiast left her home in Burnley Road, Accrington, for a walk to a nearby area of woodland known as the Coppice, Preston Crown Court was told.

It is alleged the 17- year- old defendant – who cannot be identified for legal reasons – killed Mrs Birbeck shortly after she entered the Coppice and concealed her body in a blue wheelie bin which he dragged across to the cemetery five days later.

After Mrs Birbeck was discovered, detectives issued to the media a CCTV still of a male pulling a wheelie bin along Burnley Road and the defendant – then aged 16 – went on to voluntarily attend a police station with family members.

In a prepared statement, he admitted moving the bin and burying the body but said that he was not involved in Mrs Birbeck’s death.

He 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 straight away, 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.”

Mrs Birbeck was identified through dental records and a post- mortem examination concluded the cause of death was neck injuries.

The teenager denies murder and manslaughter.