Named, boy killer who wheeled a mum’s body through town in a bin
A TEENAGER who murdered a mother-oftwo and buried her in a shallow grave at a cemetery containing several of his family has been named as Rocky Marciano Price.
On Wednesday the 17-year-old was convicted of murdering Lindsay Birbeck when she went for a walk near her home.
Price was identified after trial judge Mrs Justice Yip ruled that the public interest in knowing the identity of Mrs Birbeck’s killer outweighed concerns over his welfare.
The judge said: “This was a dreadful crime which understandably generated strong public interest.
“The public will naturally want to know who this person was as they come to terms with something that rocked the local community.”
The jury at his murder trial at Preston Crown Court was told how last August, Price, then aged 16, had been on the prowl in woods for lone females in Accrington, Lancashire.
He is thought to have killed Mrs Birbeck, 47, shortly after she entered the coppice.
Severe compressive force appeared to have been used, according to a Home Office pathologist, which could have been done in several ways including through stamping or kicking, or kneeling on the front of the neck.
Autism
Price then moved the teaching assistant’s naked body in a wheelie bin across a main road and into the cemetery. He concealed the body around a tree hollow.
It was found 12 days after Mrs went missing.
Among the family graves at Accrington Cemetery was his grandfather, also named Rocky Price.
His parents, Creddy, 47, and Martina, 39, took Price to a local police station after a CCTV clip was released by police which showed a young male pulling the wheelie bin.
Price confessed to burying Mrs Birbeck but denied any involvement in her killing as he stated a mystery man had offered him “a lot of money” to “get rid” of a body.
The court heard Price, named after famous boxer Rocky Maciano, had no previous convictions or cautions and had lived all his life with his parents and five siblings at their home near the cemetery.
It was revealed he was an exceptionally quiet teenager with learning difficulties, but he was said to have grown up in a “supportive family” of travellers.
He attended a local specialist school after he was diagnosed with autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.
It was said he had a “limited understanding” of his own emotional wellbeing and appeared to have little insight into the link between events and emotions.
Sentencing takes place today.
Birbeck