Judge names teenage ‘wheelie bin’ killer
Anonymity order lifted from 17-year-old who murdered mother of two and left corpse in cemetery
The pathologist said an attempt had been made to cut off a leg, possibly with a saw
A TEENAGER who killed a teaching assistant and hid her body in a cemetery close to the remains of his grandfather, has been named after a judge lifted an anonymity order.
Rocky Marciano Price, 17, admitted burying Lindsay Birbeck, 47, at Accrington cemetery, but denied murdering her, claiming he had agreed to conceal her body after being offered money by a stranger.
But the jury at Preston Crown Court found him guilty of murdering the mother of two in what the police described as a “truly despicable crime”.
Price could not be named during the trial because he has not yet turned 18, but the judge lifted the order following an application by the media.
The jury had been told that Ms Birbeck had been missing for 12 days when her body was discovered wrapped in plastic in Accrington cemetery, which was where several members of Price’s family – including his grandfather – had been laid to rest.
The court heard how Price had been on the prowl for lone women in a wooded area known as the Coppice.
Cause of death was deemed to be severe compression to the neck, which could have been inflicted through stamping, or kicking, or kneeling. No evidence of a sexual assault was found but an attempt had been made to cut off a leg, possibly with a saw. After Ms
Birbeck’s body was found, police released CCTV footage of a young man pulling a blue wheelie bin down the road close to the cemetery, prompting Price to come forward.
In an account described by the prosecution as “implausible fiction”, the teenager claimed he had been approached by a stranger who had offered him a large amount of cash to get rid of the body. Price, who has autism and an IQ of just 65, attended a special school, where he was described by teachers as “pretty much non-verbal”. He will be sentenced today.