A 17-year-old boy has been jailed for life for murder. This is after he was proven guilty of murdering a teaching assistant, Lindsay Birkbeck, and burying her in a shallow grave.
The murderer, Rocky Marciano Price, who was unnamed previously because of reporting restrictions, was found guilty of murder on August 12 before being sentenced on August 14 at Preston crown court. He must serve at least 16 years in custody.
The whole hearing took less then three hours and the jurors unanimously found the 17-year-old guilty. They stated that he intended to kill the mother of two in the woods in Accrington, Lancashire, last August 2019.
Guilty of murder
The court heard how Price attacked the 47-year-old victim in the woods close to her home before he moved her body in the bin to Accrington Cemetery where he buried her in a shallow grave. His victim was later discovered wrapped in two plastic bags on August 24, just 12 days after she went missing, and it prompted a search by police and members of the community.
A post-mortem examination showed the cause of death was neck injuries. According to a Home Office pathologist, severe compressive force seemed to have been used, which could have been done in numerous ways including through kicking or stamping or kneeling on the front of the neck.
When the verdict was announced, Price did not show any emotion as he appeared through video link, nor did his parents in Preston Crown Court, as reported by The Guardian.
Birkbeck had gone for an evening walk to a nearby wooded area known as the Coppice on August 12, 2019. She had invited her daughter, Sarah, and her boyfriend for tea, but when she did not return home they started raising alarm bells in the community. The victim's body was found naked and heavily decomposed in the cemetery by a dog walker.
The jury heard how the dog walker's pet started sniffing at the bushes. The dog walker, Morgan Parkinson, went closer and he said he stood on something soft and squishy and he smelt something pungent.
Birkbeck was later identified through dental records. Price is said to have learning disabilities and autism, he then admitted dragging the bin from the Coppice on August 17 with the victim inside, across Burnley Road to the cemetery.
Price claimed he was not involved in her death and that a mystery man had approached him in the area offering a massive amount of money if he disposes the body, as reported by Dailymail.Co.
Identifying the suspect
On August 27, footage was released to the media showing Price on Burnley Road pulling the bin. He was identified by school teaches and the same day, attended Greenbank Police Station with his family where he was arrested, as reported by The Sun.
Price's name was previously unreleased. However, trial judge Justice Yip ruled that public interest in knowing the murderer's identity outweighed concerns over his welfare. She later on added that she had no doubt that the murder was significantly remediated.
Judge Yip said that Price formed the intent to kill the victim and he was deliberately targeting lone women. The attack on the victim was fast and brutal, proving that Price lay in wait with the intent to kill a passing woman.
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