Found Deceased UK - Lindsay Birbeck, 47, Accrington, 12 Aug 2019 *Arrest* #4

[Alyce]

10:29
What will happen today?
Barrister Mark Fenhalls QC will first sum up the defence case to the jury.

Her Honour Mrs Justice Yip will then summarise the facts of the case.

Once the summing up is concluded the jury will then retire to consider their verdicts.

10:31
Trial about to start
The court clerk has just announced that the trial will resume in a few minutes.

The defendant is appearing via video link and is wearing a white shirt and blue waistcoat. He is accompanied by an intermediary.

All parties are now in court and we are waiting for the Judge to enter.



https://www.lancs.live/news/lancashire-news/lindsay-birbeck-murder-trial-daysix-18704469

 

[Alyce]

10:37
Judge and jury now in court
Her Honour Mrs Justice Yip and the jury of nine women and three men are now in court.

Mr Fenhalls is beginning his summing up of the defence case.

 

[Alyce]

Lancashire Telegraph also reporting live

LIVE: Jury will retire to consider verdict as Lindsay Birbeck murder retrial comes to an end

 

[Alyce]

10:41
'Every woman's nightmare'
Mr Fenhalls said: “The killing of Lindsay Birbeck was a truly terrible thing.

“Every single one of you will share the pain of her family and friends, most of all her children, and will think with great sorrow in your hearts of what happened to her.

“The circumstances of her death are every woman’s nightmare. Out walking, somewhere close to be home and be killed.

“It is difficult for any man to understand the threat of physical violence many woman will fear when walking the streets sometimes.”

10:44
Pain felt by family of Lindsay and defendant
Mr Fenhalls said: “Crucially these trials are about who was responsible and what was in their mind at the time they did it.

“What I say this morning in no way undermines the memory of Lindsay Birbeck or the pain felt by her family.

“It is critical you do this job without emotion or sympathy swaying you in either direction.

“Just as you will feel natural human sympathy and sorrow for her family I’m sure you will understand the pain and suffering of the family of a 17-year-old defendant.”

10:46
'Stranger killings are rare'
Mr Fenhalls said the prosecution have described this as a ‘stranger killing’.

He told the jury: “It is fortunate in this country that these events are rare, as most killings are done by people who are known to the person who has died.”



https://www.lancs.live/news/lancashire-news/lindsay-birbeck-murder-trial-daysix-18704469

 

[Alyce]

10:36am
The defendant is appearing via video link from HMP Wetherby.

He is accompanied by an intermediary.



10:40am
Mr Fenhalls: "I am going to address you on behalf of the defendant.

"The killing of Lindsay Birbeck was a truly terrible thing.

"Every single one of you will share the pain of her family and friends, particularly her children.

"The circumstances of her death are of course every woman's nightmare.

"In truth it is difficult for any man really to understand the threat of physical violence.

10:42am
"The prosecution have told us all a little about her life.

"While some of you on a human level may feel that is not enough to hear, there is good reason.

"These trials are not about the life of those who have been killed.

"The focus is on the events about which you have heard.

"More about the defendant and less about the life of Mrs Birbeck


10:43am
"You understand the pain and suffering of the parents of a 16-year-old child who has the problems the defendant has.

"That is not easy for his family either.


10:44am
"The prosecution describe this as a stranger killing.

"It is fortunate in this country that these events are rare, as most killings are done by people who are known to the person who has died.

10:46am
"You will see the families on both sides. They are here. They are in different courts.

"If we were doing this normally you would be off to the side. You are now centre stage and it's your consideration in this case that matters.


LIVE: Jury will retire to consider verdict as Lindsay Birbeck murder retrial comes to an end

 

[accylocal]

Wrong quote.

 

[Alyce]

10:47am
"I urge you to remember, if you agree with something that one of us has said, then use it.

"If you don't put it to one side. It's you opinions, your thoughts that matter.

"Lindsay Birbeck did not make it back home on August 12 and she deserves some justice.

Reaching a verdict accordingly - that is how you best serve the memory of Lindsay Birbeck

The core direction is called the burden of proof

The prosecution bring the case and you have to be sure.

"If you're not sure you acquit.



LIVE: Jury will retire to consider verdict as Lindsay Birbeck murder retrial comes to an end

 

[Alyce]

10:49
How to get justice for Lindsay
Mr Fenhalls said: “Justice is delivered by you following your jury oaths, following the evidence and reaching conclusion accordingly.

“That is how you best serve the memory of Lindsay Birbeck. You look at this coolly and calmly and put emotion to one side.

“Can you be sure [the defendant] killed Lindsay Birbeck? The short answer is no.

You can’t exclude the possibility somebody else did it. If somebody else did it, may have done it, you can’t be sure he did it.”

Admitted burying Lindsay
Mr Fenhalls said the defendant has admitted burying Lindsay Birbeck and that the prosecution evidence only “proves what he admitted last year”.

He said: “He took that wheelie bin and brought it back down into a cemetery in Accrington where he buried her.

“You know he has no convictions, no criminal record of any sort. He lives in a family home.”

Mr Fenhalls said the defendant has a low IQ and is autistic.



DNA and scientific evidence 'not point to defendant being killer'
Mr Fenhalls said: “You can be sure that he buried her in that cemetery. He has pleaded guilty and that’s what he admitted to police last summer.

“I suggest all the DNA and scientific evidence all points to his guilt on that count.

“None of it points to the fact that he is the killer.”




https://www.lancs.live/news/lancashire-news/lindsay-birbeck-murder-trial-daysix-18704469

 

[accylocal]

Hi thelastleg,

No I dont know him personally, never have come across him. Obviously as soon as it came to light who it was , with living locally and hearing different things and also checking his Facebook profile you build up a picture.

The boy is named after a very famous fighter. He is also a traveller and lives on a traveller site. Travellers have a different way of life and children are brought up quick with strength and fighting being a main factor especially for men. If I remember rightly his Facebook showed him stood there clenching his fist. He also went to the gym and could be seen lifting weights. All this to me points to the fact he was capable physically of moving a body compared to other 16 year olds.

One thing I did notice, when his picture first went on facebook to identify the individual many people recognised him because of the bin. Apparently he would walk around that area with that bin collecting scrap metal. This also ties in regarding his traveller background. But for me that proves also he was capable of moving the body if he is used to wheeling around heavy materials. As I said, many people mentioned this when his picture first came online.

So to me, as I have said above I think physically he was able to do it.

Now, the mental side. That's the thing which has also been a doubt. Any person without a learning difficulty never mind with would struggle mentally to face death without coming clean. To get the materials, to wrap the body that good, to leave no materials at the crime scene and then to dispose of the body in the cemetery is remarkable. Dont forget nothing was found at the scene of the crime and until someones pet rummaged around and found poor LB she still had not been found.

I know someone with autism and unless I told him how to do it, he would remember what I told him but he would struggle to do what he had apparently done. He must of done his research. Even if he went back to his home and someone explained what to do I just dont think he could of faced it and disposed of the body how he has. Not forgetting again how he left no trace at the crime scene and inside the bin.

He also disposed of all of her personal items especially the coat which has never been found.

It does make me think did someone help him but nothing has come to light from witnesses or CCTV.

I really do think he planned what he was going to do when or if he murdered LB.

 

[Alyce]

So what is the key question?

"It is of course this: can you be sure that the defendant killed Lindsay Birbeck.

"And the short answer is no, you cannot exclude the possibility that somebody else did it.

"And if someone else did it you can't be sure he did it.

"What has he admitted? He has admitted he buried her.

"What you have heard from the prosecution is evidence of what he admitted.

"I want you to think carefully about the evidence and what that proves.

"Does it prove he did anything other than bury her?

"You know he took that wheelie bin behind the Whitakers Arms and brought it back down and took it to Accrington Cemetery where he buried her.

"You know he has no convictions.

"You know he lives with his family.

"You also know he's a child with a low IQ, is autistic and has ADHD, and attended an alternative school.

So what is agreed and straightforward for you in this task?

"Every jury goes about this is a different way.

"One of the places you may feel is a good place to begin is with the agreed facts.

"And then where does this take you?

"Well you can be sure he buried her in that cemetery and that is what he admitted to the police last summer.

"And all the scientific evidence points to his guilt on that count, but none of it points to him being the killer.

"Now let's ask some questions about where and when it happened.

"You will recall the pathology - the results do not give a precise time or date of death.

"You may think that a combination of that and she missed the appointment to cook a meal for her daughter is pretty conclusive evidence that she died that afternoon. On August 12.

"Because that's what makes sense, isn't it.


LIVE: Jury expected to retire to consider verdict as Lindsay Birbeck murder retrial comes to an end

 

[Alyce]

Lindsay was dead by 6pm
Mr Fenhalls told the jury that it is a “perfectly sensible conclusion” Lindsay was dead when she broke dinner appointment with daughter at 6pm on August 12, 2019.

No evidence of sexual assault, bruising or defensive wounds
Mr Fenhalls is now taking the jury through the post-mortem examination evidence presented by Home Office pathologist Dr Naomi Carter.

He said it showed:

• no evidence of sexual assault
• no evidence of any bruising
• no evidence of any abrasions, cuts or stab wounds
• no evidence of any blow to her head nor to her face that would cause any damage to the underlining bone structure
• no evidence of defensive wounds to her hands and no damage to her fingernails

Perhaps killed by someone she knew'
Mr Fenhalls said: “There is no evidence constant with any attack by a weapon from a stranger from behind.

“It at least opens the door to the possibility she was not on her guard and perhaps killed by someone she knew.”




https://www.lancs.live/news/lancashire-news/lindsay-birbeck-murder-trial-daysix-18704469

 

[Alyce]

So what did Dr Carter find that will be important to you?

"There is no evidence whatsoever of any sexual assault.

"There is no evidence of any bruising - maybe, maybe not, as it was indistinguishable from the decomposition.

"Third, no evidence of any abrasions, cuts or stab wounds. No weapons used.

"There was no evidence of any blow to her head or to her face which would've caused damage to the underlying bone structure.

"Fifthly - no evidence of defensive wounds to her hands. No damage to her finger nails.

"There are nine ladies on the jury, every single one of you will know what damage can be caused to finger nails.

"There is no evidence consistent with an attack with a weapon from behind by a stranger.

"This suggests she may not have been on her guard and was killed by someone who knew her.

"She was killed by damage to her neck - probably by a knee or a foot.

"If you ever get to question two, you may consider Dr Carter saying 'I cannot discount that the wounds to the neck were not caused after death'.

So what do we have?

"Lindsay Birbeck was 5"10 and 53kg.

"The defendant was smaller than this.

"When you consider those relative points, and she was obviously fit and healthy, does that raise the possibility and combined with the absence of defensive injuries that in truth she may have known her killer.

 

[Alyce]

Lindsay Birbeck was 5"10 and 53kg.


which equals 116 lbs or 8 stone 4 lbs

tall but by no means heavy

 

[Alyce]

Let's move to the timeline.

"On August 12 we see the defendant heading up towards the Whitakers Arms.

"We do not know where he went after that. There is no evidence.

"The next time we see him is after 6pm, four hours later.

"For those four hours he is somewhere on that side of Burnley Road.

"We do not know where. There is no evidence

 

[Alyce]

She may have known her killer'
Mr Fenhalls said is now telling the jury about the size, height and weight of the defendant and Lindsay Birbeck

He said: “When you consider Lindsay was fit and healthy, she was going out for a walk and had already been for a run that day.

“Does that raise the possibility when combined with the absence of defensive injuries that in truth she may have known her killer?”


No evidence where defendant was
Mr Fenhalls has told the jury that the defendant was first seen after 2pm on August 12 however there is “no evidence of where [the defendant] went” until he returned in the direction of home at about 6.20pm on August 12

He said: “”For those four hours he is somewhere on that side of Burnley Road. We do not know where.”

 

[Roostercat]

Lindsay Birbeck was 5"10 and 53kg.


which equals 116 lbs or 8 stone 4 lbs

tall but by no means heavy

I would have never said she was only 53KG, that is very slight for someone so tall, almost waif like

 

[Alyce]

"Sometime after 4pm, Lindsay Birbeck walks down Burnley Road and turns left down Peel Park Avenue."

Mr Fenhalls is now showing the jury a map and asking them to put it in their jury bundle.

"You will see there and will be familiar with Peel Park Avenue and Burnley Road.

Mr Fenhalls is now describing the area around Burnley Road, the Coppice and Cardiac Hill


"Looking at that you can work out that the Bibby's drove to that car park and walked up Cardiac Hill.

"The defendant went somewhere near there at around 2pm.

"Lindsay Birbeck left her house just after 4pm.

"The police say they can't be sure she turned down Peel Park Avenue.

 

[Alyce]

Dont know what happened'
Mr Fenhalls said Lindsay left home at about 4.05pm and walked along Burnley Road. She turned then left down Peel Park Avenue.

He said: “We don’t know where she went after that. We don’t know because there is no evidence whether she paused to speak to a friend in the village, a stranger on the pavement.

“We do know that in those four hours somewhere between 80 and 100 cars went down that road. There was no working CCTV down that road

“The only homes searched were Lindsay Birbeck and [the defendant].

“We simply don’t know who she may have spoken to, whether she stopped for a while, whether she strode on quickly. It’s all just a blank.”

 

[Alyce]

Lindsay Birbeck leaves home at about 4.05pm. She walks along the Burnley Road and turns left down Peel Park Avenue.

"We do not know where she went after that.

"There is no evidence.

"We do not know if she spoke to someone on the pavement,

"We know around 80 cars went down that road in those four hours.

"We know there was no CCTV on that road.

"We know the only two houses searched were her's and the defendants.

"We don't know who she spoke to on that road.

"It's all just a blank.

 

[Alyce]

So MF is saying we don't know where the defendant went in those 4 hours as there is no proof - cctv, sightings etc.

But, equally, there is no cctv or other proof that Lindsay actually turned up Peel Park Avenue - she could have cut through the lane between the Whittakers Arms and the Funeral Directors.

From his own quote
The police say they can't be sure she turned down Peel Park Avenue.

And yet, he makes this a definite in his statement.