Teen accused of murder claims stranger promised money to get rid of body

A 17-year-old pleaded guilty to aiding in the disposal of the body of Lindsey Birbeck at Preston Crown Court on Tuesday, August 4 . The teen is the primary suspect and faces charges of murder and manslaughter. On the second day of the trial, the accused continued to deny the charges. His lawyer told the court that the defendant had been asked to dispose of the woman's body by a stranger. The trial continues.

The socially-distanced hearing began on Monday, August 3 . The defendant denied all charges against him. However, this morning the court was informed that the accused had pleaded guilty to disposing of Birbeck's body. The teen claims that he was walking alone near Burnley Road when a stranger approached him.

The stranger allegedly offered the teen a lot of money to help him get rid of a dead body. The teen was then taken to the location of the body where he was left alone with it. He then took the body to try to dispose of it. He claims that he had no contact with the man since the incident. The stranger was supposed to leave money at a designated spot which he did not do.

When asked for the details of the mysterious stranger, the teen said he was a white man who spoke English. Since the alleged murderer's face was covered, the teen cannot offer any further details about his appearance. Prosecutor David McLachlan stated that the plea was not accepted by the prosecution, LancsLive reported.

On August 12, 2019, Birbeck was last seen at around 4 p.m. near her home in Huncoat, Lancashire. She remained untraceable since her last sighting. The worried family of the teaching assistant alerted police around midnight. A massive search was launched involving the police and members of the community.

12 days after Birbeck went missing, a dog walker found her body at Accrington Cemetery. The body of the mother-of-two had been left in a shallow grave. The hunt for the missing person turned into a murder investigation. A large wheelie bin with Birbeck's blood and DNA was found near the cemetery.

The police found footage of a local teen, who cannot be named due to legal reasons, dragging the wheelie bin shortly after Birbeck had gone missing. Police also discovered gloves near the shallow grave. On the inside of the gloves, DNA belonging to the suspect was found and on the outside, DNA belonging to Birbeck was traced.

The post mortem report stated that the 47-year-old woman had died due to "substantial" injuries to the neck that could be caused by someone kicking or kneeling on the front of the neck.

Nearly a year since Birbeck's death, a re-trial is taking place. A jury of nine women and three men are hearing the trial which is expected to last for two weeks.