THE judge in the Lindsay Birbeck murder trial yesterday lifted a ban on the media naming the teenager who killed her.

We can now reveal, for the first time, that the 17-year-old boy who was found guilty of her murder is called Rocky Marciano Price.

It took a jury of nine women and three men just four and a half hours on Wednesday to find Price, from Accrington, unanimously guilty of killing the teaching assistant.

His identity has been protected until now because English law states any defendant aged under 18 is entitled to anonymity.

It is, however, at the discretion of a judge to lift the order should they deem it in the public interest for a defendant to be named, if members of the media make a request.

Upon hearing the arguments for leaving reporting restrictions in place from junior defence barrister Mark Stuart, and after making her decision to allow the removal of such restrictions, Her Honour Amanda Justice Yip said: "I am unable to conclude there's good reason to keep reporting restrictions.

"They would only be in place for a period of six months, as the defendant will turn 18 in February next year.

"The real public interest exists now, at the time of his conviction and sentencing, and I therefore direct that order be lifted."

He will be sentenced by Mrs Justice Yip on Friday.

Price was born and grew up in Accrington, to a traveller family, and lived not far from Accrington Cemetery in the Whinney Hill area of the town, with his parents, Martina and Creddy Price, and his five siblings.

His mum, 37, and dad, 47, have been present in court at every single hearing their son was required to attend, along with other relatives.

On Wednesday, they looked on from the public gallery while their son appeared via videolink from where he is being remanded at HMP Wetherby, a youth offending institute in West Yorkshire.

On hearing the jury’s verdict, Price’s parents wept outside the courtroom.

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From the outset, jurors and members of the press and public had been told about Price’s learning difficulties and the fact he has autism and ADHD, something which he is medicated for.

He attended The Alternative School in Barnoldswick, and it was here that he learned skills in woodwork and landscape gardening, with teacher Timothy Bradley telling jurors he preferred 'practical things' over academic subjects like maths and English.

The court had heard that Price had a below average IQ level of 65 and would attend his school several afternoons a week, although he would rarely engage in conversation with his teachers or his fellow pupils.

He was described as 'very quiet, pretty much non-verbal' often answering questions with a 'grunt' or a 'shrug of the shoulders', and Mr Bradley said he 'never saw any aggression from him at all'.

In order to spark an interest in academia, those teachers closest to him told jurors they would engage him in 'sneaky teaching', which involved tactics such as dropping simple maths into practical tasks, like asking him to work out the perimeter of a wooden box that he was making.

The court also heard how he enjoyed taking care of chickens, watching Western films and playing on his Xbox.

Mr Bradley told the jury: "He is a very strong walker. We did the bronze Duke of Edinburgh Award with him which involved walking 13km which he would complete no problem.

"He was definitely a strong lad for his age."

However, it was during the trial that jurors head about Price's vulnerabilities and his difficulties with communication and social interaction, which led his teachers to question his alleged involvement in the disappearance of Lindsay Birbeck.

Mr Bradley added: "Sometimes he would do his work sometimes he wouldn’t.

"Sometimes he would just say ‘no’ and would be adamant he wouldn’t do it.

“After getting to know him I knew there was no point in trying to push it if he said ‘no’.

“He could be quite easily led, if he was asked to take something somewhere he would and would not ask a lot of questions about it. I would see him follow somebody’s direction without question sometimes.

“In relation to the footage released by the police following Lindsay’s disappearance my initial thought was that someone had asked him to move the wheelie bin.”

READ > REVEALED: The reason why first Lindsay Birbeck murder trial was halted

In a report produced in 2015, a psychologist assessed Price as having 'limited understanding of his own emotions and his own emotional well-being' and also 'appeared to have little insight into the connection between events and emotions', while a second report in 2016 described the youth as having 'no stranger awareness and needing supervision outside'.

Headteacher Kirsty Swierkowski, who told jurors she had known Price for three-and-a-half years and had taught him on a one-to-one basis, said she 'never had any issues with him in school'.

She said: "He has never caused me any bother whatsoever.

“He never brought money into school. I don’t think money was of concern to him. If he needed anything his family would provide it. He’s not a person who would be motivated by money.

“Rocky has never caused us any issues, which is why it all came as a shock. My initial concerns were with his vulnerabilities and him being open to exploitation.

“He would be asked to do something and sometimes would do it without question.

"His feelings and vocabulary were very limited and he has little insight into the connection between events and emotions.”

Price was convicted of murdering the mother-of-two on Wednesday, but claimed a mystery man had asked him to move and dispose of her body in return for a large sum of cash.

Twelve days after her disappearance, Mrs Birbeck's remains were found in Accrington Cemetery, a place where many of Price's relatives, including his grandfather, who is also named Rocky Marciano Price, are buried.