The teenager who was found guilty of killing mother-of-two, Lindsay Birbeck, has been detained for life. 

Rocky Price, who was just 16 when he murdered the teaching assistant and put her body in a bin before burying it in a shallow grave in Accrington Cemetery, was sentenced at Preston Crown Court today.

Amanda Justice Yip gave him a life sentence with a minimum term of 16 years, minus the 348 days already served in custody.

She said: "We have heard today the victim personal statement from Sarah Birbeck which reflects the terrible loss to their whole family.

"Throughout, their family and friends have conducted themselves with dignity.

"They have my deepest sympathy.

"When Lindsay went for a walk, in broad daylight, nobody could've dreamt she would be putting herself in the path of danger.

"I am sure Rocky Price had formed a murderous intent by 4pm that day "Another woman was hurrying away from the Coppice from a different direction.

"She was lucky. Lindsay Birbeck was not. She entered the Coppice just moments later.

"We have no evidence of what happened last but we know the defendant killed her.

"By 4.30pm her phone was not receiving messages.

"There was no apparent motive, why the defendant killed Lindsay only he knows.

"This was the entirely random killing of a stranger "While these crimes are rare they strike fear into communities.

"The evidence leaves me in no doubt that the defendant killed Lindsay.

"Having killed Lindsay, Rocky Price set about concealing her body.

"He went home then returned with a rucksack. He may have had a saw with him.

"He buried her in a shallow grave in the cemetery.

"It is an odd feature that the defendant chose to move the body from the Coppice.

"I cannot speculate why he chose to do that but it did lay undetected for 12 days.

"I cannot imagine her family's agony.

"The defendant was identified by CCTV images, brazenly wheeling the bin through Accrington.

"He was 16 years old at the time of the offence.

"He has learning difficultues and an IQ of 65.

 "He has autism and ADHD.

"He has no previous convictions or cautions.

"He has difficulties which reduce his capacity for empathy however it cannot excuse or explain his actions - I have no doubt he knew what he was doing when he killed her and that killing her was terribly wrong.

"This was a premeditated attack - he persisted in a plan to target a lone woman.

"He used his practical aptitude to set about concealing the body.

"The murder of a stranger in broad daylight is horrifying to all right-thinking members of society.

"I am encouraged to read of his positive behaviour while in custody but he displayed the same behaviour at his special school with no indication of what was to come.

"The law recognises that crimes committed by children should be considered in a different light to those committed by adults.

"The minimum term and starting point is 12 years.

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

"Had he been older and not suffering from any mental disability the minimum term would be significantly longer.

"There is no evidence of a long-term plan or the defendant going equipped to kill, but it was to some degree premeditated.

"He was targeting lone women.

"Lindsay was not the first to attract his attention.

"The court cannot be certain of the defendant's motives when burying her body in the cemetery.

"It would be unrealistic to approach this case as an ordinary murder.

"The findings leave me in no doubt this was a deliberate and brutal killing.

"Rocky Marciano Price, for the murder of Lindsay Birbeck, you will be detained at her majesty's pleasure.

"You will serve a life sentence.

"You will serve a minimum term of 16 years less the 348 days you have already served in custody.

"Only then will the parole board decide if you are eligible for release.

"Upon any release you will be on licence for the rest of your life."

Mrs Birbeck was discovered wrapped in two plastic bags on August 24 last year - 12 days after she went missing, which prompted a huge search by police and members of the community.

On Wednesday, Price, of Whinney Hall Road, Accrington, was found guilty at Preston Crown Court of her murder, exactly a year on from when she disappeared.

Mrs Birbeck left her home in Burnley Road, Accrington, for a late afternoon walk to a nearby wooded area known as the Coppice.

She had invited her daughter, Sarah, 17, and Sarah's boyfriend for tea at 6pm, but when she did not return as planned her family raised the alarm.

Price, who was 16 at the time, had been on the prowl in the woods for lone females and is thought to have killed Mrs Birbeck shortly after she entered the Coppice.

His parents took him to a police station several days after Mrs Birbeck was found, when police released a CCTV clip of a young male pulling a blue wheelie bin behind him on Burnley Road.

Price admitted dragging the bin from the Coppice on August 17, with Mrs Birbeck inside, across Burnley Road to the cemetery.

But he claimed he was not involved in her death and that a mystery man had approached him in the area with the promise of a large cash reward if he disposed of the body.