David Birnie, Who With Catherine Birnie Murdered Four Women in Perth, Is Found Dead in His Cell
Birnie was serving life at Casuarina Prison for the 1986 killings. Police said the death did not appear suspicious. He and Catherine Birnie were due to be eligible for parole in 2007.
Published
In 1986, David and Catherine Birnie abducted and murdered four women in Perth over five weeks. On October 7, 2005, David Birnie was found dead in his cell at Casuarina Prison, south of Perth.
Police said Birnie, 55, was found at about 4:30 a.m. and that the circumstances did not appear suspicious. "The police investigation into his death will be coordinated by the Police Prison Unit, on behalf of the coroner," they said in a statement. He was later reported to have taken his own life.
Birnie was serving a life sentence for the abduction, rape, torture and murder of four women in October and November 1986. He and his de facto partner, Catherine Birnie, lured the women to their house in suburban Willagee or abducted them. The killings ended when a fifth woman, whom Birnie had raped and held captive, escaped and alerted police. Catherine Birnie, then 52, was serving a life sentence in Bandyup women's prison, and the pair were due to be eligible for parole in 2007.
Sources
- Serial killer found hanged in cell, The Sydney Morning Herald (AAP)
- WA government's list of notorious killers, SBS News (AAP)