Birch was captured on CCTV on the last day she was seen alive,March 9,2011.Credit:Police Media
He faced a three-week trial in Wollongong District Court before Judge Andrew Haesler. The jury retired to deliberate on Monday,May 23,before returning a verdict of guilty on Friday.
Neighbours had called police when they noticed a bad smell emanating from the unit between March 15 and 21,2011 became “progressively worse”,and officers forced entry through a window,Crown prosecutor Chris Todd said in his opening address.
He said Birch was facedown in a 240-litre bin with a yellow lid in the shower recess and “partially hog-tied” with material binding her ankle to her waist. According to agreed facts at trial,the shower hose was in the bin,the top half of Birch’s body submerged in water and her lower limbs protruding.
At the time of her death,Birch had a drug addiction and had worked as a sex worker in Port Kembla.
David Bagster was arrested in 2019 and charged with manslaughter.Credit:Police Media
Bagster,a qualified butcher,met Birch through a mutual acquaintance in May 2010. In the period to April 2011,he was using cannabis and methylamphetamine,or ice,the agreed facts state.
The Crown alleged Bagster and Birch’s relationship was “volatile”,marked by repeated aggression,verbal altercations and physical violence including him threatening and assaulting her.