Casepin
Back to cases

Case file

1986 Moorhouse murders

SOLVED1985Willagee, Perth, Western Australia, Australia3 SOURCESUPDATED JUL 2026

Documents violence · sexual violence · crimes against children · torture · suicide — written to inform, not to shock.

Illustrative

David John Birnie (born 16 February 1951) and Catherine Margaret Birnie (née Harrison, born 23 May 1951) were a couple from Perth, Western Australia. Over five weeks in October and November 1986, they abducted five women and girls aged 15 to 31, raping and murdering four of them at their home at 3 Moorhouse Street in Willagee, a Perth suburb; the press called the crimes the Moorhouse murders. The fifth victim survived.

Their first victim, 22-year-old psychology student Mary Neilson, had met David at the car-wrecking yard where he worked. On 6 October 1986 she visited Moorhouse Street, where she was gagged, chained, and raped, then driven to bushland near Gleneagle, in Bedfordale, raped again, strangled with a cord, and stabbed, and buried in a shallow grave. About two weeks later, 15-year-old Susannah Candy was abducted while hitchhiking in Claremont, bound, and taken to Moorhouse Street, where she was subjected to a similar ordeal; after an unsuccessful attempt to strangle her, the Birnies drugged her with sleeping pills, and Catherine killed her with a cord while David watched. Candy was buried near Neilson's grave.

On 1 November 1986, 31-year-old bar manager Noelene Patterson was picked up by the Birnies after running out of fuel on Canning Highway. David raped her repeatedly over three days; after Catherine threatened suicide unless Patterson was killed, David forced an overdose on her and strangled her while she slept, and the couple buried her separately from the other victims. On 5 November 1986, 21-year-old Denise Brown was abducted from a bus stop and taken the next day to a Wanneroo pine plantation, where David raped and stabbed her; believing her dead, the couple buried her, but when Brown moved in the grave, David struck her twice with an axe before reburying her.

On 9 November 1986, 17-year-old Kate Moir was abducted at knifepoint and held at the Birnies' home. The following day, while David was at work and Catherine was distracted, Moir escaped through a window and reported the assault to police, providing the couple's address and phone number; Constable Laura Hancock believed her account from the outset. A drawing Moir had hidden in the house and a video cassette she described were later found there, corroborating her account, and the Birnies were arrested. David and Catherine initially gave conflicting statements, but Detective Sergeant Vince Katich obtained David's confession, and David then disclosed where the earlier victims had been buried.

David pleaded guilty to four counts of murder and one count each of abduction and rape and was sentenced to four terms of life imprisonment. Catherine was found sane to stand trial, convicted, and sentenced to four terms of life imprisonment by the Supreme Court of Western Australia; both were required to serve twenty years before becoming eligible for parole.

David was held largely in solitary confinement at Fremantle Prison until its 1991 closure, and the couple exchanged more than 2,600 letters while incarcerated. He was found dead in his cell at Casuarina Prison on 7 October 2005; an inquest found he had hanged himself, with contributing factors including a lapse in his antidepressant medication and the confiscation of his computer. Catherine, held at Bandyup Women's Prison, has worked as a prison librarian. Her parole applications were rejected in 2007 and 2016, and in March 2009 the state Attorney-General, acting on requests from victims' families, determined she would remain imprisoned for life; an appeal was turned down in March 2010. Kate Moir has since campaigned against automatic three-year parole reviews, and one of Catherine's sons has publicly supported that campaign.

Key facts

Victims
Susannah Candy, Denise Brown, Kate Moir, Mary Neilson, Noelene Patterson
Date
1985
Location
Willagee, Perth, Western Australia, Australia
Case status
solved

Case timeline

  1. 1951-02-16

    David John Birnie was born.

  2. 1951-05-23

    Catherine Margaret Harrison, later Birnie, was born.

  3. 1985

    Catherine left her husband and children to resume her relationship with David Birnie.

  4. 1986-10-06

    Mary Neilson was abducted, raped, strangled, and stabbed, and buried near Gleneagle, Bedfordale.

  5. 1986-10

    Susannah Candy was abducted while hitchhiking in Claremont about two weeks after Neilson's murder; she was drugged and strangled.

  6. 1986-11-01

    Noelene Patterson was picked up after running out of fuel on Canning Highway; she was held for three days before being drugged and strangled.

  7. 1986-11-05

    Denise Brown was abducted from a bus stop; she was raped, stabbed, and killed with an axe at a Wanneroo pine plantation.

  8. 1986-11-09

    Kate Moir was abducted at knifepoint and held at the Birnies' home.

  9. 1986-11-10

    Moir escaped through a window and reported the assault to police, leading them to the Birnies, who were arrested; David later confessed and disclosed the locations of the earlier victims' graves.

  10. 1991

    Fremantle Prison, where David Birnie had been held largely in solitary confinement, closed.

  11. 2005-10-07

    David Birnie was found dead in his cell at Casuarina Prison; an inquest found he had hanged himself.

  12. 2007

    Catherine Birnie's parole application was rejected.

  13. 2009-03-14

    The Western Australian Attorney-General determined, following requests from victims' families, that Catherine Birnie would remain imprisoned for life.

  14. 2010-03

    Catherine Birnie's appeal of the determination that she remain imprisoned for life was turned down.

  15. 2016

    Catherine Birnie's fourth bid for parole was declined.

  16. 2017

    One of Catherine Birnie's sons publicly called for her execution.

Best coverage

No approved coverage links are attached yet.

People

  • Susannah Candy

    VICTIM

    15-year-old high school student from Nedlands; abducted while hitchhiking in Claremont about two weeks after Neilson's murder, then drugged and strangled.

    citation on file

  • Catherine Birnie

    CONVICTED

    Found sane to stand trial; convicted and sentenced to four terms of life imprisonment by the Supreme Court of Western Australia. Held at Bandyup Women's Prison; a March 2009 determination that she remain imprisoned for life was upheld on appeal in March 2010.

    citation on file

  • Denise Brown

    VICTIM

    21-year-old victim abducted from a bus stop on 5 November 1986; raped, stabbed, and killed with an axe at a Wanneroo pine plantation.

    citation on file

  • Laura Hancock

    LAW ENFORCEMENT

    22-year-old constable who believed Kate Moir's account of her abduction from the outset, based on the detail she provided.

    citation on file

  • Kate Moir

    VICTIM

    17-year-old victim abducted at knifepoint on 9 November 1986; escaped the following day and reported the assault to police, leading to the Birnies' arrest. Has since campaigned against automatic parole reviews in Western Australia.

    citation on file

  • Mary Neilson

    VICTIM

    22-year-old University of Western Australia psychology student; abducted 6 October 1986, raped, strangled, and stabbed, and buried near Gleneagle, Bedfordale.

    citation on file

  • Vince Katich

    LAW ENFORCEMENT

    Detective sergeant who obtained David Birnie's confession, leading him to disclose the locations of the earlier victims' graves.

    citation on file

  • David Birnie

    CONVICTED

    Pleaded guilty to four counts of murder and one count each of abduction and rape; sentenced to four terms of life imprisonment. Found dead in his cell at Casuarina Prison on 7 October 2005; an inquest found he had hanged himself.

    citation on file

  • Noelene Patterson

    VICTIM

    31-year-old bar manager at the Nedlands Golf Club; abducted on 1 November 1986 after running out of fuel, held captive for three days, then drugged and strangled.

    citation on file

Places

Willagee, Perth, Western Australia, Australia

-32.0473, 115.8121

View on the map

Common questions

What happened to the victim?
David and Catherine Birnie, a couple from Perth, Western Australia, abducted five women and girls aged 15 to 31 over five weeks in October and November 1986, raping and murdering four of them at their home and attempting to murder the fifth, who escaped and led police to their arrest; both were convicted and sentenced to four terms of life imprisonment.
Where did the murders happen?
Willagee, Perth, Western Australia, Australia.
Who was convicted?
Catherine Birnie (Found sane to stand trial; convicted and sentenced to four terms of life imprisonment by the Supreme Court of Western Australia. Held at Bandyup Women's Prison; a March 2009 determination that she remain imprisoned for life was upheld on appeal in March 2010.) and David Birnie (Pleaded guilty to four counts of murder and one count each of abduction and rape; sentenced to four terms of life imprisonment. Found dead in his cell at Casuarina Prison on 7 October 2005; an inquest found he had hanged himself.).
What is the current status of the case?
Status: solved. Last verified July 2026.

Sources

  1. David and Catherine Birniewikipedia · Wikipedia · 2026-07-07
  2. Contemporaneous coverage — news.com.aunews · news.com.au · 2026-07-07
  3. Contemporaneous coverage — The Sydney Morning Heraldnews · The Sydney Morning Herald · 2026-07-07

Last verified JUL 2026

More cases in Western Australia