David Birnie handcuffed her foot to his and gave her some pills to take, and she was told to go to sleep. David hanged himself in a West Australian jail cell in 2005. It was November 1986, and the couple had already abducted, imprisoned, sexually assaulted and killed four other young women . The Candy family had reported Susannah as a missing person, and the letters did not convince them any different, but police believed she was a runaway. Catherine Birnie in police custody. Encouraged by a parole officer, Catherine began working for the McLaughlin family as a housekeeper. Due for another parole review this year, Catherine Birnies hopes were dashed in October 2018 when the WA Attorney-General introduced a new law into parliament.
This decision makes her the third Australian woman (after Katherine Knight and Patricia Byers) to have her papers marked "never to be released".