Not just another drug addict this time

Police have formally identified the body of a woman found in a unit north of Wollongong.

Investigators say the body of 34-year-old Valmai Jane Birch was discovered in a wheelie bin in the bathroom of her Woonona apartment last night.

Detectives believe she had been dead for several weeks and say the circumstances are suspicious.

Wollongong chief inspector Joe Mura says neighbours raised the alarm.

"Police were notified by a member of the public who had concerns about the premises and who was supposed to be in there, and also there was unusual odours coming from the premises," he said.

"Investigators are out canvassing a number of bits of information so anyone with information if they could contact Crime Stoppers."

Detectives say a person who also had access to the apartment is assisting the investigation.

The gruesome discovery comes less than a month after a body in a wheelie bin was dug up in a backyard in the same suburb.

A post mortem will be carried out tomorrow to determine the cause of death.
This woman was a known drug addict who was forced by the welfare agency to give her first-born child up for foster care. The baby boy was born a drug addict and given over to a set of foster parents not long after his birth. Throughout the 13 years of this boy's life, he has been through many difficulties, been diagnosed with several neurological disorders including ADD and ODD.

Despite these challenges, including his mother's constant relapses back onto heroin and not being a very reliable influence in his life, the boy has come along quite well with a loving set of parents who have since adopted him. This boy is one of my youngest son's best friends and they have known each other since kindergarten. This poor boy already knows what his mother was, why she had to give him up, had to deal with her rejection of him. Relations between them had soured up to this point, and he had to be told the circumstances behind his birth mother's death, due to the media coverage.

My family and I were shocked when we heard about it, and despite knowing quite a bit of what went on, I can't bring myself to thinking that the woman deserved such a sad fate. Her son is in shock and there is much worse for him to come, I fear. Already there will be a team of psychiatrists and counsellors to help him and I hope they can. A sad day for us.