David John Birnie was born on February 16, 1951, in Wattle Grove, a semi-rural suburb of Perth, Australia. He was the oldest of five children in his family. David grew up in an environment that school friends and church acquaintances described as dysfunctional. There were frequent rumors surrounding his family, especially involving issues like alcoholism and promiscuity. The family did not share regular meals together, and it was common for his parents not to cook for their children.

In the early 1960s, David's parents moved the family to another suburb in Perth. During this time, he met Catherine Harrison, who would later become his partner. At age 15, David left school to work as an apprentice jockey for a local trainer named Eric Parnham at the Ascot Racecourse. While working there, he began to show troubling behavior, including physically abusing the horses. He also developed a habit of exhibitionism.

As a teenager, David was involved in serious incidents, including  a night when he broke into an elderly woman's room while wearing only stockings over his head and attempted to assault her. By this time, he had already been in and out of prison for various misdemeanors and felonies.

As he grew older, David struggled with addiction to sex and pornography. He married his first wife in his early twenties, and they had a daughter named Tanya. At the time of his arrest for later crimes, Tanya was 10 years old. Understanding the impact of his actions, she changed her surname and expressed that she did not want to have children, feeling a connection to her father's troubled legacy.

In late 1986, David was working at a car wrecker's shop in Willagee, a suburb of Perth.

In October and November of 1986, over the course of five weeks, David and Catherine Birnie abducted, sexually assaulted, and murdered four women in Perth, Western Australia. The couple lured their victims—ranging in age from 15 to 31 into their home at 3 Moorhouse Street, Willagee, using promises of help, offers of transport, or outright threats. Their residence became the central location for the abuse, rape, and eventual murder of each woman.

Their first known victim, Mary Neilson, was a 22-year-old university psychology student who visited David at his car wrecking shop to buy discounted tires. On October 6, 1986, after being lured to their home, she was gagged, raped, and strangled. Her body was buried in a shallow grave in Gleneagle Forest.

Two weeks later, the Birnies abducted 15-year-old Susannah Candy, while she was hitchhiking. After several days of captivity, Catherine was instructed by David to strangle her with a nylon cord as a test of loyalty. Catherine complied. The body was also buried in Gleneagle.

Noelene Patterson aged 31, was taken on November 1, 1986, after her car ran out of fuel. Though David initially delayed killing her, Catherine demanded her death out of jealousy. She was drugged and strangled, then buried apart from the others.

The fourth victim, Denise Brown, was abducted on November 5, 1986. After being assaulted, she was taken to a pine forest, stabbed, and then bludgeoned with an axe when she tried to escape her grave.

Their final victim Kate Moir, a 17-year-old schoolgirl, was abducted on November 9 but survived. After being held overnight, she escaped the next morning while Catherine was distracted. Moir sought help at a local vacuum cleaner shop, and the police were alerted. Thanks to Moir’s detailed account and her ability to identify the Birnies’ address and names, police arrested the couple within hours.

Initially, Catherine denied involvement while David claimed Moir had come willingly. However, under questioning, David confessed to the crimes and led police to the burial sites.