Police are conducting a massive DNA screening operation after a man wrongly convicted of a brutal 1986 murder spent 38 years behind bars. Peter Sullivan, now 68, had his conviction for the murder of 21-year-old Diane Sindall quashed earlier this year, exposing a grave miscarriage of justice.
A Life Stolen and a Life Lost
On Friday, 1 August 1986, Diane Sindall, a 21-year-old florist and bride-to-be, was driving home in Birkenhead, Wirral, when she ran out of petrol. She decided to walk to the nearest garage, a mere 500 yards away, to fill a jerry can. Tragically, she never made it.
Diane was subjected to a frenzied sexual attack in an alleyway. She was beaten to death with a 2ft crowbar, suffering a fractured skull, a broken jaw, neck injuries, slashes to her face, and possible bite marks. Detectives described her injuries as the worst they had ever encountered. Her shoes and bag were missing, but her jewellery was left untouched.
38 Years of Injustice
Peter Sullivan, an unemployed labourer with a low IQ, was arrested for the crime. He claims that during interrogation, Merseyside Police officers beat him and threatened to charge him with 35 rapes. He was refused a solicitor and, under this pressure, made a false confession which he later retracted.
Despite this, he was convicted and dubbed the "Beast of Birkenhead." Mr Sullivan's conviction was finally overturned in May 2025. Speaking for the first time since his release, he stated, "I can't forgive them for what they've done to me, because it's going to be there for the rest of my life."
Merseyside Police stated it "regrets" the "grave miscarriage of justice" but has not issued a formal apology to Mr Sullivan.
The Renewed Hunt for the Killer
The investigation was reopened in 2023 after advanced DNA testing identified a match for an unknown male from crime scene samples, specifically semen recovered from Diane's body.
This breakthrough has led to one of the largest DNA dragnets in the case's history. To date, 456 men have voluntarily provided DNA samples and have been eliminated from the inquiry. This includes:
- Diane's relatives
- Her fiancé at the time of her death
- A man originally arrested on suspicion of the murder in 1986, who was also cleared by the new test
The DNA screening has been conducted locally and in other UK cities including Swansea, Perth, London, Hull, and Newcastle. So far, no match has been found on the national DNA database.
Merseyside Police are now appealing to the public: "We believe there are people who have information, or suspicions, about the murder of Diane in 1986 and I would appeal to those people to come forward, as the information they have could be key to finding who the DNA belongs to."
