WALKING FREE
‘Beast of Birkenhead’ who spent 38 years in jail for beating florist to death is CLEARED thanks to DNA bombshell
Decision is longest miscarriage of justice in British history
A MAN who spent almost 40 years in prison accused of beating a florist to death has been cleared thanks to a DNA bombshell.
Peter Sullivan was dubbed the "Beast of Birkenhead" for the 1986 murder of 21-year-old Diane Sindall in Bebington, Merseyside.
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The alleged killer, who was 29 at the time, has spent the past 38 years maintaining his innocence after he was jailed for life in 1987.
His conviction has now been quashed following a review at the Court of Appeal - making it the longest miscarriage of justice in UK history.
It also means a new murder investigation has been launched to find Diane's killer.
Sullivan, who held his hand to his mouth and appeared tearful as the decision was handed down, said he was "not angry" but "bitter".
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He added: "I lost my liberty four decades ago over a crime I did not commit.
"What happened to me was very wrong but does not detract that what happened ... was a heinous and most terrible loss of life.
"The truth shall set you free."
It comes after new tests ordered by the Criminal Cases Review Commission revealed his DNA was not present on samples preserved at the time.
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The judge said: "Strong though the circumstantial evidence undoubtedly seemed at the trial, it is now necessary to take into account the new scientific evidence pointing to someone else - the unknown man.
"If the new evidence had been available in 1986, the evidence as a whole would have been regarded as insufficient.
"In the light of that evidence it is impossible to regard the appellant's conviction as safe."
The Crown Prosecution Service today told the Court of Appeal the new evidence was enough to cast "sufficient" doubt on the conviction.
It also agreed the fresh clue was "reliable" and that the CPS "does not seek to argue that this evidence is not capable of undermining the safety of Mr Sullivan's conviction".
How do you get a conviction overturned?
PETER Sullivan was able to get his conviction overturned after receiving help from the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC).
The CCRC is an independent body that investigates potential miscarriages of justice.
They will examine a case and decide whether it reaches the threshold for a miscarriage of justice.
If so, the case will be referred to the Court of Appeal - the only court that can overturn a conviction or sentence.
It can order a retrial in cases where a judge has made an error.
Any case sent for appeal must be heard by the courts but there is no guarantee the convictions will be quashed.
For the CCRC to be able to refer a case, there would need to be new information that may have changed the outcome of the case if the jury had known about it.
Duncan Atkinson KC, for the CPS, said: "The respondent considers that there is no credible basis on which the appeal can be opposed, solely by reference to the DNA evidence.
"On the contrary, the DNA evidence provides a clear and uncontroverted basis to suggest that another person was responsible for both the sexual assault and the murder.
"As such, it positively undermines the circumstantial case against Mr Sullivan as identified at the time both of his trial and his 2021 appeal."
Diane had just left her shift as a part-time barmaid at a pub in Bebington when her small blue van ran out of petrol.
She was making her way to a garage when she was beaten to death and sexually assaulted in a "frenzied" attack.
Her body was discovered partially clothed on August 2 in an alleyway.
Diane's belongings were later found close to where a small fire had been started - with a man seen running from the scene.
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Sullivan, who is watching the appeal from HMP Wakefield, was said to have spent the day of the murder drinking heavily.
Following his arrest in September 1986, he was quizzed 22 times and denied legal advice in the first seven interviews - despite requesting it.
Sullivan later "confessed to the murder" in an unrecorded interview a day after his arrest.
He then made a formal confession but the court was told this was "inconsistent with the facts established by the investigation".
It also went against his earlier interviews, with Sullivan retracting the admission later that day.
Since his conviction, questions have been raised about whether he had proper legal representation during his interviews.
Evidence related to bite marks on Diane's body has also been called into question.
At the time of the case, DNA technology was not available and subsequent requests for new tests were refused.
Sullivan first went to the CCRC for help in 2008 but they did not refer the sentence to the Court of Appeal.
How often are convictions overturned in Britain?
Why was Peter Sullivan jailed?
Peter Sullivan was dubbed the "Beast of Birkenhead" for the 1986 murder of 21-year-old Diane Sindall in Bebington, Merseyside.
The day after Diane's murder some of her clothes were found burning in a small fire on nearby Bidston Hill.
Passers by told police they recognised a man called "Pete" running out of bushes.
They also failed to pick him out of a line up.
More witnesses later came forward with descriptions matching Peter.
He was arrested for murder on September 23 after he gave officers a number of "completely different" accounts of his movements.
Sullivan later "confessed to the murder" in an unrecorded interview a day after his arrest.
He withdrew the apparent confession later that day.
Peter was not given a lawyer at this point because the police said it would have been a "hindrance to the enquiry".
He was only given a solicitor two days after his arrest.
The prosecution during his trial focused on his confessions, which were withdrawn, and supposed evidence from a dental expert that matched a bite mark on Diane to Peter's teeth.
Why was Peter Sullivan cleared?
New tests ordered by the Criminal Cases Review Commission revealed his DNA was not present on samples preserved at the time.
The judge said: "Strong though the circumstantial evidence undoubtedly seemed at the trial, it is now necessary to take into account the new scientific evidence pointing to someone else - the unknown man.
"If the new evidence had been available in 1986, the evidence as a whole would have been regarded as insufficient.
"In the light of that evidence it is impossible to regard the appellant's conviction as safe."
The Crown Prosecution Service today told the Court of Appeal the new evidence was enough to cast "sufficient" doubt on the conviction.
It also agreed the fresh clue was "reliable" and that the CPS "does not seek to argue that this evidence is not capable of undermining the safety of Mr Sullivan's conviction".
Sullivan first went to the CCRC for help in 2008 but they did not refer the sentence to the Court of Appeal.
He then launched his own appeal bid in 2019, which judges dismissed after ruling the bite mark evidence was not central to the prosecution at trial.
In 2021, Sullivan went back to the CCRC and raised concerns over police interviews, the bite mark evidence and the murder weapon.
The independent body revealed Sullivan's DNA was not present on samples preserved at the time.
This led Merseyside Police to confirm they were "carrying out an extensive investigation in a bid to identify who the new DNA profile belongs to".
How often are convictions overturned in Britain?
In Britain, convictions are overturned in a small percentage of cases.
The Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) reviews cases where there's a concern about a miscarriage of justice.
They only refer around 3.5% to the Court of Appeal.
Of those referred, approximately 70% are successful, resulting in a total overturn rate of about 2.5% of all cases presented to the CCRC.
Compensation
The Miscarriage of Justice Compensation Scheme enables some people in England and Wales who have had their conviction overturned (or quashed) by the courts to apply for compensation.
To be eligible to apply for compensation, any of the following must apply:
- The individual’s appeal was successful and it was submitted 28 days or more after their conviction in the Crown Court, or 21 days or more after sentencing for a conviction in a magistrate’s court.
- The individual’s conviction was overturned after it was referred to the Court of Appeal by the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC).
- The individual has been granted a free pardon.
He then launched his own appeal bid in 2019, which judges dismissed after ruling the bite mark evidence was not central to the prosecution at trial.
In 2021, Sullivan went back to the CCRC and raised concerns over police interviews, the bite mark evidence and the murder weapon.
The independent body revealed Sullivan's DNA was not present on samples preserved at the time.
This led Merseyside Police to confirm they were "carrying out an extensive investigation in a bid to identify who the new DNA profile belongs to".
DNA questions
The force revealed they had no matches on the police database but were contacting people previously identified in the original probe to request new samples.
Sullivan's barrister Jason Pitter KC today told the court that Diane's murder was "a grotesque offence".
But he argued that the evidence could not now pass "the threshold with which a prosecution could take place".
While he accepted that improvements in science and the "passage of time" had "significantly assisted" Sullivan's position, the new DNA evidence showed the killer "was not the defendant".
He also explained the bite mark evidence, which the prosecution claimed matched Sullivan, was no longer viewed as reliable evidence of identification in criminal cases.
Mr Pitter told the court "significant admissions" and "incriminating statements" made by Sullivan at the time of the killing were "inherently unreliable" due to his "vulnerability".
He added: "The appellant was extremely vulnerable in an interrogative situation, because of his limited intellectual functioning, combined with his problems with self-expression, his disposition to acquiesce, to yield, to be influenced, manipulated and controlled and his internal pressure to speak without reflection and his tendency to engage in make-believe to an extreme extent.
"What he was saying was nonsense, in plain terms."
Merseyside Police said they are now "committed to doing everything" to find the person whose DNA was left at the scene .
Detective Chief Superintendent Karen Jaundrill said: "Our thoughts remain with the family and friends of Diane Sindall who continue to mourn her loss and will have to endure the implications of this new development so many years after her murder.
"Unfortunately, there is no match for the DNA identified on the national DNA database.
"We have enlisted specialist skills and expertise from the National Crime Agency, and with their support we are proactively trying to identify the person the DNA profile belongs to, and extensive and painstaking inquiries are underway."
Det Supt Jaundrill said the DNA does not belong to any member of Diane's family or her fiance at the time.
She revealed more than 260 men have been screened and eliminated from the investigation.
The officer added: "Diane's murder sent shockwaves through Birkenhead when it happened and I would appeal to anyone who lived in the area at the time, and has any information which could help us with our inquiries, to come forward.
"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.
"You may have been in the area of Borough Road on the night of the murder and may have seen someone acting suspiciously.
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"If you were in the area, or had concerns about an individual at the time, let us know so our team can trace and request a DNA sample from the person you suspect, or a relative of theirs if they have perhaps passed away, or they have emigrated to another country."
Anyone with information can contact Merseyside Police on 101, quoting incident reference 23000584997.
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