A man who has spent 38 years in prison for murder wept today as his conviction was quashed by the Court of Appeal.
The ruling in the case of Peter Sullivan ends what’s thought to be the longest-running miscarriage of justice in British history.
Mr Sullivan was convicted of murdering Diane Sindall in Birkenhead in August 1986. The 21-year-old florist had been beaten and raped and left in an alleyway.
The 68-year-old had always maintained his innocence and first tried to challenge his conviction in 2016, but the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) declined to refer the case, and he lost his own appeal bid in 2019.
Two years later, he again asked the CCRC to refer his case and new tests, ordered by the commission, revealed Mr Sullivan’s DNA was not present on samples preserved at the time.
Mr Sullivan said spending 38 years in prison for Ms Sindall’s murder was “very wrong”, but he said he was “not angry, I’m not bitter”.
At a hearing on Tuesday, lawyers for Mr Sullivan told the Court of Appeal in London that the new evidence showed that Ms Sindall’s killer “was not the defendant”.
Mr Sullivan attended the hearing via video link from HMP Wakefield, listening to his conviction being quashed with his head down and arms folded before appearing to weep and putting his hand to his mouth.
A relative in court also wept as the judgment was read out.
“He has always been trying and working towards a breakthrough. That DNA evidence was that moment for him,” said his solicitor Sarah Myatt. “When he was told about the new evidence, he was ecstatic.”
Mr Sullivan’s lawyers told the Court of Appeal on Tuesday that the evidence showed that Ms Sindall’s killer “was not the defendant”.
Barristers for the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said the DNA evidence was “sufficient fundamentally to cast doubt on the safety of the conviction” and that there was “no credible basis on which the appeal can be opposed”.
Lord Justice Holroyde, sitting with Mr Justice Goss and Mr Justice Bryan, said in light of the new DNA evidence, “it is impossible to regard the appellant’s conviction as safe” as he quashed the conviction.
Hunt for DNA match
Merseyside Police has confirmed detectives are now “carrying out an extensive investigation in a bid to identify who the new DNA profile belongs to, as to date there is no match on the national DNA database”.
Detectives are also contacting individuals identified in the original investigation to request voluntary DNA samples.
That initial investigation was the largest in the force’s history and, for many officers, the “frenzied” nature of the attack made it the worst case they had ever encountered.
Ms Sindall, who was engaged to be married, 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 walking to an all-night garage when she was attacked.
Mr Sullivan, who was 29 at the time and described as a loner, initially denied the attack but later signed a confession.
Questions have since been raised about whether he had proper legal representation during police interviews. Evidence related to bite marks on Ms Sindall’s body, considered crucial at the trial, has also since been called into question.
At the time of Mr Sullivan’s trial in 1987, DNA technology was not available and subsequent requests for new tests had been refused.
‘Nobody felt safe’
On the grass verge close to where Ms Sindall’s body was found, a memorial stone has been placed in memory of her and “and all of our sisters who have been raped and murdered”.
Her murder sent a chill through the community and led to the creation of the Rape and Sexual Abuse Centre on Merseyside. “Nobody felt safe, it was a very scary time,” said the centre’s Jo Wood.
She says the uncertainty has resurfaced. “There’s someone out who killed Diane Sindall,” said solicitor Ms Myatt.
“The biggest fear we’ve got is of the unknown and now we’ve got an unknown. We don’t know who it might be. Who knows who this person is? Are we going to encounter him?
“We might have encountered him, we don’t know, we just know that he’s out there.”
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Ms Sindall’s family told Sky News they did not want to comment on the case.
Mel John, landlord of the pub where Ms Sindall worked on the night of her death, said: “I’m glad he’s being released if he’s innocent. It has been a long time.”
Mr Sullivan is also aware, his solicitor says, of the impact on Ms Sindall’s family.
“We are very sensitive and respectful to the fact that there is a victim, Diane Sindall and her family, that will be affected by this process,” the solicitor said.
