39 years after Diane Sindall was brutally murdered while on her way to get petrol, her family is now seeking justice as new DNA evidence has led to the overturning of the conviction of Peter Sullivan, also known as the ‘Beast of Birkenhead’.

The family of a young florist brutally battered to death in 1986 now face another painful quest for justice after a man was cleared of her murder following 38 years in prison. 

Diane Sindall, who was 21 and engaged to be married, was savagely attacked while walking to get petrol after a late shift in a pub before her mutilated body was dumped in an alleyway in Birkenhead, Merseyside. 

Local labourer Peter Sullivan was jailed for her murder a year later, but on Tuesday three senior judges quashed the 68-year-old’s conviction after the Court of Appeal heard DNA evidence showed the killer was someone else. 

Merseyside Police said the investigation into Miss Sindall’s killing was reopened in June 2023 when it was notified by the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) that DNA recovered at the scene was not a match for Mr Sullivan. 

Finding the killer after nearly four decades will present a major challenge for detectives, who have already screened and ruled out 260 suspects, including Miss Sindall’s family and her fiancé. 

They have been unable to find a match for the DNA on Miss Sindall’s body which they are certain is that of her killer. Police will be hoping to find new witnesses who were present on the night of August 1, 1986. 

At the time, Miss Sindall had just finished a shift behind the bar at The Wellington in Bebington, where she was working to save money for her upcoming wedding. 

*ADDING IN GRAPHIC* 

About 15 minutes into the short journey home, her Fiat Fiorino broke down near a roundabout in Birkenhead, forcing her to grab a plastic can from the back of the van and walk along a busy, well-lit road to find the nearest petrol station.

But at some point, shortly after midnight, she was hit multiple times on the head and indecently assaulted. 

It would be another 12 hours or so before her body was discovered, on Saturday August 2, 1986. Diane She been beaten about the face, head and body, and sustained multiple fractures.

Her bra and T-shirt had been pulled up around her neck and her jeans, shoes, knickers and handbag were missing. Poignantly, she was still wearing her diamond engagement ring.

Merseyside Police launched its biggest ever murder inquiry in the hunt for the killer, who was dubbed the ‘Beast of Birkenhead’.

The lead-up to her murder was later reconstructed for Crimewatch.  

At about 11.45pm, witnesses saw Miss Sindall stop her Fiat van near a roundabout in Borough Road, Birkenhead. She was dressed in a white top with black spots, jeans, green high-heeled shoes and was carrying a handbag.

Bus driver Gary Lamb told police he spotted her at 12.03am just before a bus stop.

Another sighting at 12.10am was by a taxi driver looking for fares who saw a woman struggling with a man. He said they were arguing and appeared to know each other.

At 12.15pm on Saturday August 2, a woman dog walker discovered Diane’s body in a narrow alley off Borough Road. Miss Sindall’s van was parked and locked where she left it – just 500 yards away.

Two weeks later, the victims jeans, knickers, green high-heeled shoes and handbag were found burned on Bidston Hill, just outside of Birkenhead. 

A witness subsequently recalled seeing a man, who he knew was called Peter, behaving oddly nearby, and described him as having a long nose and tattooed arms. 

On September 22, a plain-clothes policeman walked into a pub in Birkenhead and after talking to local man Mr Sullivan, noticed his pointed nose and forearm tattoos. 

Three days later, police raided his home and found a crowbar. 

After initially confessing, Mr Sullivan then denied being the killer, saying that apart from going to a nearby shop, he’d spent the night of Diane’s death watching television with his pregnant common-law wife and twin stepsons before going to bed just before midnight.

He was charged with her murder.

At Mr Sullivan’s trial at Liverpool Crown Court, which began in September 1987, the prosecution said that bite marks found on Diane’s body ‘proved’ Mr Sullivan was the murderer, earning him the nickname ‘The Wolfman’.

Jurors also heard a taped interview in which Mr Sullivan confessed to Diane’s murder, adding: ‘I don’t know why I hit her.’

He described how he stopped her on Borough Road late at night and asked her the time before lashing out with a brick.

But Mr Sullivan later said he had been pressured into confessing. ‘Why would I go out and kill a girl like that – only 21 years of age? She’s got a lot to live for,’ he told police. ‘I have got no reason to go out and kill anybody.’

During the trial, the judge was forced to dramatically halt his summing up after a ‘Mr X’ – he has never been named – came forward to claim responsibility for stealing Diane’s handbag, cash, clothing and her earrings after stumbling across her dead body at 6am.

The man also admitted he was the person spotted running away from Bidston Hill after setting fire to Diane’s belongings there the day after the killing.

Mr X was arrested and interviewed several times by police, who concluded that he could not have been the killer because analysis of his teeth impressions did not match those found on Diane’s breasts.

The mystery man later withdrew his evidence and said that he had made up the claim after reading newspaper reports and hearing details from a police and hospital source.

Mr Sullivan was convicted in November 1987, with the judge describing the murder as ‘an abomination because of the brutality, ferocity and obscenity of the attack’.

He was told he would have to serve a minimum of 15 years before he would be considered for release. But release was contingent on him admitting to the murder – which he has always refused to do – meaning he stayed behind bars.

The detective in charge of a new investigation into Miss Sindall’s death has said her family supported the new investigation and want ‘justice’. 

Detective Chief Superintendent Karen Jaundrill said a ‘dedicated team’ had been exploring all lines of inquiry relating to the case since it was reopened in 2023.

She said ‘We are in touch with Diane’s family, they are very much supportive of our investigation. They want justice for Diane.

‘Don’t underestimate the impact of that after all this time. We are supporting them and our investigation has their full support.’

No match for the DNA discovered at the scene has been found by investigators.

Ms Jaundrill said: ‘Our big focus is on the DNA, That’s where our focus needs to be. We are sure that match is the person responsible.’

Merseyside Police has enlisted specialist skills and expertise from the National Crime Agency and ‘extensive and painstaking inquiries’ are underway to try and trace the killer.

Ms Jaundrill added: ‘The point we’re at now is to appeal for the public’s help, appreciating it was a long time ago.

‘It was very high profile at the time. Anyone with any information or suspicions, we’d appeal for them to come forward.

‘It might be about someone who is now deceased but we really do want any information and anyone could be responsible.’

The detective said she wanted to give reassurance to the public after Mr Sullivan was revealed to be the longest-serving victim of a miscarriage of justice in the UK.

She said: ‘We haven’t just picked this investigation up today. It’s been ongoing for a couple of years, we are quite advanced and we are actively working to try and identify the person responsible.’

Police said Miss Sindall had been sexually assaulted and suffered extensive injuries to her body.

In the wake of Diane’s murder, another seven women came forward to say that they had been subjected to sexual assaults in the same area. There are questions to be answered about how thoroughly these reports were investigated. 

In the Crimewatch reconstruction of the case, detectives appealed for the driver of a white Ford Sierra to come forward. 

The car was parked in a bus stop layby on Borough Road, across from the alleyway where the body was found around the time of the murder.

Speaking this afternoon to appeal for witnesses, Ms Jaundrill said: ‘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.

‘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, via the website or social media, or by calling Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.