Merseyside Police statement following the Court of Appeal decision in relation to Peter Sullivan

Today Peter Sullivan has been released from custody after the Court of Appeal decided that his original conviction of the murder of Diane Sindall in 1986 was unsafe following advancements in testing of DNA and we do not underestimate the impact of the conviction on Mr Sullivan.

In June 2023 Merseyside Police reopened the investigation into the murder of 21-year-old Wirral florist Diane Sindall, following notification from the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC), who were in the process of carrying out a review which identified that DNA recovered at the scene was not a match for Peter Sullivan.

Merseyside Police decided not to wait for the outcome of the review but to reopen the investigation immediately.

Once the CCRC completed their review they referred the matter to the Court of Appeal in October 2024 as the finding of the new DNA had cast doubt on the reliability of his conviction. 

At the time of Diane’s murder DNA testing was very much in its infancy and this vital evidence was not available to the original investigation team. 

The murder of Diane Sindall was fully investigated by detectives in 1986 and a range of evidence was put before a jury who found him guilty in 1987.

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. We are committed to doing everything within our power to find whom the DNA, which was left at the scene, belongs to.

“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.

“We can confirm that the DNA does not belong to any member of Diane’s family, nor Diane’s fiancé at the time, and we believe it could be a vital piece of evidence linking the killer to the scene.

“To date more than 260 men have been screened and eliminated from the investigation which was reopened in 2023. The investigation team has obtained most of the samples locally, however, screening has also taken place in Swansea, Perth, London, Hull and Newcastle with the provision of voluntary DNA elimination samples.

“At the time of her murder Diane and her fiancé were saving up to get married and she had a part-time job working behind the bar at the Wellington public house in Bebington.

“On the night of Friday, 1 August 1986, Diane had been working at the pub. She had left work at 11.45pm in her blue Fiat van, but on her way home the van ran out of petrol on Borough Road. Diane got out of the van and was seen by several witnesses at the time walking along Borough Road between midnight and 12.20am on the Saturday morning.

“Twelve hours later on 2 August Diane’s body was discovered by a member of the public in an alleyway off Borough Road. Diane had been sexually assaulted and brutally murdered.

“She had suffered extensive injuries to her body. Her cause of death was established as a cerebral haemorrhage following multiple blows. 

“On 17 August 1986 property belonging to Diane was recovered on Bidston Hill. The investigation team at the time subsequently identified witnesses who had seen a small fire, at the location where the property was found, on Sunday, 3 August, and had witnessed a man running from the scene.

“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 should contact Merseyside Police social media desk via X @MerPolCC or on Facebook ‘Merseyside Police Contact Centre’. You can also report information via our website: https://www.merseyside.police.uk/ro/report/ocr/af/how-to-report-a-crime/ or call 101 quoting incident reference 23000584997.

Alternatively, contact the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111, or via their website here: https://crimestoppers-uk.org/give-information/forms/give-information-anonymously In an emergency always call 999.

If you have any information, you can visit our dedicated web page to submit information or footage which can help in the investigation of Diane’s murder: https://mipp.police.uk/operation/05MP23M57-PO1