Killing of Diane Sindall

On the morning of 2 August 1986, the body of 21-year-old Diane Sindall, from Seacombe, Merseyside, was found in an alleyway near Fearnley Road off Borough Road in Birkenhead. She had been raped and killed in a sustained and violent attack; the cause of death was a brain haemorrhage from blows to the head. The night before, Sindall had left The Wellington Hotel in Bebington, where she worked as a barmaid to save money for her upcoming wedding, intending to drive home but running out of fuel and continuing on foot along Borough Road near the Mersey Tunnel. She was seen by passing drivers walking with a man of a similar age wearing a leather jacket and jeans, who appeared to be making her uncomfortable; this is believed to be the only sighting of the person responsible. Witnesses reported hearing screaming and an argument between midnight and 2am. Her partially burned clothing was later recovered at Bidston Hill. The case prompted the largest police investigation in Merseyside's history and caused widespread fear among women in the area.

Peter Sullivan, an unemployed labourer from Birkenhead, was arrested on 23 September 1986 on circumstantial evidence, including conflicting statements about his whereabouts. He alleged that while in custody he was beaten, denied food, sleep, and legal representation, and threatened with rape charges unless he confessed. On 24 September he reportedly confessed, an unrecorded statement, before withdrawing it, then repeating and again withdrawing the confession once given access to a solicitor. Police were aware Sullivan had learning disabilities but did not provide an appropriate adult as legally required; a psychologist later described him as "suggestible" with "limited intellectual capacity." At his 1987 trial, the prosecution relied on his confessions and on bite-mark evidence matched to him, suggesting he attacked Sindall in a drunken rage after losing a darts game. Semen samples were not tested for DNA because the technology was unavailable to Merseyside Police at the time. Sullivan pleaded not guilty but was convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 16 years, maintaining his innocence throughout.

The Criminal Cases Review Commission rejected a review application in 2008, and the Court of Appeal rejected a further application in 2019. In 2021 the CCRC found that forensic advances made retesting worthwhile; new DNA testing showed Sullivan's DNA was not present in the crime-scene semen samples, revealing an unknown genetic profile. In May 2025 the Court of Appeal, comprising Lord Justice Holroyde, Mr Justice Goss, and Mr Justice Bryan, quashed Sullivan's conviction, and he was released at age 68 after 38 years — the longest known wrongful imprisonment in British legal history. Merseyside Police are investigating the unmatched DNA profile, which does not correspond to Sindall's family or fiancé, and are seeking samples from other individuals investigated originally. In January 2026, a £20,000 reward was offered for information leading to a conviction of Sindall's killer.