The brutal 1986 murder of Diane Sindall shocked the nation (Image: PA)
Detectives have vowed to bring the frenzied sexual killer of a 21 year-old florist 40 years ago to justice after unveiling a new £20,000 Crimestoppers reward today. The brutal murder of Diane Sindall – as she walked home from work on Saturday 2nd August 1986 in Birkenhead, on the Wirral – sparked national outcry with her battered body found in an alleyway.
Peter Sullivan was interviewed by police 22 times over four weeks – sometimes while denied legal representation – and in November 1987 was eventually convicted by a jury at Liverpool Crown Court of Diane’s murder. But after 38 years behind bars new forensic DNA evidence proved the killer is still out there and Mr Sullivan was the victim of the longest miscarriage of justice involving a living prisoner in British legal history.
Diane Sindall was robbed of a life at the hands of an evil, mystery killer (Image: unknown)
Read more: Sullivan in line for £1m after 38 years in jail for murder he didn’t commit
Read more: Peter Sullivan conviction overturned after he spent 38 years in jail for murder
Detectives have since been trying to match the real unknown killer’s new DNA sample after already testing and eliminating 461 local men – including Ms Sindall’s relatives and her then fiancé.
Now Merseyside Police are urging anyone with information to come forward as Crimestoppers today(Thurs) unveil a £20,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of Diane’s real murderer.
Detective Superintendent Rachel Wilson said: “It is devastating for Diane’s family that they are still waiting for the answers as to who was responsible for her murder, and we remain committed to identifying the person whose DNA was left at the scene.
“In 1986 DNA was very much in the early stages and as such was not available to the detectives who originally investigated Diane’s death but her murder was fully investigated by the team.
“Unfortunately, there is no match for the DNA identified on the national DNA database and we know it does not belong to any member of her family or her fiancé at the time.
“We are working with the National Crime Agency, and with their support we are trying to identify the person the DNA profile belongs to, and extensive enquiries remain ongoing.
“The investigation team has obtained samples locally, but screening has also taken place in Swansea, Perth, London, Hull and Newcastle with the voluntary DNA elimination samples.
“To date 461 males have been eliminated from the investigation. We are currently awaiting the forensic results in relation to a further 43 samples submitted earlier this month.”
Ms Sindall was a florist also doing part-time bar work to save up for her wedding and was on her way home from a shift at the Wellington Pub in Bebington when ambushed and dragged into an alley off Borough Road in Birkenhead.
Police believe while she left the pub in a blue Fiat van, it ran out of petrol and she set out on foot along Borough Road, either to get to a bus-stop or to try and find an all-night garage.
Her partially naked body was found the following afternoon. A post-mortem revealed she had died from severe head injuries, bone fractures and lacerations to her face, bruising to her neck with severe bite mark injuries.
Forensic investigators at the time recovered semen samples from her body, but they had been diluted by rainwater and the technology to successfully test them would not be available for decades.
Suspicion fell on Mr Sullivan after a BBC Crimewatch appeal resulted in a series of tip-offs with witnesses putting him in a pub near the scene of the murder that night. He was quizzed 22 times over four weeks, and denied legal representation for the first seven interviews.
Later recalling the guilty verdicts, innocent Mr Sullivan said: “My sister collapsed in the courtroom and the next minute, that was it.”
Innocent Peter Sullivan, now 68, was wrongly jailed for 38 years for Diane’s murder (Image: Liverpool Echo)
His sentence carried a minimum term of 16 years before he was eligible to apply for parole – but Mr Sullivan maintained his innocence, lessening his chances of release.
His nightmare only started to end in 2023, when the Criminal Cases Review Commission ordered fresh testing of semen samples found on Miss Sindall’s body in 1986.
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) decided not to challenge the DNA results ahead of a fresh appeal – paving the way for Mr Sullivan’s freedom.
This week Det Supt Wilson added: “Although it has been nearly 40 years since Diane’s murder, we still believe there are people who know what happened, or have their own suspicions, who haven’t yet come forward.
“My message would be ‘it is never too late to do the right thing’. We know on Friday 1 August 1986, Diane had been working her part-time job at the Wellington pub in Bebington.
“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. Her body was found 12 hours later in an alleyway off Borough Road.
“On 17 August 1986 property belonging to Diane was recovered on Bidston Hill. The investigation team at the time 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.
“Were you on Borough Road on the evening of Friday 1 August or the early hours of Saturday 2 August and saw or heard something suspicious? Or can you help identify the man seen running away from Bidston Hill on Sunday 3 August?
“Additionally in the years since Diane’s murder has anybody you know raised any suspicions or passed any information which you think could help? Please come forward and tell us what you know.
“We can trace and request a DNA sample from any person you suspect or even a relative if they have passed away or emigrated.”
Gary Murray, North West Regional Manager for the charity Crimestoppers, said: “Please help bring answers to Diane’s family who have waited almost 40 years for justice.
“Someone, somewhere, knows what happened that night, and we’re urging them to come forward. What you know could finally give Diane’s loved ones the answers they’ve been waiting for.
“Crimestoppers is independent of the police. When you contact the charity, you stay completely anonymous. Your personal details are never asked for, and your call or online report cannot be traced back to you.
“Every day, thousands of people across the UK trust Crimestoppers with vital information that makes all the difference.
“We pass on what we’re told, and we hope that if you know something about this case, but are unwilling to speak to the police, you can stay completely anonymous with Crimestoppers.”
* The reward is available for three months and is due to expire on 22nd April 2026. Crimestoppers is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. No-one will ever know you contacted them and computer IP addresses are never traced.