AN INVESTIGATION has been launched after Peter Sullivan was wrongly jailed for nearly 40 years.
Dubbed the ‘Beast of Birkenhead’, Sullivan was wrongly convicted of murdering a florist in 1986.
Sullivan, who was 29 at the time, claims that Merseyside Police blackmailed him into confessing to killing 21-year-old Diane Sindall in Wirral.
But he was cleared of the charge last year after the Criminal Cases Review Commission revealed his DNA was not present on samples preserved at the time.
Sullivan, now 68, spent 38 years behind bars for a crime he didn’t commit, making it the longest miscarriage of justice in UK history.
Cops threatened to charge Sullivan with “35 other rapes” if he didn’t admit to beating Diane to death and sexually assaulting her, he told the BBC last November.
“They threw a blanket over the top of me and they were hitting me on top of the blanket with the truncheons to try and get me to co-operate with them,” he added.
His comments led to a formal complaint which has resulted in The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) launching a probe into the police’s conduct at the time of his arrest.
It also means a new murder investigation has been launched to find Diane’s killer.
Diane 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 making her way to a garage when she was beaten to death and sexually assaulted in a “frenzied” attack.
Her body was discovered partially clothed on August 2, 1986 in an alleyway.
Diane’s belongings were later found close to where a small fire had been started – with a man seen running from the scene.
The following month, Sullivan was suspected of murdering Diane and was quizzed 22 times and denied legal advice in the first seven interviews – despite requesting it.
He later “confessed to the murder” in an unrecorded interview a day after his arrest.
He then made a formal confession but the court was told this was “inconsistent with the facts established by the investigation“.
It also went against his earlier interviews, with Sullivan retracting the admission later that day.
Since his conviction, questions have been raised about whether he had proper legal representation during his interviews.
Evidence related to bite marks on Diane’s body has also been called into question.
At the time of the case, DNA technology was not available and subsequent requests for new tests were refused.
IOPC Director Amanda Rowe said: “Mr Sullivan was a victim of one of the worst miscarriages of justice this country has ever seen. Our thoughts are with him as he continues to rebuild his life.
“In light of the significant impact this has had, as well as the severity of some of the allegations contained in the complaint, it is important for these matters to be independently investigated.
“The fact this took place almost 40 years ago poses substantial evidential challenges, however we will do all we can to progress our inquiries as quickly as we can, while taking all appropriate steps to ensure this does not hinder the ongoing investigation by Merseyside Police into the horrific crime against Ms Sindall.”
During the Court of Appeal last year when Sullivan was cleared of the charges, he held his hand to his mouth and appeared tearful as the decision was handed down.
Sullivan said he was “not angry” but “bitter”.
He added: “I lost my liberty four decades ago over a crime I did not commit.
“What happened to me was very wrong but does not detract that what happened … was a heinous and most terrible loss of life.
“The truth shall set you free.”
