LOCALS reportedly knew who the real “Beast of Birkenhead” was but were too scared to tell police – leading to an innocent man’s wrongful conviction.
Peter Sullivan spent almost 40 years in prison over the brutal murder of 21-year-old Diane Sindall in Bebington, Merseyside, in 1986.
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His conviction was overturned on Tuesday following bombshell new DNA evidence.
Now a charity set up in Diane’s memory has claimed they were several local people who told them police had the wrong man.
Josephine Wood, from RASA Merseyside, told the BBC none of these locals would reveal the real killer’s identity to detectives and were too scared to come forward as sources.
She added: “I know that we were approached on occasions by people who felt they could come to us and talk to us because we’d been set up almost in memory to Diane and as a tribute to her.
“We were told on several occasions that the police had the wrong man.
“But we didn’t have evidence, we didn’t have anything to offer, we just knew what we’d been told and the people are adamant that you’ve got the wrong person.
“But without any evidence, without names, without people willing to come forward which is a really big deal, seriously what could be done?”
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 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.
Ms Wood said some communities around Birkenhead at the time were “tight-knit”, which made it difficult for people to come forward for fear of “repercussions”.
She added: “I would like to think that maybe 40 years down the line we can actually now go back to those people and say ‘come on tell us what you know’.
“Tell us what happened, you must feel safer now, you must feel a way that you can come forward, because if this guy hasn’t done it somebody else has and we need to find out who that was.”
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Sullivan – described as a “loner” – was said to have spent the day of the murder drinking heavily.
Following his arrest in September 1986, he was quizzed 22 times and denied legal advice in the first seven interviews – despite requesting it.
Sullivan 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.
A breakthrough came when new tests ordered by the Criminal Cases Review Commission revealed Sullivan’s DNA was not present on samples preserved at the time.
Merseyside Police has now launched a new murder investigation to find Diane’s killer.
The force said they are “committed to doing everything” to find the person whose DNA was left at the scene .
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.
“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.”
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Det Supt Jaundrill said the DNA does not belong to any member of Diane’s family or her fiance at the time.
She revealed more than 260 men have been screened and eliminated from the investigation.
The officer added: “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.
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