Man's conviction for murder quashed after 38 years in prison
The Court of Appeal has exonerated Peter Sullivan
A man jailed for murder in Merseyside nearly 40 years ago has had his conviction quashed.
Peter Sullivan, 68, was imprisoned in 1987 for killing florist and part-time barmaid Diane Sindall, 21, who was killed after she left work in Bebington in August 1986.
It was alleged that he had been drinking heavily after losing a darts match, and went out armed with a crowbar before a chance encounter with Miss Sindall.
Her florist van had broken down on her way home from a shift at the Wellington pub and she was attacked whilst on her way to a petrol station.
In November, the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) said that his conviction had been referred to the Court of Appeal on the basis of DNA evidence.
Samples taken at the time of the murder were re-examined and a DNA profile that did not match Sullivan was found.
Sullivan challenged his conviction over conflicting DNA evidence, concerns over analysis of bite marks, and the conduct of police interviews.
He claimed he hadn't been given an appropriate adult during interviews and was initially denied legal representation.
The Crown Prosecution Service told the court that the new DNA evidence is 'sufficient fundamentally to cast doubt on the safety of the conviction.'
In written submissions, the CPS said the new evidence is 'reliable' and that it 'does not seek to argue that this evidence is not capable of undermining the safety of Mr. Sullivan's conviction.'
Duncan Atkinson KC, for the CPS, said:
"The respondent considers that there is no credible basis on which the appeal can be opposed, solely by reference to the DNA evidence.
"On the contrary, the DNA evidence provides a clear and uncontroverted basis to suggest that another person was responsible for both the sexual assault and the murder.
"As such, it positively undermines the circumstantial case against Mr Sullivan as identified at the time both of his trial and his 2021 appeal."
He continued:
"The respondent does not seek to dissuade the court from the conclusion contended for by the appellant, namely that the DNA evidence is sufficient fundamentally to cast doubt on the safety of the conviction.
"The DNA evidence is reliable evidence not available through no one's fault at the time of the trial, which supports the contention that Mr Sullivan was not the individual who sexually assaulted Ms Sindall
"In light of the absence of evidence indicating that the attack was committed by two persons, or any other realistic hypothesis, it follows that the remainder of the circumstantial case cannot withstand the obvious implications of the DNA evidence, so that the conviction could be upheld."
Mr Atkinson KC also told the court that the new DNA evidence 'could not have been available' at his trial', or in 2008 when the Criminal Cases Review Commission first considered his case.
He also said the DNA found at the scene 'resulted from the assault that was upon (Ms Sindall) and from nothing else.' - and that analysis of the DNA showed that it came from someone known as 'unknown male one', and that it was 'one billion times moer likely than the sample originated from unknown male one, rather than someone else, and it did not match the appellant.'
He added:
"Had this DNA evidence been available at the time a decision was taken to prosecute, it is difficult to see how a decision to prosecute could have been made."
When asked by one of the three judges overseeing the appeal, Mr. Justice Goss, whether he could conceive of a basis on which Mr Sullivan would have been prosecuted if DNA evidence was available at the time, Mr.Atkinson replied 'No'.
Sullivan watched the hearing via video-link from HMP Wakefield, with members of his family in court.
In March 2025, Merseyside Police said detectives had not yet discovered who the second DNA profile belonged to, having found no match on the national database.