The family of Peter Sullivan revealed that they are ‘ecstatic’ that his name has been cleared and that they are looking forward to getting to know him now that he is a free man.
The former labourer’s conviction for the murder of florist Diane Sindall, 21, was dramatically quashed yesterday after the Court of Appeal heard DNA evidence showed the killer was someone else.
Peter, who has learning difficulties and is now 68, had been incarcerated for 38 years in the longest miscarriage of justice in British history.
David Sullivan told MailOnline: ‘We are absolutely ecstatic that Peter has been freed but we knew 1000 per cent from the start that he was an innocent man.
‘Peter is looking forward to his freedom and rebuilding his life. We now have to get to know Peter and he has to get to know us because he’s been away for a long time. It’s been a traumatic time for all of us.’
David refused to reveal where Peter is currently staying but said the family is now planning a get together to celebrate his release.
He indicated that this could involve a game of darts, which Peter and other family members enjoy, and food.
He said: ‘We are a darts family and are looking forward to a get together to mark Peter’s release.’
Peter Sullivan’s conviction for the murder of florist Diane Sindall, 21, was dramatically quashed yesterday after the Court of Appeal heard DNA evidence showed the killer was someone else
David Sullivan refused to reveal where Peter is currently staying but said the family is now planning a get together to celebrate his release
His sister Kim Smith said he was freed from HMP Wakefield quickly but she and her two brothers have not yet had a family meeting
But despite their joy, David, who is Peter’s youngest brother, said: ‘It’s a very happy time for us but we also have to remember Diane’s family.
‘Peter was convicted of something he didn’t do but the person who killed her is still out there.
‘Now her family will have to go through what we did and we feel sorry for them. We are happy for ourselves but we sympathise with Diane’s family. At some point we want to help them find the true culprit.’
David was in court when Peter was freed along with other members of the Sullivan family.
Speaking from his home in Birkenhead he added: ‘Peter fell apart when the verdict came through and cried his eyes out. It was a very emotional day for us all because we have never doubted his innocence.’
David revealed that he met and spoke with Peter after the hearing but refused to share any details about it.
He said: ‘Peter is a very private person and wouldn’t want me speaking about it. He’s now where he needs to be.’
Members of Peter’s family in the public gallery wept as Lord Justice Holroyde announced: ‘We quash the conviction.’
Kim Smith said that the prison was quick to release her brother, releasing him just hours after the verdict
Part-time barmaid Diane Sindall, 21, was savagely battered to death, stripped half-naked, indecently assaulted, mutilated and her breasts bitten, and her body discarded in an alleyway
The 68-year-old, who has learning difficulties, has been subjected to the longest miscarriage of justice in UK history
His sister Kim Smith said he was freed from HMP Wakefield quickly but she and her two brothers have not yet had a family meeting.
She told MailOnline: ‘We are ecstatic my brother is out of prison. There is still a lot to go through. I haven’t spoke to him today yet.
‘He came out of prison yesterday. I’m not sure where he is at the moment but we will be hearing from his soon.
‘He is still in Wakefield and we haven’t seen him yet.
‘As soon as it was quashed they got him out. The family didn’t get him out. It was within a couple of hours, they got him out. It happened pretty quickly.’
Peter, who watched the hearing remotely from HMP Wakefield, sat with his arms folded over his chest as the three judges, led by Lord Justice Holroyde, announced their decision following a two-hour hearing.
He said in a statement read out by his lawyer: ‘I lost my liberty four decades ago over a crime I did not commit.
‘We now know how very different the times we live in are from scientific advances, legal practice and methods of investigation and questioning by the police.
Police are now reinvestigating Miss Sindall’s murder in the hope of bringing her killer to justice
‘What happened to me was very wrong but it does not detract or minimise that all of this happened off the back of a heinous and most terrible loss of life.
‘I did not commit murder or unlawfully take the life of any person throughout the span of my own.
‘As God is my witness, it is said the truth shall take you free. It is unfortunate that it does not give a timescale as we advance towards resolving the wrongs done to me, I am not angry, I am not bitter.
‘I am simply anxious to return to my loved ones and family as I’ve got to make the most of what is left of the existence I am granted in this world.’
The DNA evidence meant that DNA found on Miss Sindall’s sexually mutilated body belongs to a mystery suspect whose details are not on the National DNA Database or linked to any other unsolved offences.
Detectives with Merseyside Police have begun a fresh investigation into Miss Sindall’s violent death.
Prosecutors admitted there was no basis on which Mr Sullivan would ever have been charged if the new evidence – made available by significant scientific advances – was available at the time.
Speaking outside court, Mr Sullivan’s solicitor Sarah Myatt said: ‘This is an unprecedented and historic moment.
Peter, who watched the hearing remotely from HMP Wakefield (pictured) sat with his arms folded over his chest as the three judges, led by Lord Justice Holroyde, announced their decision following a two-hour hearing
The Wirral pub where Ms Sindall worked to help pay for her forthcoming wedding
‘Our client Peter Sullivan is the longest-serving victim of a miscarriage of justice in the UK
‘He has endured nearly 40 years in a category A prison for a truly horrific crime that he did not commit.
‘Today, justice has been at last served, and his conviction has been quashed.’
Duncan Atkinson KC, on behalf of the CPS, told the Court of Appeal: ‘We do not seek to argue that this fresh DNA evidence does not undermine the safety of the appellant’s (Mr Sullivan’s) conviction.’
He said: ‘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.’
He added: ‘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.’
Miss Sindall was brutally killed after she left work in Bebington, Birkenhead, Merseyside, in August 1986. Peter was convicted of her murder in November the following year.
Speaking outside court, Mr Sullivan’s solicitor Sarah Myatt said: ‘This is an unprecedented and historic moment’
Prosecutors said he had spent the day drinking heavily, and went out armed with a crowbar before a chance encounter with Miss Sindall.
Evidence at the time suggested Peter had recently borrowed a crowbar from a neighbour, left for London shortly after the murder arousing suspicion, and was placed near the scene by witnesses who gave his description.
Miss Sindall’s florist van had broken down on her way home from a pub shift and she was walking to a petrol station to get some spare fuel. She had been working late to pay for her forthcoming wedding.
She was ambushed, sexually assaulted and then beaten to death, her body left partially clothed and mutilated in an alleyway where it was discovered the following day.
In November the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) said that Peter’s 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 Peter was found, the commission said.
Peter applied to the body to have his case re-examined in 2021, raising concerns about police interviews, bite mark evidence and the murder weapon.
He claimed he had not been provided with an appropriate adult during interviews and was initially denied legal representation.
Members of Mr Sullivan’s family in the public gallery wept as Lord Justice Holroyde announced: ‘We quash the conviction’
Peter had previously applied to the CCRC in 2008 raising questions about DNA evidence, but forensic experts said that further testing was unlikely to reveal a DNA profile.
He applied to the High Court for permission to appeal against his conviction in 2019 over bite mark evidence, but this was rejected by the Court of Appeal in 2021.
Peter had initially confessed to the murder, before retracting the claims.
He said detectives forced a confession from him, initially barred him from seeing a solicitor and denied him support from an ‘appropriate adult’, who, it is said, should have been appointed to safeguard his interests as a vulnerable person.
Jason Pitter KC, representing Peter, described how the most recent scientific advances backed his client’s contention that he was the victim of wrongful conviction.
He told the Appeal Court: ‘At this time this matter was originally before the court, there was not the scientific capability to carry out analysis of that material.
‘The material was not able to be analysed. But since 2024, an analysis has been carried out on that material.
‘The DNA from that cellular material found on the deceased … could be attributed to an unknown male.’
A memorial tablet on a grass verge near the scene of Ms Sindall’s murder
He added: ‘The prosecution case is that it was one person. It was one person who carried out a sexual assault on the victim.
‘The evidence here is now that one person was not the defendant.’
Peter, once dubbed the Beast of Birkenhead, appeared overcome with emotion as the hearing concluded.
He could be seen rubbing his hands over his face, appearing to wipe away tears, and then looked towards the sky.
Merseyside Police said the vital DNA evidence was not available during the original investigation into Peter and officers are now ‘committed to doing everything’ to find the person whose DNA was left at the scene where Miss Sindall died.
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.
‘We are committed to doing everything within our power to find whom the DNA, which was left at the scene, belongs to.
‘Unfortunately, there is no match for the DNA identified on the national DNA database.
Peter, once dubbed the Beast of Birkenhead, appeared overcome with emotion as the hearing concluded. Family say he has now been released from HMP Wakefield
‘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.
‘We can confirm that the DNA does not belong to any member of Diane’s family, nor Diane’s fiance at the time, and we believe it could be a vital piece of evidence linking the killer to the scene.
‘To date more than 260 men have been screened and eliminated from the investigation which was reopened in 2023.
‘The investigation team has obtained most of the samples locally, however, screening has also taken place in Swansea, Perth, London, Hull and Newcastle with the provision of voluntary DNA elimination samples.’
Downing Street said the Sullivan judgment must be carefully considered to get both him and Diane Sindall’s family ‘the answers they deserve’.
A Number 10 spokesman said: ‘It’s clear that Peter Sullivan has suffered a grave miscarriage of justice and our thoughts are also with Diane Sindall’s family on what must be an incredibly difficult day.
‘We must carefully consider this judgment and look at how this could have happened and get both him and Diane’s family the answers they deserve.’
