A convicted murderer known as ‘The Wolfman’ who has served nearly 40 years in prison after a bride-to-be was beaten to death when she ran out of petrol has had his conviction referred to the Court of Appeal.
Diane Sindall, 21, was killed with a crowbar in August 1986 after she left her part-time job as a barmaid in Bebington, Merseyside.
Peter Sullivan was convicted of her murder the following year following one of the biggest man hunts the area has ever seen.
The florist’s injuries were so horrific they were never revealed by the police – but he gained his horrific nickname after he was convicted through bite marks found on her body that matched his dental records.
The unemployed-father-of-one had spent the day drinking heavily after losing a darts match at the Crown Hotel, before a chance encounter with Ms Sindall as she walked to a petrol station when her blue Fiat van ran out of petrol, the Liverpool Echo reports.
On Wednesday, the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) said that Sullivan’s conviction had been referred to the Court of Appeal on the basis of DNA evidence.
Diane Sindall, 21, was killed with a crowbar in August 1986 after she left her part-time job as a barmaid in Bebington, Merseyside
Peter Sullivan was convicted of her murder the following year following one of the biggest man hunts the area has ever seen
In a statement the CCRC told The Mirror: ‘Mr Sullivan applied to the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) in March 2021 raising concerns about his interviews by the police, bitemark evidence presented in his trial, and what was said to be the murder weapon.
‘After consulting experts, the CCRC obtained DNA information from samples taken at the time of the offence.
‘As a result, a DNA profile was obtained which did not match Mr Sullivan. The CCRC has now sent Mr Sullivan’s conviction back to the courts.’
Samples taken at the time of the murder were re-examined and a DNA profile that did not match Sullivan was found, the commission said.
Sullivan 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.
The CCRC added that there was evidence suggesting there were breaches in the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 over police interviews, as he was not given an appropriate adult and was initially denied legal representation.
Sullivan 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.
At the time of his trial, a scientist specialising in teeth told the jury that his teeth marks were as unique as a finger print.
In September 1987, the Liverpool Echo reported Prosecutor Mr Andrew Rankin QC said: ‘The defendant caused those bite marks -he murdered Diane Sindall beyond argument. That is how important the evidence of bite marks is.
The unemployed-father-of-one had spent the day drinking heavily after losing a darts match at the Crown Hotel (pictured) before a chance encounter with Ms Sindall as she walked to a petrol station when her blue Fiat van ran out of petrol, the Liverpool Echo reports
‘This is the critical part of the case – so critical that, in my submission, you can forget the rest of the case.’
He told Liverpool Crown Court that Sullivan had teeth which matched all the features found on Ms Sindall’s right breast.
Sullivan had a history of petty convictions and confessed, before retracting his plea. He was convicted in November 1987.
Horrific descriptions of the girl’s injuries were described to the court, where her face, head and body had been left with multiple fractures from the crowbar.
Her clothes had been pulled around hger nexk and her jeans, shoes, underwear and handbag were missing.
Fibres found on her were later matched to Sullivan’s socks and a sofa at his council home.
She was attacked on her way home to her boyfriend, who she had dated since she was 16 years old.
‘The severity of the injuries left little doubt that Diane would have died very quickly once the blows rained down, but she was then dragged backwards and stripped almost naked,’ the pathologist who carried out Ms Sindall’s post-mortem told the court, The Sun reports.
