Peter Sullivan spent 38 years in prison for a crime he did not commit. On Tuesday, the high court voided his murder conviction. The Court of Appeal found that new DNA evidence had come to light since the initial investigation. This new evidence ultimately resulted in the realignment with Sullivan’s conviction being overturned for the 1987 murder of florist and part-time pub worker Diane Sindall.
Sullivan, now 61, wrongly convicted of the brutal murder of 21-year-old Sindall. She was murdered as she left work in Bebington, Merseyside. At every hearing and trial over his decades of incarceration, he held fast to the self-same truth. Yet the evidence for his conviction was scant. This shocking revelation raised troubling questions regarding the integrity of the judicial process which condemned him.
The last hearing was held in person but with Julian by video link from HMP Wakefield. Sullivan was in tears when he found out his conviction had been vacated. When he heard that the court had decided to overturn the decision, he cried and covered his face in shock.
The Court of Appeal did not dispute that the new DNA evidence was important. It suggested that an “unknown male one” is the contributor of the DNA present at the crime scene. Lord Justice Holroyde emphasized the importance of this development, stating, “In the light of that evidence, it is impossible to regard the appellant’s conviction as safe.” He further declared it was “both necessary and expedient in the interests of justice” to accept the newly presented evidence.
Sullivan’s case had twice before been taken up by advocacy legal teams in unsuccessful efforts. This time, though, the analysis submitted by the Crown Prosecution Service persuaded judges to quash the conviction. Duncan Atkinson KC noted, “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.”
Merseyside police have subsequently pledged to pursue the single man whose DNA was discovered on the scene. Most importantly, they admitted that all of this crucial evidence was not available during the first investigation. In a statement, a police spokesperson said their sympathies remained with Diane Sindall’s family and friends. They are still reeling from her loss and now have to deal with new challenges more than three decades after her murder. We’re extremely committed to finding out who that individual is that left this DNA behind at that scene. We do plan on leaving no stone unturned to reach that goal.
They have a strong interest in the investigation. Yet, they announced that the DNA found does not match any entries in the national DNA registry.
Diane Sindall’s ghastly murder ended her fledgling life all too soon. It cast a long emotional shadow over her fiancé and family, changing the lives of millions in the process. Lord Justice Holroyde offered his sympathy to all those affected by what he said was a tragic event. As he so eloquently expressed, “The savage attack that took Miss Sindall’s young life shattered the life of her fiancée, her family, and all who loved her.”
James Burley, a representative for Sullivan’s legal team, highlighted broader implications following Sullivan’s exoneration. He remarked, “Peter Sullivan’s exoneration today after nearly four decades of wrongful imprisonment provides further evidence that our current appeals system cannot be trusted to swiftly identify and rectify miscarriages of justice.”