Merseyside Police have launched a fresh appeal using familial DNA technology to identify the killer of 21-year-old florist Diane Sindall, who was brutally murdered in Birkenhead in 1986. The case has been reopened after the wrong man, Peter Sullivan, spent 38 years in prison before being exonerated last year when DNA evidence proved he was not the offender.
Detectives have now turned to advanced forensic techniques not available at the time of the murder. Semen left at the scene on Borough Road has been re-examined, and although the DNA profile does not match anyone on the national database, officers are searching for partial matches among relatives of the suspect. Det Supt Rachel Wilson, who made the appeal on BBC Crimewatch, said: 'Even if the man responsible has now passed away or emigrated, we can still do that DNA work around family members, taking elimination samples from them.'
Diane's body was discovered in an alleyway the morning after she disappeared on August 1, 1986. She had been sexually assaulted and murdered after her car ran out of petrol while she was driving home from a late shift at a pub. Witnesses reported seeing her walking along Borough Road between 12.03am and 12.10am, and a taxi driver later described seeing a couple arguing nearby. Police believe the man seen arguing with a woman may have been Diane's killer.
The investigation has also revealed that earlier that same evening, a teenage girl was assaulted on the same stretch of road. She was seen sitting on a bench, wearing a distinctive yellow top and trousers. Officers are urging anyone with information to come forward. The case, which has long been known as the 'Beast of Birkenhead' murder, has haunted the community for decades.
