Diane Sindall was 21 when she was murdered in Wirral. Merseyside Police is now trying to track down who a DNA profile belongs to.
A bride-to-be and a monster who has never been caught – Diane Sindall need to know
Diane Sindall was 21 when she was murdered in Wirral. Merseyside Police is now trying to track down who a DNA profile belongs to.
Wirral florist Diane Sindall was 21 when she was murdered(Image: Liverpool Echo)
Everything you need to know about who Diane Sindall was and the hunt for her murderer
- Diane Sindall was a florist who owned her own business and a part-time barmaid at the Wellington pub in Bebington.
- She was engaged to be married to her fiancé David and split her time between his home in Seacombe and her parents’, Wendy and Brian, who lived in Tranmere.
- Her mum described her as a “a vivacious, bubbly, happy-go-lucky girl, looking forward to getting married to her boyfriend. She was really a good family girl and everyone liked her”.
- On Saturday, August 2, 1986 her body was discovered by a member of the public in an alleyway off Borough Road in Birkenhead.
- She had been sexually assaulted and suffered extensive injuries. The cause of death was confirmed to be a cerebral haemorrhage.
- On the night of her death she had been working at the Wellington and had left work in her blue Fiat van but ran out of petrol on Borough Road.
- She was seen by several witnesses at the time walking along the road between midnight and 12.20am on the Saturday morning. Her body was found 12 hours later.
- Peter Sullivan was arrested following a Crimewatch appeal and was later charged with the murder of Ms Sindall. He served 38 years in prison for the murder.
- But following advances in forensic science new DNA evidence was confirmed not to match Mr Sullivan. He was released in 2025 in what has been described as one of the UK’s biggest miscarriages of justice.
- Mr Sullivan later alleged that he had been beaten by police officers in his cell and had been interviewed without appropriate legal advice. The police watchdog is looking into his claims.
- Merseyside Police reopened the investigation in 2023 and are probing the identity of the man who the DNA profile belongs to.
- To date 461 men have been eliminated from the investigation and investigators are awaiting the forensic results of 43 more samples.
- Screening has taken place on Merseyside as well as in Swansea, Perth, London, Hull and Newcastle.
- Crimestoppers is now offering a reward of up to £20,000 to anyone who gives information exclusively to the charity that leads to the arrest and conviction of the murderer.
- Detective Superintendent Rachel Wilson said: “Please come forward and tell us what you know. We can trace and request a DNA sample from any person you suspect or even a relative if they have passed away or emigrated.”
- Gary Murray, north west regional manager for Crimestoppers, said: “Someone, somewhere, knows what happened that night, and we’re urging them to come forward. What you know could finally give Diane’s loved ones the answers they’ve been waiting for.”
