Peter Sullivan has murder conviction quashed in longest miscarriage of justice ever

A man nicknamed the "wolfman" who has spent 38 years in for has had his conviction quashed. Peter Sullivan, who was 30 when he was sentenced and is now 68, is believed to be the UK’s longest-serving victim of a miscarriage of justice after three senior judges quashed his conviction 17 years after his first attempt to have it overturned.

Diane Sindall, a 21-year-old barmaid, was found dead in Bebington, Merseyside, in August 1986, with Mr Sullivan arrested the following month. Detectives investigating the case nicknamed Sullivan "wolfman" due to bite marks found on the victim's body. He was convicted in November 1987 and has remained behind bars since his sentencing despite being given a minimum term of 16 years.

He first tried to challenge his conviction in 2008, with the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) declining to refer the case to the Court of Appeal, before he lost his own appeal bid in 2019. He again asked the CCRC to refer his case in 2021, and the commission found that DNA samples taken from the scene did not match Mr Sullivan.

READ MORE:

READ MORE:

At a hearing on Tuesday, lawyers for Mr Sullivan told the Court of Appeal in London that the new evidence showed that Ms Sindall’s killer “was not the defendant”.

Barristers for the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) told the court that there was “no credible basis on which the appeal can be opposed” related to the DNA evidence, as it was “sufficient fundamentally to cast doubt on the safety of the conviction”. Duncan Atkinson KC, for the CPS, said: “The respondent considers that there is no credible basis on which the appeal can be opposed, solely by reference to the DNA evidence.

“On the contrary, 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.” He continued: “The respondent does not seek to dissuade the court from the conclusion contended for by the appellant, namely that the DNA evidence is sufficient fundamentally to cast doubt on the safety of the conviction.

“The DNA evidence is reliable evidence not available through no one’s fault at the time of the trial, which supports the contention that Mr Sullivan was not the individual who sexually assaulted Ms Sindall.

“In light of the absence of evidence indicating that the attack was committed by two persons, or any other realistic hypothesis, it follows that the remainder of the circumstantial case cannot withstand the obvious implications of the DNA evidence, so that the conviction could be upheld.”

Lord Justice Holroyde, sitting with Mr Justice Goss and Mr Justice Bryan, quashed the conviction. He said they had “no doubt that it is both necessary and expedient in the interests of justice” to accept the new DNA evidence, adding: “In the light of that evidence, it is impossible to regard the appellant’s conviction as safe.”

Mr Sullivan, who attended the hearing via video link from HMP Wakefield, listened to the ruling with his head down and arms folded, and appeared to weep and put his hand to his mouth as his conviction was quashed. A relative in court wept as the judgment was read out.