Search goes on for Diane Sindall's real murderer 40 years on

Detectives are renewing an appeal to find Diane Sindall's killer and finally "get justice for the family" ahead of the 40th anniversary of her murder.

It comes after Peter Sullivan, who was wrongfully convicted of her murder, served 38 years in prison before his conviction was quashed due to new DNA evidence - leading to his release from prison last year.

Sindall, a florist working part-time at a pub to save up for her wedding, was beaten to death in a frenzied sexual attack in Birkenhead, Merseyside, on 2 August 1986.

Det Supt Rachel Wilson said finding her murderer was "my priority", and Merseyside Police was following up on more than 200 calls since the case reopened.

For years, Sullivan was dubbed the Beast of Birkenhead by tabloid newspapers.

Crime Stoppers is offering a £20,000 reward for information which leads to the arrest and conviction of Sindall's real killer.

Wilson told BBC Radio Merseyside Sindall had left the Wellington pub at the end of a shift and at about 23:45 BST on 1 August and got into a blue fiat van she used in her job as a florist to drive home.

She said: "It looks like it runs out of petrol just on the corner of Borough Road."

She said she was seen by a couple of workmen just after midnight getting out of the van with what was potentially a petrol canister, and started to walk along Borough Road.

Her brutalised and partially naked body was found in an alley off the main road the next morning.

Wilson said her partially-burned clothing was recovered by police on Bidston Hill about 48 hours later, just over two miles from the murder scene.

In 2023, the Criminal Cases Review Commission - the body set up to investigate potential miscarriages of justice - ordered fresh testing of semen samples recovered from Sindall's body in 1986.

A new DNA profile was recovered and after it proved to be categorically not a match for Sullivan the case was reopened by Merseyside Police.

She said the new DNA profile discovered at the scene where Diane was found "will be key to finding the killer".

The force said searches of the national DNA database for the new DNA profile have so far drawn a blank.

To date, detectives have eliminated 575 people with 32 currently under review, she said.

She said she was "forever optimistic" of finding Sindall's killer, adding a dedicated investigation team were "doing everything in our powers" to find them, including reviewing the original investigation, re-interviewing witnesses, carrying out DNA tests and following up new information submitted by the public.

"We still need to get some justice for the family," she said.

"My priority is to find out who killed Diane Sindall and that is what myself and the team are working on."

Wilson said she believed someone else knows the killer's identity and has yet to come forward, perhaps "through fear or a misplaced sense of loyalty".

"There was blood at the scene so that person potentially has gone home with blood on them," she said.

"It is never too late for someone to do the right thing and come forward," she added.

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