Police reopen investigation into 1986 murder
BBCPolice have reopened the investigation into the murder of a young woman nearly 40 years ago.
Diane Sindall 21, was beaten to death in a "frenzied" sex attack in Birkenhead, Wirral in 1986.
Peter Sullivan, then 29 and described by police at the time as a "quiet loner", was convicted of her murder in 1987 and jailed for life.
Ahead of a Court Of Appeal hearing into Sullivan's claim that he was wrongly convicted, Merseyside Police said it was reinvestigating the murder.
Ms Sindall's body was discovered in an alley off Borough Road in Birkenhead on 2 August 1986, and her partially burned clothes were found on Bidston Hill the next day.
Sullivan had given a confession to detectives but later retracted it, saying he had not had an appropriate adult with him and that he had been denied legal representation.
Bite marks found on Ms Sindall's body were said to match dental impressions taken from Sullivan, but this has been contested.
Sullivan applied to the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) in March 2021, and in November last year it said investigators had found a DNA profile that did not match Sullivan on evidence taken from the murder scene.
His case was referred back to the Court of Appeal and a full hearing is to be held.
A spokesperson for Merseyside Police said: "Letters have been sent out by the investigation team to assist with tracing individuals identified from the original investigation to request voluntary DNA elimination samples."
The BBC understands the process will include people who might have had contact with Ms Sindall and need to be eliminated from the police's enquiries.
A previous application to the CCRC in 2008, in which Sullivan asked for DNA testing, was rejected after a forensic expert concluded it would be unlikely to provide a new profile.
He also had a direct application to the High Court for permission to appeal his conviction rejected in 2019, although that did not refer to DNA evidence.
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