Diane Sindall: ‘Beast of Birkenhead murder left us so scared we became prisoners in our own homes’
D.Iane Sindall was trying to get home from work.
The 21-year-old florist had finished his second shift at his second job at the Wellington pub in Bebington, Wirral, on Friday, August 1, 1986. She was working an extra job to save money for her wedding, planned for 1987. He left the pub just before midnight and headed home to Seacombe, but his blue Fiat van ran out of petrol in Borough Road, Birkenhead. Witnesses saw Diane walking down the road between midnight and 12:20 a.m. on August 2.
Twelve hours later his body was found in an alley off Borough Road.
Diane had been sexually assaulted and severely injured; The cause of death was confirmed to be cerebral hemorrhage.
The property belonging to him was seized at Bidston Hill, about two miles away, on 17 August.
Investigating officers from Merseyside Police identified witnesses who saw a small fire there on August 3, as well as a man running from the scene.
The murder shocked Merseyside and was the catalyst for a group of women to establish the Wirral Rape Crisis Advisory Service, which became Rape and Sexual Abuse Support (RASA) Merseyside and still operates today.
Josephine Wood, who has been with RASA for 21 years, was born and raised in Birkenhead. He remembers the impact the horrific crime had on the town.
“I went to the school on the hill where it happened,” he said. Independent. “I took the bus at the bus stop on Borough Road every night for 14 years. No one would think twice about walking there.” [previously].”
But things changed after Diane was murdered.
“People [from the charity] “I talked to those who were around at the time, they said that the women were prisoners in their own homes,” said Ms. Wood and said: “They do not dare to go out, no woman dares to leave the house unless their brothers or fathers are with them.
“They were taken off work, taken out at night, it was a really bad time. Nobody knew what happened. It didn’t happen in Birkenhead.”
For 38 years, people thought her killer had been brought to justice.
Peter Sullivan, 68, was convicted of murder in 1987. Peter Sullivan, nicknamed the “Birkenhead Monster” and the “Mersey Ripper”, maintained his innocence for decades before his conviction was annulled in 2025.
The Court of Appeal heard DNA evidence was uncovered because of scientific advances that showed it was another unidentified man who sexually assaulted and killed Diane.
Merseyside Police reopened the investigation into Diane’s murder in 2023 and last month Crimestoppers offered a £20,000 reward to find the real killer, almost 40 years after the crime.
Police are now trying to identify the person whose DNA was left at the scene, who they know is not Mr Sullivan. The research team obtained samples locally; Screenings were also carried out through voluntary DNA screening samples in Swansea, Perth, London, Hull and Newcastle.
Police said last month that some 461 men were removed from the investigation as they awaited forensic results on another 43 samples.
Merseyside Police hope the Crimestoppers reward could be the catalyst to finally put the killer behind bars and end the long wait for answers.
Detective Superintendent Rachel Wilson said: “Although nearly 40 years have passed since Diane’s murder, we believe there are still people who know what happened or have their own suspicions that have not yet come forward.
“My message will be: ‘It’s never too late to do what’s right.'”
‘The people of Birkenhead will solve this issue’
The reopening of the murder investigation has “rekindled the trauma” for many people on the Wirral, Ms Wood said.
He said: “For the people who were really affected at the time, who were in their late teens and early twenties, for 38 years they thought they were safe – they locked the guy up.
“Particularly people living close to where the incident took place (there are still many people living in the same houses as before) were greatly affected by this.
“They realized they couldn’t catch the person who committed this crime.”
Despite this, Ms. Wood believes that someone in the area knows who killed Diane and that the onus is now on them to come forward.
He said that during his work at the charity, he was told by people he knew who had actually committed the crime, but they did not name names.
“We had a really strange incident where three women approached me at one of our events,” Ms Wood said.
“Someone said: ‘They got the wrong guy, you know, we all know who did it, and they got the wrong guy.’
“I asked what they meant, and he said, ‘We all know who did the murder.’ They disappeared. I asked whose activity it was, but they were all gone.”
“We’ve had customers for years reporting that they had the wrong person. Someone knows.”
“That’s what our appeal is about; someone, somewhere knows something. As time goes by and we change, people move to other areas, change partners, change loyalties, grow older and wiser; now is the time to air your doubts or concerns.”
The £20,000 prize will expire on 22 April 2026. Crimestoppers is independent from the police and the reward is solely for information to the charity leading to the arrest and conviction of the person responsible for Diane’s murder.
Until then, the search for answers will continue. Ms Wood believes it is crucial that this response provides closure for Diane’s family.
“The people of Birkenhead will solve this,” he said. “Some people know, many people know or suspect, but anything can happen if they come forward and talk to the police.
“People owe this to Diane and her family. The pain must be so great now that the person who did this has escaped punishment. Their DNA is not in the database. This is one of the greatest mysteries and needs to be solved.”
To this day, people leave flowers at Diane’s memorial stone on Borough Road as a community hopes for justice. The memorial plaque on that stone reads: “Diane Sindall. Killed on 2.8.1986 because she was a woman.”
