Peter Sullivan, wrongfully convicted of murder in 1987, has given his first public interview since his release, revealing that he was beaten and coerced into falsely confessing to a crime he did not commit.
Sullivan, who has learning difficulties, was convicted for the murder of 21-year-old Diane Sindall in Birkenhead, Wirral, and spent nearly four decades in prison before his conviction was quashed by the Court of Appeal in May 2025 following new DNA evidence. He now seeks an official apology from Merseyside Police. The force said it “regretted” the miscarriage of justice but maintains that its officers acted within the law at the time.
In his interview with the BBC, Sullivan described how he was repeatedly bullied during police interrogations, beaten in his cell, denied legal advice, food, and sleep, and threatened with additional charges if he did not confess. He claimed that police ignored his learning difficulties and failed to provide an appropriate adult during questioning.
“They threw a blanket over me and were hitting me with truncheons to try and make me cooperate,” he said. “All I can say is it was the bullying that forced me to throw my hands in, because I couldn’t take it anymore.”
Sullivan’s ordeal was compounded by media vilification, being branded with nicknames such as “The Beast of Birkenhead” and “The Mersey Ripper,” which haunted him and his family for decades. He was denied permission to attend his mother’s funeral in 2013 because of its proximity to the murder site, a further blow during his incarceration.
The wrongful conviction was based largely on coerced confessions and bite mark evidence, a forensic method now widely discredited. Sullivan’s first “confession” was not recorded, and no solicitor was present.
After years of fighting for justice, the Criminal Cases Review Commission ordered fresh DNA testing in 2023. The Crown Prosecution Service chose not to challenge the results, allowing Sullivan’s appeal to proceed and leading to his release in May 2025.
Sullivan, 68, reflected on the moment he learned of his freedom: “When they said, ‘Peter, you’re going home,’ all the tears started running down my face. I went, ‘Yes, justice has been done.’” Adjusting to life outside prison has been challenging, as he navigates a world that has changed dramatically over the past 38 years.
Despite his relief, Sullivan expressed empathy for Diane Sindall’s family, acknowledging their continued pain and the lack of closure in the case. He is now pursuing compensation for his wrongful imprisonment, a process capped at £1.3 million by the government, though his solicitor Sarah Myatt stresses that no sum can truly account for nearly four decades lost.
Merseyside Police has referred Sullivan’s allegations of abuse to the Independent Office for Police Conduct for a second time and stated that no misconduct was identified in the first review. The case into Miss Sindall’s murder has been reopened, though no new arrests have been made.
