Killer dubbed 'the wolfman' brings new DNA evidence to try and prove his innocence

New evidence has called into question the murder conviction of a man who was jailed for life after the savage killing of a young bride-to-be almost 40 years ago.

Peter Sullivan, 66, has served nearly 37 years behind bars for the murder Diane Sullivan in August 1986. He was branded "the wolfman" and "beast of Birkenhead" after the attack, which saw 21-year-old Diane beaten with a crowbar, stripped and left in the street with bite marks across her body.

The florist had been making her way home in Wirral, Merseyside after finishing her shift as a part time barmaid when she was killed. Now the Criminal Cases Review Commission has said the murder conviction has been referred to the Court of Appeal on the basis of new DNA evidence.

At the time, Sullivan, an unemployed dad, confessed to the killing, telling officers he stopped Diane to ask her the time, and was then seized with a sudden desire to kill.

But he later retracted his confession and has since raised concerns about the conduct during his police interviews and evidence presented at his trial.

At the time jurors were told that the bite marks left on Diane's body matched Sullivan's teeth perfectly, but the CCRC said a new DNA profile which does not match convict had been found from samples taken at the time.

The court heard he had drank an excessive amount after watching his football team lose in the Crown Pub in Birkenhead. He was said to have later walked back to his maisonette where he armed himself with a crowbar and walked back out into the night. Before he was convicted of murder Sullivan's criminal record had just 18 minor offences such as petty theft and stealing cars.

In a statement the CCRC said: "Mr Sullivan applied to the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) in March 2021 raising concerns about his interviews by the police, bitemark evidence presented in his trial, and what was said to be the murder weapon. "After consulting experts, the CCRC obtained DNA information from samples taken at the time of the offence.

"As a result, a DNA profile was obtained which did not match Mr Sullivan. The CCRC has now sent Mr Sullivan’s conviction back to the courts.

"There is also evidence to suggest there were possible breaches of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (PACE), which regulates police activities, in relation to the interviews, as Mr Sullivan was not provided with an appropriate adult and was denied initial legal representation.

"Mr Sullivan had previously applied to the CCRC in 2008 questioning DNA evidence. Experts from the Forensic Science Service (FSS) advised that any further testing would be very unlikely to produce a DNA profile. Mr Sullivan’s case was not referred to the Court of Appeal by the CCRC. When Mr Sullivan applied to the CCRC in 2008 he still had a direct avenue of appeal open to him.

"Mr Sullivan sought leave to appeal directly in 2019, without CCRC involvement, but this was rejected by the Court of Appeal in 2021. The Court determined that the bitemark evidence, on which he was appealing his conviction, was not central to the prosecution at trial, but the CCRC has now found evidence which suggests that it was. When Mr Sullivan re-applied, the CCRC decided to revisit the possibility of DNA testing."