https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-15316129/Man-wrongly-jailed-murder-smartphones-apps-millionaire.htmlMan wrongly jailed for murder for 38 years struggles with smartphones, apps and self-checkouts since his release but soon may be a millionaire
By ROBERT FOLKER, NEWS REPORTER
Published: 13:47, 22 November 2025 | Updated: 13:53, 22 November 2025
In one of Britain's worst miscarriages of justice, Peter Sullivan spent 38 years behind bars for the murder of 21-year-old florist Diane Sindall. Dubbed the 'Beast of Birkenhead' after the brutal killing, Mr Sullivan had long protested his innocence after his conviction in 1987. Earlier this year, three senior judges quashed his conviction after the Court of Appeal heard DNA evidence showed the killer was someone else. After spending a lifetime in some of Britain's toughest category A prisons, Mr Sullivan was released back into the world, which has drastically changed from the one he left behind. Following his release in May, Mr Sullivan has revealed that even a trip to the shops shows how 'everything's changed', as he comes face to face with self-checkouts for the first time. He also now owns a smartphone, which he needed to buy so he could book a doctor's appointment on what he now knows is an 'app'. His first interaction with smartphones came as he sat on the bus and saw people glued to their screens before realising they were phones when he saw them pressing them to their ears. The 68-year-old, who to date has spent more of his life in prison than free, has also opened up on the strain of being inevitably institutionalised. He recalled that he sometimes walks back to his bedroom and sits on his bed, subconsciously waiting for a prison officer to lock him back into his cell. 'You've got to be at your door at a certain time, otherwise the officers will go off at you', he told the BBC.
'I was just sitting there thinking, "What am I doing?"'
His parents died while he was in prison, and Mr Sullivan said 'it hurts because I wasn't there for them', adding that he has not yet been able to 'set' himself to visit his mother's grave.
Mr Sullivan is also now entitled to £1.3million in compensation after ministers increased the cap for people wrongly jailed for 10 years or more. But it is not an automatic process and is a lengthy process. In another high-profile case, Andrew Malkinson was wrongly jailed for rape for 17 years and finally freed two years ago. Months after his release, he had received no payout and described himself as ‘broke’ and ‘living in a tent’. In February, it emerged Mr Malkinson had received a ‘significant’ six-figure interim payout – but his final application is yet to be resolved. Mr Sullivan, as an innocent man, is not entitled to the help that guilty prisoners who admit their crimes would get. If released on parole, you are given accommodation and help with living expenses. As he is not eligible for this, Mr Sullivan is understood to be living a modest life, but many believe he is a millionaire in waiting. 'There's not a figure that you could say that would be enough for losing 38 years of your life,' his lawyer, Sarah Myatt said.
In response to the huge miscarriage of justice, Merseyside Police expressed its 'regret', but maintained its officers had acted within the law at the time. Chief Constable Rob Carden who took on the job earlier this year said: 'It was a grave miscarriage of justice and obviously as chief constable of Merseyside it doesn't matter how long I've been there, I deeply regret the detrimental impact on Mr Sullivan's life.'
Mr Sullivan also said he is willing to support Ms Sindall's family in court if her killer is found. In an undisclosed location, with his face hidden to protect his privacy, he told the BBC: 'I feel sorry for (Ms Sindall's family), I really do feel sorry for them and what they're going through at the moment, where they're back at square one and not knowing who the person is that killed their daughter. I don't know what to say to them, I am really sorry for what's happened to their daughter, and if they need if they want my support when they go to court with the guy, when they find him, I will go to court with them, I will be there by their side 100%, because I will be there for them.'
Mr Sullivan was aged 30 when he was sentenced to life with a minimum term of 16 years in 1987, but he remained in prison for almost four decades. Mr Sullivan told the BBC: 'I can't forgive them for what they've done to me because it's going to be there with me for the rest of my life I've got to carry that burden until I can get an apology on what happened from everyone else who's been involved with the case. That's all I want is an apology with the reason why they done this to me from Merseyside police and everyone else I lost all my freedom, I lost my mother, since I was put in prison, I've lost my father, and it hurts because I wasn't there for them. I have never been able to set myself to go and see my mum's grave, and I can't carry on with my life if I can't get an answer out of them, that is what I need the most, is an answer from them, and that's all I care about, that answer why they done it to me.'
The investigation into her murder continues, supported by the National Crime Agency, with hundreds of men screened and eliminated in the past two years. Miss Sindall was brutally killed after she left work at a pub in Bebington, Birkenhead, just before midnight on Friday, August 1, 1986. The bride-to-be, who was picking up barmaid shifts to earn extra money for her wedding, was walking to a garage to buy some fuel after her van broke down. Her lifeless and brutally abused body was discovered 12 hours later in an alley. At his trial, prosecutors said Mr Sullivan had spent the day drinking and went out armed with a crowbar. Evidence at the time suggested the petty thief had recently borrowed a crowbar from a neighbour. He was placed near the scene by witnesses following a BBC Crimewatch appeal. But he denied going anywhere near where the crime took place or having the crowbar in his possession, and said he had given different accounts to the police because he could not remember his movements. Mr Sullivan was handed a life sentence with a minimum term of 16 years in 1987, but denied parole multiple times, largely due to his refusal to admit responsibility for the killing. He applied to the High Court for permission to appeal against his conviction in 2019, but this was rejected by the Court of Appeal in 2021. Then, in November last year, the Criminal Cases Review Commission said his case had been referred to the Court of Appeal on the basis of the DNA evidence. Samples taken at the time of the murder were re-examined and a DNA profile that did not match Mr Sullivan was found. This crucial evidence was revealed by a method that only came into use in 2015, and he was finally freed after the Court of Appeal in London quashed his conviction in May. Speaking from a secret location, and with his face obscured and voice changed to hide his current appearance, Mr Sullivan said he wanted an apology from Merseyside Police. Mr Sullivan said being denied legal representation at his initial police interviews had been 'very daunting'. He told the broadcaster he was beaten in his cell on two occasions. 'They threw a blanket over the top of me and they were hitting me on top of the blanket with the truncheons to try and get me to co-operate with them,' he said.
'It really hurt, they were leathering me.'
Asked why he would confess to a murder he did not commit, Mr Sullivan told the BBC: 'All I can say, it was the bullying that forced me to throw my hands in, because I couldn't take it anymore.'
He said he felt 'sorry' for Miss Sindall's family, who are 'back at square one and not knowing who the person is that killed their daughter'.
Quashing his murder conviction in May, Lord Justice Holroyde said: 'Strong though the circumstantial evidence undoubtedly seemed at the trial, it is now necessary to take into account the new scientific evidence pointing to someone else the unknown man.'
The new suspect identified by new DNA techniques does not appear on the national database, nor is he linked to any other unsolved offences. Police have confirmed the DNA does not belong to any of Miss Sindall's family or her then fiancé, David Beattie, who has since moved to Australia.
