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Daily Mirror
18-05-2025
- Daily Mirror
3 major UK miscarriages of justice - twisted confession to unsolved mass murder
Peter Sullivan has had his 1987 conviction for the murder of Diane Sindall quashed, after spending nearly 40 years in prison for the crime - but his case is one of many shocking miscarriages of justice in UK history When Peter Sullivan, 68, learned that he was to be freed from custody after nearly 40 years in prison, he sobbed and covered his mouth. The monumental ruling marked out his case as the longest-running known miscarriage of justice in British history - he had gone to prison aged only 30 years old and spent most of his adult life locked inside. Sullivan was convicted of the murder of 21-year-old Diane Sindall in 1987, but new DNA evidence from the scene that did not match his profile caused the Criminal Case Review Commission to send his case to the Court of Appeal. Merseyside police reopened their investigation into the murder that was so brutal the killer was dubbed 'the Wolfman' and the 'Beast of Birkenhead' - with investigating police saying at the time the injuries inflicted on Diane were "the worst they had ever seen". They have so far eliminated 260 men from the DNA sample, including Diane's partner and family - and are conducting what they called "extensive and painstaking inquiries" in an attempt to find who is responsible for the "frenzied" sexual assault and murder. The KC for the CPS, Duncan Atkinson, said during Sullivan's appeal: "Had this DNA evidence been available at the time a decision was taken to prosecute, it is difficult to see how a decision to prosecute could have been made." "At the time of Diane's murder, DNA testing was very much in its infancy and this vital evidence was not available to the original investigation team," Merseyside police said in a statement about the miscarriage of justice. However, Sullivan's case is by no means the only major miscarriage of justice to have occurred in a crime like this, though his duration in prison is the longest known. The historic moment comes not long after the case of Andrew Malkinson, who like Peter Sullivan, long protested his innocence when he was convicted of rape, and spent 17 years in prison, only for it to be quashed in 2023. Malkinson was also eventually cleared after the testing of DNA evidence that matched another man in the National DNA database. He has since reportedly received a "significant" six-figure sum of compensation from the Ministry of Justice for the miscarriage of justice - something that it seems like Sullivan could also pursue. Here, the Mirror looks back at some of the most significant miscarriages of justice in British history, which no quashed conviction, nor compensation sum, could ever undo. Derek Bentley In 1953, 19-year-old Derek Bentley was hanged under 'joint enterprise' laws for his part in the murder of Police Constable Sidney Miles. Derek had significant learning disabilities - with the mental age of an 11-year-old - and suffered from epilepsy, he was also unable to read or write. His friend Christopher Craig shot and killed the police officer, and just before the murder was committed police witnesses claimed that Derek uttered the words, "Let him have it, Chris". These words could have had a myriad of interpretations, it was argued, for instance, he may have been encouraging his younger friend to commit a crime, as the court interpreted it at the time, or he could have been encouraging him to hand over his weapon. Both Derek and Christopher denied he said "Let him have it" at all. In 1998, Derek's conviction was quashed, because it was unclear whether Derek was taking part in a joint enterprise and because his mental health status had not been included in the trial, which was particularly relevant to how the teen had acted in his police interviews, and whilst on the stand. The case of Derek Bentley was one that had a huge impact on the campaign to end capital punishment in the UK - something that happened in 1965. Few, including the jury that convicted the teenager, wanted the death penalty in his case, with 200 MPs signing a petition to have his sentence reduced - but these attempts to save the youngster did not work. On the day he was executed at Wandsworth Prison, some 5000 protestors stood outside chanting 'Murder'. Birmingham Six The Birmingham Six spent 16 years in prison for a crime they didn't commit - and it is seen by many as one of the worst miscarriages of justice to happen in the UK. Hugh Callaghan, Patrick Hill, Gerard Hunter, Richard McIlkenny, and William Power had all moved from Belfast to Birmingham in the hope of finding better employment opportunities, and John Walker had come from Derry. The six Northern Irish men were accused of committing the Birmingham pub bombings of 21 November 1974 - for which the IRA was responsible. Five of the men were not even in the city at the time, but because they were travelling back to Northern Ireland for the funeral of an IRA member they knew - they didn't tell the police where they were going when they were stopped and searched, which ended up counting against them. Their convictions were quashed in 1991 for being "unsafe and unsatisfactory" and the miscarriage of justice they suffered led to the creation of the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC). "The overturning of the Birmingham Six's the course of history for the correction of miscarriages of justice in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland," the CCRC has said. 'The CCRC's creation – and the help we have given to hundreds of people who had been wrongly convicted or sentenced – was a lasting legacy of that impactful decision by the Court of Appeal." 21 people were killed in the Birmingham pub bombings, and over 200 injured, but the Birmingham Six were allegedly subjected to police brutality to force confessions and faulty forensic testing. A police officer who was involved in these coercive practices later "confirmed many of the violent tactics" - according to the BBC - which is alleged to have included "conducting mock executions". One of the Birmingham Six, Hugh Callaghan, it was reported in the Guardian, was terrorised with police dogs whilst in custody. "Knowing that he was, as he puts it, 'a nervous individual' and afraid of dogs, the police put Alsatians into Hugh Callaghan's cell. They ordered them to attack him, before restraining them at the last minute. "I still have nightmares about it," he said, now 92, sitting in the peaceful London home he shares with his partner, Adeline. There have been times, she says, when he has woken up three times a night, screaming. If he sees someone with an Alsatian, he crosses the road to avoid it." More than 50 years since the bombings, no one has been brought to justice for what's believed by many to be the largest unsolved mass murder in recent times in Britain. Stephen Downing Stephen Downing served 27 years for murder after being convicted in February 1974 for killing Wendy Sewell. Stephen's was one of the first cases to be looked at by the CCRC and in 2002, the Court of Appeal quashed his conviction on the ground that an eight-hour police interview had been mishandled, with Stephen not properly cautioned and told he was being questioned as a witness, rather than a potential suspect. Not only that but he was denied legal representation during this time, and because this interview was when he produced a confession for the crime - something he later retracted - it didn't hold up. Downing had found Wendy badly beaten after being sexually assaulted in a graveyard, at the time she was still alive, but died due to the injuries two days later. Stephen, then 17, had the reading age of an 11-year-old, and the confession he signed to the attack was "filled with words he did not understand". A modern forensic examination of the weapon also showed, per the BBC, that the convicted man's fingerprints were not present, but there was "a bloody palm print from an unknown person". Stephen was awarded significant compensation for the miscarriage of justice, but investigations by the police have never found an alternative suspect. According to the Guardian, Stephen remains the only suspect for Wendy's murder, and he is "alleged to have made three confessions since his release from prison, including one to his girlfriend recorded on audio tape, and one to his father Ray. But he refused to be interviewed by detectives".
The Irish Sun
14-05-2025
- The Irish Sun
Mystery remains over partial body parts found by fishermen off Dublin coast as no DNA match found amid new database move
PARTIAL remains found off the coast of Dublin last year have been added to the public database. Fishermen found two leg bones on the seabed off the coast of Skerries in Co An examination revealed that they belonged to a male who was just 23 or older when he died. His time of death was estimated to be one of two years before the remains were found - likely either in 2022 or 2023. The discovery has now been added to the Department of Justice's public database of unidentified remains. It was added in recent weeks after DNA testing failed to match the remains to a READ MORE IN IRISH NEWS The bones were compared to the National DNA missing persons database. This database, managed by Forensic Science Ireland (FSI), stores DNA profiles of missing people and or their close family members. The left tibia and left fibula were found on May 7, 2024. Another partial human bone was found the next day on May 8, 2024. Most read in Irish News Forensic examination of the bones suggested he measured between 175cm and 181cm - putting him between 5ft 8in and 5ft 10in. It remains unclear how the bones entered the water, when this happened, or how they got in there. MISSING MYSTERY This comes after it was revealed that The dad of four left the Bonnington Hotel on February 9, but the last sighting was him passing Highfield A true crime podcast series from NEW SEARCHES It emerged today that cops received a number of tips following the Where is Jon? podcast series. And Jon's family told how it had resulted in new searches across a number of areas in Dublin with the assistance of human remains detection dogs. While the searches last month proved unsuccessful, Mr Jónsson's brother David Karl Wiium insisted it was important to 'leave no stone unturned'. He said: 'It's really important to basically leave no stone unturned and always look into every possibility at any given time. 'So that's very optimistic and it fills us with hope.' 1 The bones were found just off the coast of Skerries Credit: Getty Images - Getty
Irish Independent
14-05-2025
- Irish Independent
Partial remains of young man discovered off coast of Dublin
An examination of the two leg bones revealed that they belonged to a male who was 23 years or older at the time of his death, which was estimated to be 'one to two years' before the remains were found. This means the man likely died in 2022 or 2023. The grim discovery was only added to the Department of Justice's public database of unidentified remains in recent weeks after DNA testing failed to match them to a missing person. A left tibia and left fibula were found on May 7, 2024, and another partial human bone was discovered the following day, May 8. Forensic examination of the bones suggests he was between 175cm (5'8') and 181cm (5'10') in height. It is not known when, where, or how the remains entered the water. The three bones remain unidentified, as no match was found when compared to the National DNA missing persons database. The database, which is managed by Forensic Science Ireland (FSI), stores the DNA profiles of missing people, and or their close family members. The Dublin coroner has not yet received a response from authorities in the UK or Interpol on the matter. Determining the identity of the remains will determine the course of the ongoing Garda investigation. Samples from more distant relatives such as uncles, aunts or cousins, are not currently processed by the current DNA technology in use, but such samples can be stored by FSI. Interpol use 'I-Familia', a dedicated global database for identifying missing persons based on international DNA kinship matching. When DNA profiles from more than two relatives of a missing person are available to FSI, they can submit them for inclusion in the international database. At present, Ireland doesn't openly exchange DNA data with other genealogy services, such as direct-to-consumer DNA websites that have been used to solve unidentified persons cases in the United States.
Sunday World
14-05-2025
- Sunday World
Partial remains of young man discovered off coast of Dublin
Gardaí have launched an investigation Partial remains of a man who died recently were discovered by fishermen on the seabed off the coast of Skerries, Co Dublin last year. The Sunday World understands that an examination of the two leg bones revealed that they belonged to a male who was 23 years or older at the time of his death, which was estimated to be 'one to two years' before the remains were found. This means the man likely died in 2022 or 2023. The grim find was only added to the Department of Justice's public database of unidentified remains in recent weeks after DNA testing failed to match them to a missing person. A left tibia and left fibula were found on May 7th 2024, and another partial human bone was discovered the following day May 8th. Forensic examination of the bones suggests he was between 175cm (5'8') and 181cm (5'10') in height. It is not known when, where, or how the remains entered the water. The three bones remain unidentified, as no match was found when compared to the National DNA missing persons database. The database, which is managed by Forensic Science Ireland (FSI), stores the DNA profiles of missing people, and or their close family members. The Dublin coroner has not yet received a response from authorities in the UK or Interpol on the matter. Determining the identity of the remains will determine the course of the ongoing Garda investigation. Skerries beach, Co Dublin News in 90 Seconds - May 14th Samples from more distant relatives such as uncles, aunts or cousins, are not currently processed by the current DNA technology in use, but such samples can be stored by FSI. Interpol use 'I-Familia', a dedicated global database for identifying missing persons based on international DNA kinship matching. When DNA profiles from more than two relatives of a missing person are available to FSI, they can submit them for inclusion in the international database. At present, Ireland doesn't openly exchange DNA data with other genealogy services, such as direct-to-consumer DNA websites that have been used to solve unidentified persons cases in the United States.
