Peter Sullivan

Peter Sullivan was convicted of Murder and was jailed for life despite being handed a minium trem of 16 years. Mr Sullivan initially denied the attack but later signed a confession but has since maintained his innocence. He was convicted on the basis of his retracted admission, circumstantial evidence around his whereabouts, and the assertion that a bite mark appeared to match his teeth. Mr Sullivan applied to the CCRC in 2008 questioning DNA evidence, however his case was not referred to the Court of Appeal. He also sought leave to appeal directly in 2019, without CCRC involvement, concerns about police interviews, bite mark evidence and the murder weapon, but this was rejected by the Court of Appeal in 2021. He claimed he had not been provided with an appropriate adult during interviews and was initially denied legal representation. In November 2024 the CCRC referred the case on the basis of DNA evidence. The CPS said the new DNA evidence is “reliable” and that it “does not seek to argue that this evidence is not capable of undermining the safety of Mr Sullivan’s conviction”. Therefore Peter Sullivan has had his conviction quashed.

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