The unspeakable crime 'etched on every woman's memory'

There are some crimes that linger in the memory long after the dust has settled. They stand as an affront to our sense of what is right, and make us feel more vulnerable as we go about our daily lives. The rape and murder of 21-year-old Diane Sindall in August 1986 is one such crime.

Diane was just trying to get home after working a late shift at a nearby pub when her life was taken from her. After her van ran out of petrol, she stopped at a garage on Borough Road in Birkenhead, where she had the misfortune to encounter Peter Sullivan, an unemployed labourer. Sullivan later said he stopped her to ask her the time, and was then seized with a "sudden desire to kill".

Merseyside Police detectives told journalists it was one of the worst murder cases they had worked on due to the extent of Diane's injuries. Sullivan - who became known as the 'Beast of Birkenhead' - was handed a life term after being found guilty of her murder in November 1987. He remains in prison, but recently lodged an appeal against his conviction. On November 13 the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) confirmed the case had been referred to the Court of Appeal after a DNA profile was obtained which does not match Sullivan.

READ MORE: XL bully owner pleads guilty after dog savaged and killed neighbour known as 'Scouse'

READ MORE: What happens when a criminal case is sent from magistrates' to crown court

In this report, we take a look at not the crime itself, but at its enduring legacy. From the psychological impact on local women, to the creation of RASA, the rape crisis centre, the shocking violence meted out against Diane left ripples that are still felt to this day.

A young bride-to-be

Diane Sindall was engaged to be married at the time of her death. Her fiancé, David, lived in Seacombe, and she divided her time between his home and that of her parents, Wendy and Brian, in Tranmere.

Diane had lots of friends. She loved her food, and enjoyed cooking for people. Her mum said in an interview shortly after her death: "She was such a vivacious, bubbly, happy-go-lucky girl, looking forward to getting married to her boyfriend. She was really a good family girl and everyone liked her".

With the help of an uncle, Diane set up a floristry business in Borough Road, Wallasey, the year before she was killed. She also worked as a barmaid some evenings, which her dad said "helped her pay for a new microwave oven" and furnishings for her new flat.

'We were all frightened'

Diane was working at a pub in Bebington on the night of her murder. When news of her death broke on August 2, 1986, it had a devastating effect on the local community. Neighbours sobbed in the street on Cressington Avenue in Tranmere outside the Sindall family home.

A BBC Crimewatch re-enactment of the young woman's last walk was watched by millions, as police spent eight long weeks searching for her killer. Writing in the Daily Post a couple of months after the attack, Denise Mullin said the television scene was "etched on every woman's memory".

According to Karen, 64, from Bebington, the crime changed the way people behaved on Wirral. "We were all frightened, very frightened," said Karen. "I remember going past the scene on the bus just after it happened and seeing all the police vans there and the forensics. And I thought, 'god that's so close to home, that could have been one of us'.

"We all used to go out clubbing in Birkenhead at the time in Ruperts and the Pleasuredome. After it happened, we all made sure nobody would go home on their own and we all stuck together.

"They couldn't find the guy for a long time - or it seemed a long time to us, anyway - and it stopped a lot of people stopped going out."

The Daily Post reported that as word of Diane's terrible injuries got out, the "free and easy atmosphere of urban nightlife was rocked off its tracks" and women were advised never to walk out alone. Worried dads and boyfriends lined up their cars outside bars and nightclubs to bring their daughters and girlfriends safely home.

'We are just not going to let people forget Diane'

The response of local women was one of fear and sadness, which soon gave way to white-hot anger. The senseless brutality of the crime made a deep impression on women on Merseyside. In March 1987, around 300 women trudged through a blizzard in Birkenhead under banners headed 'Reclaim the Night' to remember Diane.

One of the organisers told the ECHO at the time: "We are just not going to let people forget Diane and what happened to her". Columnist Angela Anderson wrote in the Daily Post: "For some women who took part in the march, wearing flimsy clothes and high heeled shoes, it might have been straight on to a pub or a night club in a bid to pick up life much as it was before the march.

"For others it was back to the fear, the planning and the plotting to ensure being out at night doesn't involve waiting at a lonely bus stop, walking through a deserted subway, sitting alone in a railway carriage. But none of us can plan for the consequences of a car breaking down on a well-lit dual carriageway."

'Murdered because she was woman'

A fund was set up to create a lasting memorial to Diane. On March 8, 1988, a black memorial stone was laid at the spot on a grass verge where she died. The memorial was inscribed with the words: "Diane Sindall. Murdered August 2, 1986, because she was a woman. In memory of all our sisters who have been raped and murdered. We will never let it be forgotten."

Diane's mum said at the time: "I agreed to support the idea of a stone because it might make people stop and think about the dangers women face. It will not make what happened to Diane harder to bear. Every time we go past the spot we remember."

Actress Sue Johnston led the procession and unveiled the memorial to Diane. In 1970, Sue herself was sexually attacked, an incident which reportedly inspired a storyline in Brookside in which her character, Sheila Grant, was the victim of rape.

After unveiling the memorial, Sue said: "We have to start building a future where women can walk the streets in safety. It is very tragic that we have to be here at all where Diane died. But if there is any hope to be gained from this it is that we might make people stop and think about the issue.

"Having been attacked myself, I know it is something you never get over. It changes your life. Women who have been attacked live in fear and that is just not acceptable in 1988."

The creation of RASA

The legacy of Diane's murder is still felt today in the shape of RASA Merseyside, a counselling and support service for victims of rape and sexual abuse. In the 1980s, there was limited (or non-existent) support available to survivors of sexual violence on Merseyside. Following Diane's murder, women on Wirral decided "enough was enough".

A group gathered in a small kitchen in a Birkenhead home and founded the Wirral Rape Crisis Counselling Service, which was registered in September 1987, and later became known as RASA. Today, the organisation has offices in Birkenhead and Bootle, and supports around 600 victims of sexual violence at any one time.

Diane's memorial stone is still in place, opposite the Pyramids shopping centre in Birkenhead. It is regularly adorned with fresh bunches of flowers, and the pledge "not to let people forget Diane and what happened to her" has been fulfilled. But nearly 40 years on from the young woman's death, Sue Johnston's hope that we might build a future where women "could walk the streets in safety" still seems like a pipe dream.