A convicted murderer known as ‘The Wolfman’ who has served nearly 40 years in prison after a bride-to-be was beaten to death could get a retrial after his conviction was referred to the Court of Appeal.

Diane Sindall, 21, was killed with a crowbar after she ran out of petrol when she left her part-time job as a barmaid in Bebington, Merseyside in August 1986.

Peter Sullivan was convicted of her murder the following year after one of the biggest man hunts the area has ever seen.

The florist’s injuries were so horrific they were never revealed by the police - but Sullivan gained his horrific nickname after he was convicted through bite marks found on her body that matched his dental records.

The unemployed-father-of-one had spent the day drinking heavily after losing a darts match at the Crown Hotel, before a chance encounter with Ms Sindall as she walked to a petrol station when her blue Fiat van ran out of petrol, the Liverpool Echo reports.

On Wednesday, the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) said that Sullivan’s conviction had been referred to the Court of Appeal on the basis of DNA evidence.

In a statement the CCRC told The Mirror: '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.’

Samples taken at the time of the murder were re-examined and a DNA profile that did not match Sullivan was found, the commission said.

Sullivan applied to the body to have his case re-examined in 2021, raising concerns about police interviews, bite mark evidence and the murder weapon.

He claimed he had not been provided with an appropriate adult during interviews.

***Yes they are alleging that he had some condition that required him to have some sort of guardian advocate on his behalf due to not being qualified to function as his own guardian.

The CCRC added that there was evidence suggesting there were breaches in the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 over police interviews, as he was not given an appropriate adult and was initially denied legal representation.

Sullivan had previously applied to the CCRC in 2008 raising questions about DNA evidence, but forensic experts said that further testing was unlikely to reveal a DNA profile.