Nikki Allan: Northumbria Police 30-year murder probe to be reviewed

Nikki Allan was seven years old when she was murdered by a neighbour

A police investigation which failed to find a seven-year-old girl's murderer for 30 years will be the subject of a review.

Nikki Allan was killed in a derelict building in Sunderland in 1992, but her killer David Boyd, 55, was only convicted and jailed this year.

Nikki's mother Sharon Henderson said Boyd should have been caught sooner.

Northumbria Police and Crime Commissioner Kim McGuinness said Nikki's family "deserve answers".

After meeting with Ms Henderson, who never stopped searching for her daughter's killer, Ms McGuinness said she would invite an "independent organisation" to review Nikki's family's complaint.

Kim McGuinness held a meeting with Sharon Henderson

Ms McGuinness said the family's "long wait for justice" had "only compounded their pain", adding they deserved "peace and closure".

She praised the police officers who caught Boyd but said "questions remain", adding either the Independent Office for Police Conduct or another force would be asked to carry out a review.

"If there were mistakes made we will find out about them, but crucially we've got to get the answers Sharon wants," Ms McGuinness said, adding she hoped it would happen "as soon as possible".

Ms McGuiness said the complaint would have to be formally received before the next step could begin, with Ms Henderson's legal team confirming they were preparing the paperwork.

Ms Henderson said she wanted "true justice" for Nikki and she welcomed the promise of a review.

David Boyd was jailed for life with a minimum term of 29 years in May

At the time of the murder, detectives focussed on George Heron, 24, a neighbour of Nikki's in the Wear Garth Flats.

After intense questioning he admitted killing the girl, but a judge at his murder trial in 1993 ruled police tactics were "oppressive" and Mr Heron was acquitted.

Mr Boyd, then aged 25 - another neighbour and boyfriend of Nikki's babysitter - was spoken to at the time by police but only as a witness.

A new team reopened the case and in 2017, with the benefit of advances in DNA technology, were able to pinpoint Boyd, by then living in Stockton, as the killer.

Sharon Henderson never stopped fighting for justice for her daughter

Boyd's trial at Newcastle Crown Court heard he bore a "striking resemblance" to a man seen with Nikki the night she died.

DNA matching his was found on her clothes and he had a good knowledge of the Old Exchange building where Nikki was lured, beaten, stabbed and left for dead in a basement.

Northumbria Police previously apologised for mistakes in the original investigation, but Ms Henderson said it was "hollow".

The Centre for Women's Justice, which is supporting Ms Henderson, said they hoped to be able to look at all the evidence in Nikki's case.

Director Harriet Wistrich said she wanted to get "reassurance" for Ms Henderson adding : "We just want to see what was missed."

She said she hoped the review would consider if Ms Henderson was "failed" and "treated disrespectfully" because she was a single, working class mother.

"I would like Sharon to feel satisfied that no stone has been left unturned and everything she has concerns about has been exposed to scrutiny," Ms Wistrich added.

Nikki and her killer were neighbours in Hendon

Boyd's trial at Newcastle Crown Court heard he admitted having "sexual fantasises" about young girls and had convictions for making advances towards girls from 1986, 1997 and 1999.

No definitive motive was ever given for the murder, but prosecutors said the "irresistible conclusion" was Boyd had lured Nikki to the Old Exchange for a "sinister purpose".