APPEAL BID REJECTED AFTER DAVID BOYD WAS JAILED FOR LIFE FOR MURDERING 7-YEAR-OLD NIKKI ALLAN

More than 30 years after seven-year-old Nikki Allan was killed in Sunderland, David Boyd’s bid to challenge his conviction has been rejected, leaving his life sentence in place.

Boyd was convicted of Nikki’s murder in May 2023 after a major reinvestigation finally identified him as the man responsible for her death.

His application for permission to appeal against his conviction and sentence was refused in October 2024.

NIKKI DISAPPEARED IN 1992

Nikki Allan was seven years old when she disappeared from the Wear Garth flats in Sunderland on October 7, 1992.

Boyd was a neighbour and was also the partner of a woman who babysat Nikki.

Prosecutors said Boyd lured Nikki to the abandoned Old Exchange building, where she was attacked. Her body was later discovered in the basement.

At the time, the investigation focused on another local man, George Heron, who was eventually acquitted.

Northumbria Police later apologised to Heron and Nikki’s family over mistakes made during the original investigation.

THE DNA BREAKTHROUGH

The case was reopened decades later as advances in forensic science allowed investigators to examine evidence that had previously provided no clear answer.

DNA recovered from Nikki’s clothing was linked to Boyd.

During his 2023 trial, the court heard that a Y-DNA profile found on Nikki’s cycling shorts had a coincidental match probability of around 1 in 28,000, while another sample from her T-shirt had a probability of around 1 in 5,100.

Police carried out extensive further inquiries and screened more than 1,000 men as part of the investigation.

But the DNA evidence was not considered in isolation.

The sentencing judge said the jury also considered inconsistencies in Boyd’s accounts to police and evidence that his alibi was false. The court described the DNA evidence as powerful evidence against him.

CONVICTED AFTER MORE THAN THREE DECADES

Boyd was convicted at Newcastle Crown Court on May 12, 2023.

He was 55 when the jury found him guilty, more than three decades after Nikki’s death.

He was subsequently sentenced to life imprisonment, with a minimum term of 29 years, taking into account the sentencing rules applicable to an offence committed in 1992 and time already spent in custody.

For Nikki’s family, the conviction finally brought an answer to a case that had remained unresolved for more than 30 years.

THE APPEAL BID

Boyd later sought permission to challenge his conviction and sentence.

In October 2024, his application was refused, meaning the conviction and life sentence remained in place.

The case also prompted an investigation into the handling of the original 1992 inquiry, including decisions made by police officers involved at the time.

For Nikki’s loved ones, the decades-long search for answers ultimately ended with Boyd’s conviction — but the case also left behind questions about how the original investigation had gone so badly wrong.

Nikki was only seven years old when her life was taken.

More than three decades later, advances in forensic science helped investigators revisit the evidence and build the case that eventually led to Boyd’s conviction.