Murder of Nikki Allan
| Murder of Nikki Allan | |
|---|---|
 High Street East, Sunderland in 2011. | |
| Location | Sunderland, Tyne and Wear, England |
| Date | 7 October 1992 |
Attack type | Blunt force trauma, stabbing |
| Deaths | 1 |
| Convicted | David Boyd |
| Charges | Murder |
| Judge | Mrs Justice Lambert |
On 7 October 1992, Nikki Allan, a seven-year-old English girl, was murdered after being hit with a brick and stabbed multiple times inside a derelict building in Sunderland, Tyne and Wear, England.[1] Allan's body was later found in the basement room.[1] After nearly 31 years of going unsolved, David Boyd was found guilty of Allan's murder in May 2023.[2]
Background
Nikki Allan was a seven-year-old English girl who lived in Sunderland with her mother, stepfather, sister and two half-sisters.[1]
Murder
On 7 October 1992, Nikki Allan was walking home from her grandfathers flat in Wear Garth, Sunderland before she disappeared.[3] She set off at 8:30pm local time.[3] When her mother, Sharon Henderson arrived home, Allan was nowhere to be seen. More than 100 neighbours helped to search for Allan.[3] The following day, Allan's shoes and coat were spotted outside the derelict Quayside Old Exchange building in High Street East, Sunderland.[4][3] Her body was found inside the basement of the building with 37 stab wounds and her head had been bludgeoned by a brick.[5]
Legal proceedings against George Heron
In late 1993, George Heron, a man who lived near Allan's home in Wear Garth, stood trial at Leeds Crown Court for Allan's murder.[6] The case against Heron collapsed after the judge ruled that Heron's taped confession to the murder was inadmissible in court.[6] The judge blamed "heavy-handed police tactics" for this outcome.[6] Heron was found not guilty of Allan's murder and was given a change of identity and was moved out of Sunderland.[6]
In 1994, Allan's mother, Sharon Henderson, brought a civil case against Heron.[6] Henderson charged Heron with, “battery on a child, resulting in her death." A court found this to be in Henderson's favour and ordered Heron to pay Henderson more than £7,000.[6] Heron was unable to be traced which meant that the money was never paid.[6]
Investigation
In February 2014, Steven Grieveson, a serial killer, was arrested on suspicion of Allan's murder.[7] He was questioned and was later told that he would face no further action.[7]
In May 2016, a woman contacted Henderson claiming to have new information about the murder.[3] The woman, who was twelve years old at the time of the murder and had been babysitting nearby at the time Allan disappeared, spoke to police.[3] In September the same year, Henderson called for a full reinvestigation of the crime.[8] She launched an online petition urging Northumbria Police to carry out a "top-to-bottom" review of the case.[8] This petition attracted more than 500 signatures in less than 24 hours.[8] The following month, Henderson contacted Steven Grieveson, asking him to share anything that he may know about Allan's death.[8] In April 2017, Henderson met Northumbria Police Chief Constable Steve Ashman and Detective Chief Inspector Lisa Theaker. They restated their determination to "bring Nikki’s killer to justice."[3] In October 2017, police said that they had successfully recovered a DNA sample from an unknown male.[8]
In April 2018, Northumbria Police raided a house in the Stockton area of Teesside and a man was arrested on suspicion of Allan's murder.[9] Two years later in April 2020, Henderson was contacted by a stranger saying that she could have information about Allan's murder.[3]
Arrest and trial of David Boyd
The man who was arrested on 17 April 2018 on suspicion of Allan's murder was later charged with the murder in 2022.[10] He was named as 54-year-old David Boyd.[10] Boyd appeared at Newcastle Crown Court on 24 May 2022 and was remanded into custody.[10] On 20 June 2022, Boyd appeared at Newcastle Crown Court via videolink and pleaded not guilty to the murder.[11]
On 20 April 2023, the trial of David Boyd began at Newcastle Crown Court.[1] The prosecution alleged that Boyd had lured Allan to some wasteland next to the River Wear, where she was struck in the head, causing her to bleed.[1] A witness stated that they did not see Allan being abducted, but that she was "skipping" to catch up with a man.[1] The prosecution then said that the man had then forced Allan through an opening in a boarded up window of the derelict Old Exchange building.[1] The man had then "beat her about the head with a brick" and had shattered her skull.[1] She was then subsequently stabbed multiple times through her chest, heart and lungs.[1] A post-mortem examination revealed that Allan had suffered "blunt force trauma" to the head which was believed to have knocked her unconscious before she was stabbed.[1] A witness claimed that at around 22:00 he had heard a loud scream which "fixed the time of the killing."[1] Allan's body was found the next day dumped in the basement of the building, the body was discovered by two volunteers who had joined the search for Allan.[1] During the trial, it was reported that at the time of the murder, David Boyd was known as David Smith or David Bell and was aged 25.[1] The case was described as "circumstantial but compelling" due to the fact that Boyd's DNA had been found on Allan's clothing.[1] Boyd suggested to police that the DNA may have been there because she had wiped her hands in his saliva and had smeared it onto her clothes after he had spat off his balcony that night and that it may have hit Allan.[1] It was also reported that Boyd "knew the layout" of the Old Exchange building and that he had used the same window a few days before when he took a boy there to search for pigeons.[1]
David Boyd had been convicted in March 2000 of indecent assault of a young girl at a park in Stockton that took place on 8 April 1999.[12] Boyd had also been convicted of breaching the peace in 1986 in which he had approached four children in Sacriston, County Durham and grabbed a ten-year-old girl.[12]
During the trial, the defence alleged that the "various strands of evidence don't prove" and that they were the "result of innocent coincidences."[13] Mrs Justice Christina Lambert told the jury that the case relied on "circumstantial evidence" and that there was "no direct evidence" of Boyd's guilt.[13] Later on in the trial, it was reported that Boyd would not be giving evidence at his trial.[13]
On 12 May 2023, David Boyd was found guilty of the murder of Nikki Allan.[2] It took the jury of 10 women and two men two and a half hours of deliberating to convict Boyd.[14] Boyd is due to be sentenced on 23 May 2023.[14]
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p "Nikki Allan: David Boyd lured girl to her death in 1992, jury told". BBC News. 20 April 2023. Retrieved 11 May 2023.
- ^ a b "Nikki Allan: A mother's 30-year search for her daughter's killer". BBC News. 12 May 2023. Retrieved 12 May 2023.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Doughty, Sophie (6 October 2017). "Nikki Allan murder: How brutal child killing sparked 30 year fight for justice". ChronicleLive. Retrieved 11 May 2023.
- ^ Kennedy, Rob (10 May 2023). "Nikki Allan murder accused David Boyd will not give evidence in his trial". ChronicleLive. Retrieved 11 May 2023.
- ^ Kennedy, Rob (3 May 2023). "Nikki Allan murder: Footage showing accused being arrested shown to court". ChronicleLive. Retrieved 11 May 2023.
- ^ a b c d e f g Bindel, Julie (10 October 2006). "'There will be no peace for me'". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 11 May 2023.
- ^ a b Doughty, Sophie (19 August 2020). "Nikki Allan's mum to meet potential new witness 28 years on from murder". ChronicleLive. Retrieved 11 May 2023.
- ^ a b c d e "Nikki Allan murder: A timeline of events around the crime that shocked Sunderland". Sunderland Echo. 8 February 2019. Retrieved 11 May 2023.
- ^ Doughty, Sophie; Corrigan, Naomi (20 April 2018). "Man arrested over murder of schoolgirl Nikki Allan 25 years ago". ChronicleLive. Retrieved 11 May 2023.
- ^ a b c "Nikki Allan: Man in court charged with 1992 Sunderland murder". BBC News. 24 May 2022. Retrieved 11 May 2023.
- ^ "Nikki Allan: Man pleads not guilty to 1992 murder". BBC News. 20 June 2022. Retrieved 11 May 2023.
- ^ a b "Nikki Allan trial: Accused had sexual interest in girls". BBC News. 9 May 2023. Retrieved 11 May 2023.
- ^ a b c "Nikki Allan trial: Murdered girl was 'dumped like rubbish'". BBC News. 10 May 2023. Retrieved 11 May 2023.
- ^ a b "Nikki Allan murder: David Boyd guilty of killing Sunderland girl". BBC News. 12 May 2023. Retrieved 12 May 2023.