The paedophile who murdered Nikki Allan, seven, has filed an appeal against his conviction and 29-year prison term. David Boyd, 55, enticed the young schoolgirl and brutally killed her in October 1992, eluding prosecution for 30 years.
Boyd, a man she knew well from the block of flats where they resided in Sunderland, bashed her head with a brick and stabbed her 37 times. The next day, local villagers searching for the missing child discovered her dead inside a decrepit structure.
Boyd has a history of sexual offenses against young females. In 2022, he was convicted guilty of murder at Newcastle Crown Court and sentenced to a minimum of 29 years in prison. He has now filed an appeal against his conviction and sentence, which might have been significantly lengthier if the crime had occurred more recently.
Sharon Henderson, Nikki’s mother, has spoken out against Boyd, expressing her surprise that he is appealing. ‘He had his opportunity to protest his innocence in court. But he did not say a word,’ she told The Mirror.
Northumbria Police Commissioner Kim McGuinness, who allegedly talked with Ms Henderson about the appeal, stated that Boyd had put Nikki’s family through a ‘horrendous nightmare’ and must ‘face his actions’.
‘I hope the courts do the right thing and dismiss this appeal, putting an end to this woman’s agony,’ she told the publication.
Nikki’s violent murder shocked residents of Sunderland’s Wear Garth community in Tyne and Wear. Boyd, who was 25 at the time, provided a ‘false alibi’ and acknowledged he was the last man to see her alive.
Read Also: 10 Ways to Save Money After Retirement
Wrongful Accusations and the Lingering Questions of George Heron
However, investigators suspected a different man, George Heron, who was acquitted of murder in 1993 at Leeds Crown Court. Mr Heron, who was 23 at the time, was subjected to coercive questioning by police and gave a fake ‘confession’ that a judge declared inadmissible. He subsequently described how the bogus charges ‘destroyed’ his life and wanted explanations about why justice took so long.
Years later, scientific discoveries helped to establish that Boyd’s DNA was on Nikki’s clothes in four places.
Police visited to his residence in 2017 about 25 years after he murdered her to acquire a fresh DNA sample, which matched the Y DNA on the garment.
The court heard during Boyd’s trial in June of this year that Boyd, now 55, had a girlfriend who was a frequent babysitter for Nikki.
Nikki was playing in the courtyard after dark on the night of her death, according to prosecutor Richard Wright KC.
At 9.30 p.m., she went to the neighboring Boars Heard tavern, informing a local she was ‘waiting for her mum’. After that, a witness spotted her skipping along with what they imagined was her father.
She was last seen on CCTV at 9.57 p.m., near the dilapidated structure where her corpse was discovered the next day.
A woman claimed hearing what she thought were two cries from a girl shortly after 10 p.m., while another characterized the noise as a “cat wailing.”
Soon after Nikki failed to come home, a search expedition was initiated.
Her coat and shoes were discovered outside the abandoned building, and her corpse was discovered in the basement. According to Mr Wright, evidence revealed that she was assaulted outside before being pushed through a high window into the basement.
She’d been stabbed in the heart and lungs 37 times.
Boyd allegedly hit Nikki in the face ‘to shut her up’ before killing her. ‘Her dread was unfathomable when she watched you lurching towards her in the dark,’ Boyd was told in court. ‘This seven-year-old child must have had a genuinely terrible experience.’
During police investigations, Boyd informed authorities that he went out to get fish and chips about 9.30 p.m. and was home by 10 p.m. The prosecution claimed at trial that he adjusted the times to provide himself an alibi.
Police did not treat him as a suspect at the time, and he was not arrested for Nikki’s murder until April 2018.
Read Also: Why Florida May Not Be the Ideal Retirement Destination?
Source: Daily Mail
