Nikki Allan: Child murderer has appeal bid rejected

A man who murdered a seven-year-old girl has failed in his bid to appeal his conviction and sentence.

David Boyd lured Nikki Allan to a derelict building in Sunderland in 1992, and beat and stabbed her 37 times.

He was jailed in May 2023 for at least 29 years.

The Criminal Appeals Office said an appeal Boyd had lodged against his conviction and sentence had been refused.

Northumbria Police is being investigated by the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) over its handling of the murder, which remained unsolved for 31 years.

Boyd, from Stockton-on-Tees, was eventually snared by DNA advances in 2017 which allowed detectives to match samples from Nikki's clothes to her killer.