A bid to get Nikki Allan's murderer locked-up for longer has failed. David Boyd was jailed for life with a minimum of 29 years last month after he was convicted of murdering the schoolgirl in 1992.
A request was made for his sentence to be reviewed by the Attorney General's Unduly Lenient Sentencing Scheme (ULS). The scheme allows victims of crime, members of the public, and the Crown Prosecution Service to ask for certain crown court sentences to be reviewed if they believe they are too low.
Read more: Yob caught on CCTV targeting Fenham family home for third time in 'mistaken identity'
However, Boyd's case was not referred to the Court of Appeal so his minimum prison term of 29 years still stands. Nikki's murder was one of the North East's most notorious unsolved crimes for three decades.
The seven-year-old's body was found in a derelict building the morning after she went missing near her family's home in Sunderland. Who killed the youngster remained a mystery until a DNA breakthrough enabled detectives to link 55-year-old Boyd, from Stockton, to his horrific crime.
As he stood trial at Newcastle Crown Court the jury heard how Boyd tricked Nikki into going with him, with the intention of sexually abusing her. When she screamed, he then forced her into the dark disused Exchange building where he smashed her skull with a brick and knifed her 37 times.
Sentencing Boyd to life in prison the judge, Mrs Justice Lambert said: “You decided to kill her, to silence her and prevent her from telling anyone that you had sexually assaulted her or attempted to do so. It would not have taken the seven-year-old long to appreciate she was trapped in that cold and dark building and that you were coming through the window to get her.
“She was in a cold, pitch black building. Her terror at what was to befall her as you stalked her in that building is unimaginable. This must have been a truly terrifying experience for this seven-year-old girl."
The court also heard how Boyd had previous convictions for sex crimes against children.
