The mum of murdered schoolgirl Nikki Allan has refused to accept a police apology over failings in their investigation.
Sharon Henderson, 56, says she should have been visited personally by a senior officer rather than hearing of their apology through the media. She described the move as "hollow" and said she would prefer Northumbria Police to be appealing for more victims of Nikki's killer, David Boyd to come forward.
Northumbria Police Assistant Chief Constable Alastair Simpson told reporters on Wednesday: “I am truly sorry for the mistakes that were made in the 1992 investigation and I’m sorry for the length of time it has taken to get justice for the family. I can’t imagine the impact on them over the course of the last 30 years so I have offered to meet with Sharon and with other members of the family, and I will be happy to say that to them when I meet.”
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The force also apologised to wrongly accused George Heron, who they "built a case around" before real killer David Boyd, 55, was brought to justice more than 30 years later. He is due to be sentenced on Tuesday, May 23 at Newcastle Crown Court.
Sharon said: "I don't accept their apology, it feels hollow to me, especially as I had to hear about it through the media. I would have appreciated a senior officer coming to my door to talk to me and to apologise in person, face to face.
"This acceptance of all the failings over so many years has been a long time coming and this was not the way to do it.
"I was left to investigate Nikki's murder myself for all that time and I asked the question over and over again about who that man was who lived in the flat three doors from my dad and step-mam.
"And yet it took 30 years and a DNA scientist to catch up with Boyd, he should have been in their sights immediately."
Sharon continued: "Instead of apologising to me, I would prefer them to be appealing for more victims of Boyd to come forward. Because of their investigation he has been free to do as he likes for all this time, thinking he's untouchable and there will be other victims out there, I'm sure of that.
"I'd prefer to see action rather than words, I think other people were involved in Nikki's murder and to me this is not over and I won't be satisfied by an apology made through the media."
During a media briefing on Wednesday, Detective Chief Superintendent Lisa Theaker said that Boyd is the only person responsible for Nikki's murder and said the force does not believe there are any more victims.
"I can confirm that the only person responsible for Nikki Allan's death was David Boyd," she said.
"We have looked at over 1,000 males to satisfy ourselves that there was nobody else involved."
She added: "We have spent a considerable time looking to see whether there are any offences that have been reported that could be potentially connected to Boyd and I can say none of them have."
Northumbria Police declined to comment on whether Sharon had been spoken to in person.
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