The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) today announced they are to independently investigate Northumbria police in relation to their investigation into the murder of seven-year-old Nikki Allan. The announcement follows a formal complaint lodged by Centre for Women’s Justice (CWJ) on behalf of Nikki Allan’s mother Sharon Henderson. Nikki Allan was murdered in 1992, but it was not until 2023, that David Boyd was convicted of her murder. Police failures in the original investigation which focussed on the wrong man, George Heron, left the case unsolved for over 30 years. It was only following increasingly desperate steps taken by Sharon Henderson that some twenty-five years later, proper resourcing was put into a fresh investigation by Northumbria police which re-examined further leads she had identified.
The terms of reference of the complaint will examine:
the failures in policing dating back to 1992, when the wrong man, George Heron, was arrested and prosecuted;
alleged failures following Heron’s acquittal to follow guidance in relation to conducting homicide reviews;
whether there was any issue of corruption by officers involved in the original investigations;
failures in the forensic strategy of Northumbria police during later investigations including both DNA opportunities and a review of the TIE (trace, interview, eliminate) strategy in respect of Boyd and his associates as well as others who were known to police in the locality in relation to sexual offences against children;
alleged attempts by police officers to divert blame for such failures onto Nikki’s mother and whether that amounted to discriminatory treatment towards her.
Sharon Henderson said; “This is the next stage of my campaign to get truth and justice and to hold those responsible accountable. I lost all trust in Northumbria police and I now hope this independent investigation can lift the lid and expose incompetence and worse.”
Harriet Wistrich, Solicitor and Director for CWJ, said; “It is extremely concerning that a child murderer who lived only three doors away from Nikki’s home, failed to come under the spotlight of the police for nearly three decades. Instead the police insisted their prime suspect had been acquitted on a technicality and failed to explore other suspects. It is outrageous that the bereaved mother of the deceased child should have suffered any blame or criticism and had to take increasingly desperate measures to get the police to do their job. I hope the IOPC will leave no stone unturned in exposing incompetence and wrongdoing.”