New twist in hunt for seven year old’s killer

NORTH SUSPECT ARREST

ONE of Britain’s most notorious unsolved slayings has taken a twist with the arrest of a suspect in the Nikkki Allan murder.

This week, residents on Middleton Walk, Stockton, watched as police emptied a house and detained a man.

Two neighbours said they had been unaware of the reason for his arrest and were left visibly shaken by the news.

“It’s frightening seeing that so close to your home,” said one of the neighbours.

“We look out for each other. There was a drug dealer on the street and we got him out - we don’t want that here, there are children living around here.”

No charges have been brought against the suspect. police confirmed he was released under investigation.

The neighbours, who did want to be named, had watched as forensic officers spent around eight hours coming in and out of a house on the street, on Tuesday morning.

A man was led away and the house was searched for a number of hours. At around 3pm, forensic officers left the scene and more police turned up.

“There were CID, forensics and plain clothes officers going in and out all day,” said a resident.

“I saw a police dog going through the bins.

“They were taking big bags filled with clear plastic bags and they brought out a computer stack.

“They brought him out, I didn’t see handcuffs but they were holding his arms.

“There were so many different agencies there.”

Seven-year-old Nikki was found stabbed to death in a derelict building in Sunderland in 1992.

She had vanished after leaving her grandparents’ flat in Sunderland’s Wear Garth.

Neighbours formed search parties in a desperate bid to find the schoolgirl.

Her body was found in the derelict Exchange building. She had been stabbed 37 times.

In 1993, George Heron, 24 at the time, stood trial for Nikki’s murder, but was cleared by a jury at Leeds Crown Court.

Then in 2014, Sunderland serial killer Steven Grieveson was arrested and questioned on suspicion of Nikki’s murder. But he was told he would face no action.

It was reported last year fresh DNA evidence was recovered by detectives.

They urged men from the Wear Garth area, where Nikki lived, to come forward for DNA testing. Schoolgirl Nikki Allan