A child killer, who murdered a seven-year-old girl in 1992 and got away with his crime for three decades, has been jailed for life with a minimum term of 29 years.

Sex offender David Boyd, 55, had a "sinister purpose" when he lured seven-year-old Nikki Allan to a derelict warehouse in Sunderland's East End in October 1992, prosecutors said.

Boyd was convicted of murder earlier this month after jurors heard he battered her with a brick and stabbed her in the chest 37 times, then left her dead or dying in the basement.

He managed to evade justice because police focused on an innocent man who was subsequently acquitted of any involvement. 

Boyd remained at large while George Heron stood trial for the killing, before he was cleared on the orders of the judge in 1993.