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In a landmark case, a 92-year-old man has been convicted of the rape and murder of a 75-year-old woman in 1967, marking the end of what is believed to be the U.K.’s longest-running solved cold case.
Ryland Headley, 34 at the time of the crime, was found guilty by a jury at Bristol Crown Court for the brutal attack on Louisa Dunne in her own home. The verdict brings a close to a 58-year-old investigation, finally bringing Headley to justice.
On June 28, 1967, Dunne was discovered dead in her home by a neighbor. Neighbors reported hearing a scream the night of the murder.
The cause of death was determined to be strangulation and asphyxiation. She had also been raped.
Despite extensive efforts in 1967, including the collection of nearly 19,000 fingerprints, the case remained cold. The breakthrough came in 2023 when the case was reopened and Dunne’s skirt was submitted for DNA testing.
The DNA profile obtained matched Headley’s DNA, which had been entered into the national database in 2012 for an unrelated incident. A palm print found at the scene also matched Headley’s.
He was subsequently arrested at his home in Suffolk in November.
This isn’t Headley’s first encounter with the law. In the late 1970s, he pleaded guilty to raping two elderly women, aged 79 and 84, and served a seven-year prison sentence. Testimony from these previous victims, now deceased, was read aloud during the trial, offering chilling insights into Headley’s pattern of violence.
Due to the passage of time, nearly all witnesses from the original investigation are deceased. The prosecution relied heavily on written accounts from the time, which were treated as hearsay evidence.
Dunne’s granddaughter expressed her shock and relief at the arrest, having accepted that the case might never be solved. Investigators are now exploring whether Headley may be linked to other unsolved crimes.
Headley is scheduled to be sentenced on Tuesday.