A 92-year-old man, Ryland Headley, has been sentenced to life imprisonment for the brutal rape and murder of 75-year-old Louisa Dunne in 1967, marking what is believed to be the United Kingdom’s oldest solved cold case.
Headley, who was 34 at the time of the crime, was told by Justice Derek Sweeting at Bristol Crown Court on Tuesday that he would “never be released” and would “die in prison.”
“She must have experienced considerable pain and fear before her death,” the judge said, referring to Mrs. Dunne, who was attacked and killed in her own home.
The court heard that Headley violated the safety of the elderly widow’s home, where she was found strangled. During the original investigation, police recovered a palm print from the scene, which failed to match any suspects at the time despite being compared with over 19,000 individuals.
Headley, who lived just outside the area where police requested voluntary prints, was never questioned in the 1967 investigation. However, in 2023, cold case detectives reopened the file and matched preserved DNA from Dunne’s clothing to Headley. A palm print analysis later confirmed the match.
When confronted by detectives at his home last November, Headley claimed: “I don’t know what you are talking about. Very strange, very strange.”
Pattern of Predatory Behaviour
Judge Sweeting noted a chilling pattern in Headley’s criminal history. In 1977 — a decade after Dunne’s murder — he was convicted of breaking into the homes of two elderly widows and raping them. Though he initially received a life sentence, it was later reduced to seven years on appeal.
“These previous convictions show a chilling pattern of behaviour,” the judge remarked.
The court also heard emotional testimony from Dunne’s granddaughter, Mary Dainton, who said the murder had a “far-reaching effect” on the family.
“I feel it falls to me to speak for the people who are no longer here,” she said.
Dainton, who was 20 years old when her grandmother was killed, added: “I’m now almost the same age as she was when she was killed.”
Police Investigating Other Potential Crimes
Avon and Somerset Police said they are reviewing other cold cases that Headley might be connected to, noting that his record includes three rapes of elderly women and one murder committed over a span of decades.
“I think there’s every possibility that there are other offences out there – over the 60s, 70s, however long a time period – which Mr Headley could be culpable for,” said Detective Dave Marchant.
The case sets a legal milestone in the UK and highlights how advances in forensic science — including long-preserved DNA and palm print evidence — are reshaping justice, even decades after crimes have gone cold.
