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A 92-year-old man has been convicted of the brutal rape and murder of Louisa Dunne, a woman from Bristol, in a case that went unsolved for almost sixty years. The tragic incident occurred when Dunne, 75, was discovered strangled on the floor of her living room in Easton, Bristol, on June 28, 1967. Ryland Headley, a convicted rapist from Ipswich, was found guilty of Dunne’s murder following a trial at Bristol Crown Court.
Senior investigating officer Det Insp Dave Marchant remarked that Headley, who was in his thirties at the time of the crime, left behind “a legacy of misery and pain.” Despite extensive efforts by the police to identify a suspect in Dunne’s murder in the past, none were successful. Approximately 19,000 prints were collected from men and boys, followed by about 8,000 house-to-house inquiries and 2,000 statements, all without a breakthrough.
It was only when Avon and Somerset Police revisited the case years later that new DNA evidence emerged linking Headley to the crime. Det Insp Marchant branded Headley a “dangerous serial offender” with a “shocking and abhorrent history.” The successful resolution of the case was praised as a fusion of traditional and modern police techniques and is believed to be the oldest cold case to be solved in the UK.
Following Headley’s arrest in November 2024, forensic experts matched his palm print to one found on the rear window of Dunne’s home. Headley had previously confessed to breaking into the homes of two elderly widows in Suffolk in October 1977 and committing similar heinous acts on them. Trevor Mason, a Special Branch detective involved in the Suffolk cases, condemned Headley as being “worse than an animal,” emphasizing the vulnerability of his victims. Despite initially denying the charges, Headley is now awaiting sentencing for both the rape and murder of Louisa Dunne
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