A 92-year-old man who raped and murdered an elderly woman 58 years ago has been told he will die in prison after being sentenced to 20 years in prison.
Ryland Headley was on Monday found guilty of murdering and raping Louisa Dunne, in what is thought to be the UK’s longest-running cold case ever solved.
Headley, then aged 34, forced entry into the defenceless mother-of-two’s home in Bristol in June 1967 before launching his terrifying onslaught against her.
Her body was found by neighbours inside her terraced home in Britannia Road in the Easton area of the city the following day.
Mrs Dunne, who was using the front room as a bedroom, was found lying on a pile of old clothes and police discovered no evidence of any violent struggle in the house.
The case remained unsolved for decades until Avon and Somerset detectives sent off items from the original investigation for DNA testing.
Those results provided a DNA match to Headley, who since the murder had moved to Suffolk, and had served a prison sentence for brutally raping two elderly women.
The ageing sex predator was finally brought to justice yesterday, after being convicted by a jury for his ‘pitiless and cruel’ murder of the beloved 75-year-old.
Today, trial judge Mr Justice Sweeting imposed a life sentence and told Headley he was fixing a minimum term of 20 years’ imprisonment.
“Given your age and for all practical purposes, I can do so in very short terms. You’ll never be released and you will die in prison,” Judge Sweeting warned.
Describing Headley’s brutal attack, the judge continued: “You broke into her home, you sexually assaulted her and in doing so, you caused her death.”
“You may not have intended to kill, but you planned to rape her, and you brutally attacked her.”
When you did so, you met her screams and struggles in a force sufficient to kill.”
“The nature of these offenses demonstrates a complete disregard for human life and dignity.”
“Mrs Dunne was vulnerable. She was a small, elderly woman living alone. You exploited that vulnerability.”
“You treated her as a means to an end. The violation of her home, her body, and ultimately, her life, was a pitiless and cruel act by a depraved man.”
Headley, of Ipswich, had denied rape and murder but was found guilty of both charges by the jury at Bristol Crown Court.
The defendant, now aged 92, did not give evidence during the trial.
Speaking during the Tuesday’s sentencing hearing, Judge Sweeting added: “The minimum term I impose is 20 years.”
“You would be entitled to credit for the time spent on remand, which can be calculated separately.”
“It is normally necessary to explain the effect of such a minimum term in detail.”
The court heard Mrs Dunne was a ‘local fixture’ who was always ‘standing on her doorstep, watching the world go by, always wearing her headscarf.’
Neighbours found her body when she failed to appear on her doorstep and they noticed a sash window was open.
Mrs Dunne had suffered multiple bruising and a major haemorrhage, consistent with having her mouth forcibly covered to stop her breathing.
At the time police tried to match thousands of potential suspects to a palm print left on a window.
Prosecutors say the case went cold for decades until a DNA breakthrough.
Sex predator Headley was identified after a cold case review last year matched his DNA with semen on Mrs Dunne’s skirt and pubic hair – while his palm was also a match for a print left on a window.
Detective Inspector Dave Marchant, of Avon and Somerset Police said Headley’s conviction showed no case was ‘too old or too cold’ to be investigated.
Speaking after Headley was jailed, DI Marchant paid tribute to Mrs Dunne’s family and those who worked on the case.
Ryland Headley is finally facing justice for the horrific crimes he committed against Louisa in 1967,” he said.
The impact of this crime has cast a long shadow over the city and in particular Louisa’s family, who have had to deal with the sadness and trauma ever since.
“Louisa’s granddaughter Mary has shown remarkable resilience and courage throughout the investigation and trial, and our thoughts remain very much with her.”
And in a blunt message to crooks thinking they could evade the law, DI Marchant said on Monday: “Watch your back, we’re coming after you.”
In a statement today, Charlotte Ream of the Crown Prosecution Service said: “Louisa Dunne died in a horrifying attack carried out in the place where she should have felt safest – her own home.
“Mrs Dunne’s death continues to have a traumatic impact on her family members: the passage of time has not lessened their pain.”
For 58 years, this appalling crime went unsolved and Ryland Headley, the man we now know is responsible, avoided justice.
The hard work of the Avon and Somerset Police review team and the South West Crown Prosecution Service Complex Casework Unit has resulted in justice being served.
This case is a demonstration of the commitment of the CPS, and our partners in the police, to relentlessly pursue justice for the victims of crime, no matter how many years – or decades – have passed.
Forces across the country are now examining whether Headley could be linked to other unsolved crimes.
Ryland Headley has now been convicted of three rapes of elderly women within their own addresses, and in the case of Louisa Dunne, her murder as well,” DI Marchant said.
“In 1978, when he was sentenced, he admitted to a number of other burglary offences.”
“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.”
We are working with colleagues across the country and other police forces and the National Crime Agency to try to understand and identify those potential further offences, and if possible, can we match them through any forensic techniques etc and if we are able, hopefully then get him before a court to face justice over those matters too.
“She was in no state to defend herself. Whether it happened 58 years ago or 58 days ago, the murder of any person, is, of course, a matter of concern to any of the rest of us.”
“The fact that time has passed does not make the killing of anyone of us any less significant.”
The police have never given up on solving the case of Mrs Dunne’s murder.
To give a sense of Headley’s ‘depravity’, jurors heard the harrowing testimony of two elderly widows raped by the ‘animal’ in 1977.
Headley, then aged 45, had broken into the homes of women aged 84 and 79 at night and raped them having threatened them with violence if they did not comply.
Police mounted a massive fingerprinting exercise to try to find the attacker and Headley was arrested after a print found at the second scene matched his.
He later pleaded guilty at Ipswich Crown Court in 1978 for the pair of sex attacks and was jailed for seven years.
Speaking about the testimony of the two victims, heard by the jurors sitting in Headley’s murder trial, DI Marchant said: “Hearing the voices of the victims of his 1977 offences, is just incredibly powerful and harrowing.”
“I think it gives us an insight into probably what happened within 58 Britannia Road to some degree.”
“Mr Headley has offered no evidence for explanation for what happened at that address that night so to hear those women, their accounts being read out in court, I think was very impactful, very impactful.”
