Pensioner, 92, found guilty of rape and murder in UK's longest cold case

Headley, of Clarence Road, Ipswich, had denied rape and murder but was found guilty of both charges by the jury at Bristol Crown Court.

The defendant did not give evidence during the trial.

Dunne's body was discovered in her front bedroom by concerned neighbours on the morning of June 28, 1967, at her home on Britannia Road in Bristol's Easton area.

A woman was heard screaming hours before Dunne, who had been twice widowed and lived alone, was discovered dead.

Police found no evidence of any violent struggle in the house at the time of her death.

However, in a major breakthrough, Avon and Somerset detectives examined semen found on the victim's clothing for DNA using procedures that were impossible at the time of the murder, providing a match to Headley.

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The murderer had moved to Suffolk following the murder, and had served a prison sentence for raping two elderly women.

Detective Inspector Dave Marchant, of Avon and Somerset Police, said that Ryland Headley’s conviction showed no case was “too old or too cold” to be investigated.

He said: “We’re unwavering in our determination to bring offenders to justice. For me, there is no cold case which is too old, too cold for us to complete a further review and investigation on.

"If there are lines of inquiry and evidence, we will pursue them relentlessly. We will do everything in our power to identify offenders to bring them to justice. My message to them is watch your back, we’re coming after you."

With the long-standing mystery finally solved, Marchant revealed that forces across the country were now examining whether Ryland Headley could be linked to other unsolved crimes.

He said: "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. 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."

The Detective Inspector also spoke about the testimonies of two widows raped by Ryland Headley in 1977 which were read during his 2025 trial.

He 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. It just gave a sense of how depraved and predatory Mr Headley’s behaviour is.

"He’s now three times convicted of rape, stranger rapes, breaking into elderly women’s addresses overnight and subjecting them to just most abhorrent, heinous attacks for his own pleasure."