Man convicted of raping and murdering woman in 1967 gets life sentence

A 92-year-old British man has been sentenced to life in prison for a rape and murder committed in 1967.

Ryland Headley was found guilty by Bristol Crown Court of raping and killing 75-year-old Louisa Dunne in her home. The verdict, delivered on Monday, closes one of the UK’s longest-running cold cases.

Judge Derek Sweeting described the crime as a “pitiless and cruel act” during sentencing on Tuesday. He told Headley, “You broke into her home, you sexually assaulted her, and in doing so, you caused her death.”

Headley received a life sentence with a minimum term of 20 years. Due to his age, he will die in prison.

“You planned to rape her and brutally attacked her,” the judge said. “The nature of these offenses demonstrates a complete disregard for human life and dignity.”

Dunne was a small, elderly woman living alone in Easton, Bristol. The judge said Headley exploited her vulnerability and treated her as a means to an end.

The Cold Case

Dunne’s body was found in June 1967. She had been raped and died from strangulation and asphyxiation. Police at the time launched a major investigation. They collected 19,000 palmprints, 1,300 statements, and visited 8,000 homes. Yet the case went cold.

In 2023, investigators reopened the case. Advances in forensic technology allowed them to extract a full DNA profile from the skirt Dunne wore. That DNA matched Headley, whose sample was on record from a 1977 arrest for two rapes.

Headley was arrested in November 2024. He denied the crime.

“For 58 years, this appalling crime went unsolved,” said Charlotte Ream of the Crown Prosecution Service. “The man responsible avoided justice.”

A History of Violence

Headley’s past offenses were considered during the trial. In the 1970s, he broke into the homes of two elderly women in Ipswich and raped them. One woman was in her seventies, the other in her eighties. Headley initially received a life sentence for those crimes, later reduced to seven years on appeal.

Although prior convictions are not always admissible, the CPS argued that the similarities were “too great to ignore.” The women’s statements were read in court.

Detective Inspector Dave Marchant led the recent investigation. He said original case files, including 20 boxes of material, were reviewed. A partial palm print found on a window in Dunne’s home also matched Headley.

“Headley never featured in the original investigation,” Marchant said. “He lived outside the area covered by house-to-house enquiries.”

The CPS said most witnesses had died, but statements from the 1967 investigation were submitted in court.

A Justice System Under Pressure

Despite the verdict, advocacy groups say rape victims in the UK still face major hurdles. Conviction rates remain low. The Office for National Statistics reported 71,227 rapes in 2024. Only 2.7% resulted in charges, according to Rape Crisis, a UK-based charity.

Government figures show that it takes an average of 344 days for police to charge a suspect. It then takes 30 days for the CPS to authorize the charge. The courts take another 336 days to complete the case.

Ream said this case proves the justice system’s resolve. “This verdict demonstrates our commitment to pursue justice for victims, no matter how long it takes.”

‍