The UK’s longest-running cold case to ever to be solved has finally concluded after a 92-year-old man was found guilty of the rape and murder of Louisa Dunne in Bristol in 1967 – fifty eight years ago.
Ryland Headley, then aged 34, must have been convinced he had got away with it, and in many ways he did, but here’s the moment his past finally caught up to him when he was arrested at his home in Ipswich:
🚨Moment 92-year-old is arrested at home over murder and rape of a pensioner almost 60 years ago
This is the moment a 92-year-old man was arrested at his home for the alleged rape and murder of a woman nearly six decades ago.
Police bodyworn camera footage captured pensioner… pic.twitter.com/yz82Tk3B8q
— Grifty (@TheGriftReport) June 26, 2025
Headley had forced entry into the 75-year-old victim’s home in Bristol in June 1967 before attacking, raping and killing her. A woman was heard screaming hours before Mrs Dunne – who had been twice widowed and lived alone – was discovered dead.
This is Louisa Dunne in 1933:
The case remained unsolved for nearly 60 years 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 from Bristol to Ipswich, and had served a prison sentence for raping two elderly women.
Last week, Bristol Crown Court found 92-year-old Headley guilty of rape and murder, and he’s due to be sentenced today (July 1). He’ll get life imprisonment, which guarantees he will die behind bars, which is exactly the fate he deserves at this point.
Just s shame they didn’t catch him much sooner, but at least his conviction will provide some closure for the family.
For the arrest of the Essex woman who had murdered her parents and lived with their bodies for FOUR YEARS, click HERE.
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