A KILLER who was found guilty of raping and murdering a pensioner almost 60 years ago has been jailed for life.
Ryland Headley, 92, has been told he will die in prison after he was jailed at Bristol Crown Court today, solving what is believed to be Britain’s oldest cold case.
PALouisa Dunne was discovered raped and murdered at her home in 1967[/caption]
Ryland Headley was jailed for life at Bristol Crown Court
PAHe was caught almost 60 years later after DNA was discovered on a blue skirt[/caption]
Headley has been jailed for life after he was snared by DNA on a blue skirt 58 years later.
The killer broke into the Bristol home of Louisa Dunne, 75, in June 1967 before attacking her.
She was discovered by neighbours on a pile of clothes with multiple bruising.
Police across the country are now investigating whether the killer – the oldest in the UK to be convicted of murder – could be behind any other unsolved crimes.
Bristol Crown Court heard police at the time had attempted to match thousands of potential suspects with a palm print left on Louisa’s window.
But the case went cold for decades until Headley was finally snared when DNA was found to be a match with his semen was found on Louisa’s blue skirt.
But while the depraved fiend was evading justice, he was free to rape two other elderly women.
Headley was finally snared at his home nearly 60 years later in Ipswich, Suffolk.
He could be heard moaning “I’m sick” as police swooped and asked the officers: “Who are you?”
The killer also demanded “what is this about?” before he was arrested.
In 1977, Headley broke into an 84-year-old’s home and attacked her.
Later that month, he raped a 79-year-old woman after also gaining entry to her home.
Twice-widowed Louisa was last seen by a friend on June 27, 1967, before heading home at around 7.30pm.
The court heard a number of local women became concerned when they realised they had not seen Louisa all morning.
Violet Allen and Hilda Stedman then went over and found the front door shut and the sash window near the front door open as far as possible.
Prosecutor Anna Vigars KC said: “They looked through the window and called for her through the letter box but got no response.
“When she looked through the window, Violet Allen could see Mrs Dunne’s legs by the side of the table so, with the help of two other women, she climbed in through the window and went over to her.
“Violet Allen took hold of Mrs Dunne’s hand and immediately realised that she was dead because her hand was ice cold.”
A post mortem found Louisa had cuts and bruising on her mouth which indicated “something firm” had been pressed against her lips.
Swabs were taken from Louisa’s body, which tested positive for semen, but scientific examinations at that time were limited.
Despite the efforts of police investigating Mrs Dunne’s death 58 years ago, no key suspect was identified.
Detective Inspector Dave Marchant, said Headley, who was in his 30s when he killed Mrs Dunne, had left “a legacy of misery and pain”.
SWNSHeadley moaned he was ‘sick’ when he was arrested[/caption]
Louisa was found dead by her neighbours
PAA window at her home had been broken and she was lying dead on a pile of clothes[/caption]
Police collected about 19,000 prints from men and boys at the time with no success.
They also made about 8,000 house-to-house inquiries and took 2,000 statements.
It was only when the case was re-examined by Avon and Somerset Police decades later, that DNA testing of a swab that contained semen was linked to Headley in a “billion to one” breakthrough.
At the time of Louisa’s death, he had been living around a mile-and-a-half from the OAP’s home but fell outside the circle of houses were men were asked to provide handprints for the investigation.
The prosecution said three different finger print experts had since eventually come to the conclusion the “palm print on the window was caused by Mr Headley’s hand.”
Det Insp Marchant called him a “dangerous serial offender” with a “shocking and abhorrent history” and said there was a sense of “gravity” when police were told of the positive result.
“This is a marrying of old school and new school policing techniques,” he said.
Speaking after Headley’s capture, he added: “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.”
PAHeadley had been living around a mile-and-a-half from the OAP’s home[/caption] Published: [#item_custom_pubDate]
