On 1/7, Bristol Crown Court sentenced Ryland Headley to life in prison for rape and murder, with a minimum term of 20 years.
"You will never be released. You will die in prison," the judge told the 92-year-old defendant.
Ryland's sentence concluded the UK's longest-running cold case.
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Ryland Headley was arrested in 2024 thanks to DNA evidence. Photo: Avon and Somerset Police |
Ryland Headley was arrested in 2024 thanks to DNA evidence. Photo: Avon and Somerset Police
On 27/6/1967, 34-year-old Ryland Headley broke into the Bristol home of 75-year-old Louisa Dunne through a window. He attacked, raped, and strangled her. Dunne's body was discovered the next day by a neighbor.
Authorities collected a semen sample, but scientific testing at the time was limited. Police also found a left handprint on an upstairs window and compared it against 19,000 men in the area, but found no match.
Ryland, a railway worker, lived with his wife just over two kilometers from Dunne's house, but just outside the area where police requested handprints. Shortly afterward, he moved his family to London, then to Ipswich, and his handprints were never collected in Bristol.
In October 1977, Ryland was sentenced to about two years in prison for raping two women, aged 79 and 84, using the same method of entering homes through windows at night. However, his DNA was not collected until a later arrest in 2012.
Dunne's case remained unsolved until 2023, when the dress and other items she wore during the attack were re-examined using modern forensic techniques. In 2024, the semen sample on the dress matched Ryland's DNA.
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Louisa Dunne's dress was kept as evidence for nearly 60 years. Photo: PA |
Louisa Dunne's dress was kept as evidence for nearly 60 years. Photo: PA
When arrested at his home in November 2024 on suspicion of Dunne's murder, Ryland told police, "I don't understand what you're talking about. Where did you get this information?"
In previous arrests, Ryland had provided fingerprints but not handprints. This time, his handprints were taken, and experts found over 25 points of similarity to the handprint at the 1967 crime scene.
Ryland denied attacking Dunne and offered no defense.
Law enforcement agencies across the UK are reviewing evidence to determine if Ryland committed other unsolved crimes.
Tue Anh (According to Metro, Mirror)
