The 92-year-old was found guilty of the rape and murder of Louisa Dunne at Bristol Crown Court on Monday 30 June, after a review was launched by Avon and Somerset Police into her death.
Already a convicted rapist, Headley was charged in November 2024 after a DNA breakthrough.
Ryland Headley, now aged 92, has been found guilty at Bristol Crown Court of the rape and murder of 75-year-old Louisa Dunne in 1967 (Photo: Avon and Somerset Police/PA)
Louisa Dunn lived alone at her home in Britannia Road in Easton, Bristol, after being twice widowed.
And then following his death in 1945, she married nightwatchman John Dunne.
A small, slight woman, she was well-known in her local neighbourhood and would often been seen chatting to neighbours on her doorstep.
Louisa Dunne, pictured in Clevedon in 1933 (Photo: Avon and Somerset Police/PA)Neighbours recalled hearing a woman scream during the night.
Ms Dunne was found dead, lying on the floor of her front room, clothed but for her underwear.
A post-mortem revealed the cause of death was asphyxia due to strangulation and pressure on her mouth.
How was Ryland Headley caught after almost six decades?
Ryland Headley evaded justice for 58 years but was finally caught when a review of Ms Dunne’s case was undertaken in 2023 by Avon and Somerset Police.
A manhunt was launched and the palm prints of 19,000 men were taken of men aged 15 to 60 within a 1.5-mile radius of Ms Dunne’s home over the course of the year.
Former rail worker Headley was living 1.6 miles away, at the time, in Picton Street, Montpelier, and so evaded the police.
Headley was convicted of two counts of rape in May 1978, after he attacked two elderly women in Ipswich, where he was then living.
One of the victims was aged 79, the other 84.
His fingerprints were taken as part of the inquiries on 3 December, 1977 and he was arrested in London nine days later.
He was initially sentenced to life imprisonment, but this was reduced following an appeal to a seven-year jail term.
And it was this which would eventually lead detectives to his door.
By September, traces of semen left on the fabric revealed a full DNA profile is which matched the one given by Headley.
A court artist’s drawing of Headley appearing via video link at court (Photo: Elizabeth Cook/PA)
A palm print taken at his arrest also revealed a match with the one found at Ms Dunne’s home in 1967.
Speaking outside the court, Marchant, the senior investigating officer, said: “The brutal murder and rape of Louisa Dunne has been solved after almost six decades.
“It left a community in shock and there are people living in Bristol today who will remember the impact this terrible crime had on the city.
“Headley never featured in this original investigation as he lived outside the area where the house-to-house enquiries were carried out.
The senior officer said the “extensive and meticulous work carried out by officers with the Bristol Constabulary in the 1960s has paved the way for the enquiries we’ve carried out today”.
He said: “Ryland Headley has left a legacy of misery and pain through his offending and likely thought he’d got away with Louisa’s murder until officers knocked on his door last November.
Headley will be sentenced on Tuesday 1 July.
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