Published
United KingdomCondemned for a murder committed in 1967: “You will die in prison”
A nonagenarian was found guilty on Monday from the murder and rape of a 75-year-old widow, found strangled at home in Bristol, in the southwest of England.
Ryland Headley was found guilty of having violated and killed Louisa Dunne, a 75 -year -old widow.” title=”Almost 60 years after the facts, Ryland Headley was found guilty of having violated and killed Louisa Dunne, a 75 -year -old widow.” srcset=”https://image.20min.ch/2025/07/01/f893ba6e-feb2-4f23-8adc-c212ce1b1c77.png?auto=format%2Ccompress%2Cenhance&fit=max&w=400&h=400&rect=0%2C0%2C1520%2C900&s=38a7189a95ee6fb2bf2f96bc287f5286 400w, https://image.20min.ch/2025/07/01/f893ba6e-feb2-4f23-8adc-c212ce1b1c77.png?auto=format%2Ccompress%2Cenhance&fit=max&w=800&h=800&rect=0%2C0%2C1520%2C900&s=c29267e347788eac2a384052efb232fa 800w, https://image.20min.ch/2025/07/01/f893ba6e-feb2-4f23-8adc-c212ce1b1c77.png?auto=format%2Ccompress%2Cenhance&fit=max&w=1200&h=1200&rect=0%2C0%2C1520%2C900&s=b66e29638d62c7d67663dbfb98b1bebe 1200w, https://image.20min.ch/2025/07/01/f893ba6e-feb2-4f23-8adc-c212ce1b1c77.png?auto=format%2Ccompress%2Cenhance&fit=max&w=1600&h=1600&rect=0%2C0%2C1520%2C900&s=1cb8be65438e7ff5618c9d41bf96ece6 1520w, https://image.20min.ch/2025/07/01/f893ba6e-feb2-4f23-8adc-c212ce1b1c77.png?auto=format%2Ccompress%2Cenhance&fit=max&w=2001&h=2000&rect=0%2C0%2C1520%2C900&s=c3b007dc980a94e4a449ecb0b872c52d 1520w” width=”1200″ height=”711″/>Almost 60 years after the facts, Ryland Headley was found guilty of having violated and killed Louisa Dunne, a 75 -year -old widow.
AFPA 92 -year -old man was sentenced to life prison on Tuesday with a 20 -year security sentence for the rape and murder of a woman in 1967 in England, a case presented as the oldest “Cold Case” in the country. On Monday, Ryland Headley was found guilty of having violated and killed Louisa Dunne, a 75-year-old widow, found strangled at home in Bristol, in the southwest of England, almost sixty years ago.
“Total contempt for human life and dignity”
“You will never be released and you will die in prison,” said judge Derek Sweeting, of the Bristol court, announcing the sentence inflicted on the nonagenarian, who was 34 years old at the time of the facts. “Ms. Dunne was vulnerable. She was a little elderly woman living alone. You have exploited this vulnerability, “he added.
“You have broken down to her house, you assaulted her sexually and, in doing so, you caused her death,” he said. “You may not intend to kill, but you planned to rape it and you brutalized it,” continued the magistrate, adding that his actions demonstrated a “total contempt for human life and dignity”.
Footprints taken in 2023
Ryland Headley had never been confused for this crime which had remained unresolved. On the other hand, he was sentenced in 1978 for the rape of two women, a septuagenarian and an octogenarian, committed in October 1977 in Ipswich, in the south-east of England. In both cases, he entered the home of his victims overnight, had threatened them before raping them.
At the time of the death of Louisa Dunne, despite a vast police investigation during which the 19,000 -men’s hands were collected, the murderer had been not found. The case experienced a twist in 2023, when the police reopened the case by using DNA analysis technologies, which made it possible to find a genetic footprint corresponding to that of Ryland Headley.
(les/mg)
