A 92-year-old man has been told he will die in prison after he was jailed at Bristol Crown Court for life with a minimum term of 20 years for the rape and murder of a woman in 1967, in what is thought to be the UK's oldest solved cold case.
Ryland Headley was found guilty of both charges by a jury at Bristol Crown Court yesterday afternoon.
He was 34 when he forced open a window at the home of 75-year-old Louisa Dunne in the Easton area of Bristol in June 1967 before attacking her.
Ms Dunne, a mother-of-two, was found dead by neighbours in the front room of her terraced home in Britannia Road on the morning of 28 June.
A pathologist concluded that she died from asphyxia due to strangulation and pressure on her mouth, probably from a hand being held over it.
Bristol Constabulary, as the force was then, launched a huge investigation, taking the palm prints of 19,000 men and boys in an attempt to find a match to one left on an upstairs window.
But the case remained unsolved for more than 50 years until Avon and Somerset Police detectives sent items from the original investigation for DNA testing for the first time.
Semen recovered from a blue skirt worn by Ms Dunne matched Headley's DNA to a ratio that meant it was a billion times more likely to be from him than anybody else.
When his left palm print was finally taken, in November last year, it matched the print left at the scene.
Since Ms Dunne's murder, Headley had moved his family to Ipswich, where he was jailed for raping two elderly women after forcing open windows at their homes in October 1977.
Headley, of Clarence Road, Ipswich, denied Ms Dunne's rape and murder but was found guilty by a jury after nine hours and 53 minutes of deliberations.
Trial judge Mr Justice Sweeting imposed a life sentence and told Headley he was fixing a minimum term of 20 years' imprisonment.
"You broke into her home, you sexually assaulted her and in doing so, you caused her death", he said.
"You may not have intended to kill, but you planned to rape her, and you brutally attacked her.
"When you did so, you met her screams and struggles in a force sufficient to kill.
"The nature of these offences demonstrates a complete disregard for human life and dignity.
"Mrs Dunne was vulnerable. She was a small, elderly woman living alone. You exploited that vulnerability.
"You treated her as a means to an end. The violation of her home, her body, and ultimately, her life, was a pitiless and cruel act by a depraved man."
The judge added: "The minimum term I impose is 20 years.
"You would be entitled to credit for the time spent on demand, which can be calculated separately.
"It is normally necessary to explain the effect of such a minimum term in detail.
"Given your age and for all practical purposes, I can do so in very short terms. You'll never be released and you will die in prison."
