UK- Louisa Dunne, 75, SA & strangled, @ home, Bristol, 28 June, 1967, Suspect, 92, arrested 2024, * oldest cold case murder arrest in British history*

[Zosie]

Very interested to see what information comes out or is released once this has been concluded. I admire such tenacity and feel hopeful for other cases that have been cold for a long time. My late father was a police officer and his mind would be blown by the advances in the last decade alone.

 

[dotr]

Very interested to see what information comes out or is released once this has been concluded. I admire such tenacity and feel hopeful for other cases that have been cold for a long time. My late father was a police officer and his mind would be blown by the advances in the last decade alone.

Welcome to Ws @Zosie!
Not finding any updates about the suspect but hopefully more info. will be discovered and released.

Ryland Lindbergh Headley: charged with rape | The National Archives

The official archive of the UK government. Our vision is to lead and transform information management, guarantee the survival of today's information for tomorrow and bring history to life for everyone.

discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk

''Ryland Lindbergh Headley: charged with rape​

this record is closed whilst access is under review''​

J 261/28

Ryland Lindbergh Headley: charged with rape

The naming of a defendant within this catalogue does not imply guilt

1978 Jan 01 - 1979 Dec 31

The National Archives, Kew

78/0159

Public Record(s)

Open Document, Open Description

Open on Transfer

28 June 2011

 

[Zosie]

Thank you! Yes I had seen the 1978 entry on the archives but I hesitated to post anything as wasn't sure what would be appropriate/allowed being new to posting here!

Interesting though is there are no birth records under that name (for the period he would have been born) but obviously I know that could be for a myriad of reasons that aren't necessarily nefarious!

 

[asmi106082]

Thank you! Yes I had seen the 1978 entry on the archives but I hesitated to post anything as wasn't sure what would be appropriate/allowed being new to posting here!

Interesting though is there are no birth records under that name (for the period he would have been born) but obviously I know that could be for a myriad of reasons that aren't necessarily nefarious!

Welcome to Websleuths!

 

[Yellowbelly]

Welcome to Ws @Zosie!
Not finding any updates about the suspect but hopefully more info. will be discovered and released.

Ryland Lindbergh Headley: charged with rape | The National Archives

The official archive of the UK government. Our vision is to lead and transform information management, guarantee the survival of today's information for tomorrow and bring history to life for everyone.

discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk

''Ryland Lindbergh Headley: charged with rape​

this record is closed whilst access is under review''​

J 261/28

Ryland Lindbergh Headley: charged with rape

The naming of a defendant within this catalogue does not imply guilt

1978 Jan 01 - 1979 Dec 31

The National Archives, Kew

78/0159

Public Record(s)

Open Document, Open Description

Open on Transfer

28 June 2011

Whatever that relates to, I don't think it ever came to trial. There's nothing in the British Newspaper Archive that seems to fit.

 

[Yellowbelly]

Trial date set for June 16th.

Ipswich murder suspect, 92, appears in court over 1967 killing

Ryland Headley, of Ipswich in Suffolk, has appeared in court over the murder of Louisa Dunne in Bristol.

www.ipswichstar.co.uk

 

[Yellowbelly]

Thank you! Yes I had seen the 1978 entry on the archives but I hesitated to post anything as wasn't sure what would be appropriate/allowed being new to posting here!

Interesting though is there are no birth records under that name (for the period he would have been born) but obviously I know that could be for a myriad of reasons that aren't necessarily nefarious!

In terms of the birth records, I looked that up as well and couldn't find anyone named Ryland Lindbergh Headley who had been born in the UK around 1932. Judging by the skin tone that the court artist has used, I would say that Headley is probably of Afro-Caribbean ancestry, so the most likely explanation is that he moved here as a part of the Windrush generation.

 

[tes1984]

In this case, I definitely don't think details of the accused should be discussed in public until he's had his day in court.

 

[Bounceycat]

In this case, I definitely don't think details of the accused should be discussed in public until he's had his day in court.

Just curious, why do you think that?

 

[tes1984]

With UK cold cases, I always worry about details being in the public domain before the actual trial.

 

[Walnuts]

Trial opens today.

 

[dotr]

Steven Morris Mon 16 Jun 2025

Man, 92, who allegedly raped and murdered woman in 1967 caught after DNA advances, court told

Ryland Headley linked to murder of Louisa Dunne, 75, in Bristol after semen found on her skirt was tested in 2024

www.theguardian.com

''Detectives caught a 92-year-old man who it is alleged murdered and raped a woman in her home almost six decades ago after advances in DNA techniques led them to the suspect, a jury has been told.''

''The jury heard that soon after the murder, Headley moved to Suffolk, where in 1977 he raped two women, threatening to strangle or smother them if they did not follow his orders.''

View image in fullscreen
Court artist’s drawing of 92-year-old Ryland Headley appearing via video link at Bristol magistrates court last November. Photograph: Elizabeth Cook/PA

Man charged with 1967 murder after 'DNA match' 60 years later

Ryland Headley is on trial at Bristol Crown Court facing charges of rape and murder.

www.bbc.com

''The jury was told Mr Headley had been jailed for the rape of two elderly women in 1977 whose homes he had broken into – threatening them with violence if they did not comply.

He also asked for a further 10 offences of overnight burglaries of homes where his fingerprints had also been found to be taken into account when he was sentenced, which took place between 1973 and 1978.

"We say that these offences demonstrate to all of us that Mr Headley has a tendency to act in exactly the same way that we say that he did back in 1967, in other words, to break into people's homes at night and, in some cases, to target an elderly woman living alone, to have sex with her despite her attempts to fend him off, and to threaten violence," Mrs Vigars said.''

 

[Luwin]

Man charged with 1967 murder after 'DNA match' 60 years later

Ryland Headley is on trial at Bristol Crown Court facing charges of rape and murder.

www.bbc.co.uk

 

[Luwin]

Scream heard on night mum-of-two was 'murdered' in Bristol

Her body was found on a pile of clothes

www.bristolpost.co.uk

 

[Yellowbelly]

Scream heard on night mum-of-two was 'murdered' in Bristol

Her body was found on a pile of clothes

www.bristolpost.co.uk

So he's got form, and his palm print and semen were found at the scene.

The defence case is going to be interesting!

 

[Yellowbelly]

So he's got form, and his palm print and semen were found at the scene.

The defence case is going to be interesting!

And at the end of the BBC's report of yesterday's proceedings, we see one of the lines the defence will be taking. The idea that the DNA evidence is unreliable because of the evidence bag being opened.

The court also heard from Josephine Marks, a former officer with Avon and Somerset Police's major crime review team between 2009 until her retirement in 2015, who examined exhibits relating to Mrs Dunne's case.

She said she remembered "very little" of the case, but in a notebook she had marked whether each bag of evidence had been found opened or sealed.

She had noted the bag containing the skirt had been unsealed while in storage.

'Billion to one' DNA match in Bristol cold case murder

Ryland Headley 92, is accused of murdering pensioner Louisa Dunne in Easton, Bristol, in 1967.

www.bbc.com

 

[LadyL]

View attachment 595624
Steven Morris Mon 16 Jun 2025

Man, 92, who allegedly raped and murdered woman in 1967 caught after DNA advances, court told

Ryland Headley linked to murder of Louisa Dunne, 75, in Bristol after semen found on her skirt was tested in 2024

www.theguardian.com

''Detectives caught a 92-year-old man who it is alleged murdered and raped a woman in her home almost six decades ago after advances in DNA techniques led them to the suspect, a jury has been told.''

''The jury heard that soon after the murder, Headley moved to Suffolk, where in 1977 he raped two women, threatening to strangle or smother them if they did not follow his orders.''

View image in fullscreen
Court artist’s drawing of 92-year-old Ryland Headley appearing via video link at Bristol magistrates court last November. Photograph: Elizabeth Cook/PA

Man charged with 1967 murder after 'DNA match' 60 years later

Ryland Headley is on trial at Bristol Crown Court facing charges of rape and murder.

www.bbc.com

''The jury was told Mr Headley had been jailed for the rape of two elderly women in 1977 whose homes he had broken into – threatening them with violence if they did not comply.

He also asked for a further 10 offences of overnight burglaries of homes where his fingerprints had also been found to be taken into account when he was sentenced, which took place between 1973 and 1978.

"We say that these offences demonstrate to all of us that Mr Headley has a tendency to act in exactly the same way that we say that he did back in 1967, in other words, to break into people's homes at night and, in some cases, to target an elderly woman living alone, to have sex with her despite her attempts to fend him off and to threaten violence," Mrs Vigars said.''

[bbm]

I really wish those in authority or in MSM would stop referring to R A P E as having sex. Even with the clarification that the victim attempted to fend him off, it's not right IMO. Language matters.

 

[dotr]

• 23 JUN 2025

Blue skirt led to murder arrest in Britain's oldest cold case review

A 92-year-old man is on trial for murder

www.gloucestershirelive.co.uk

'This is the blue skirt that led to the arrest of a 92-year-old convicted rapist for the murder of a pensioner nearly 60 years ago.''

''The victim was wearing the skirt when an intruder broke into her house on June 27, 1967, before raping and killing her.'

''Giving evidence a forensic scientist told jurors that recent direct DNA matches linking samples from Mrs Dunne and the blue skirt suggested they were "one billion times" more likely to have come from Headley than from anyone else.''

''The trial continues.''

 

[Dotta]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1938009498750189976

 

[Tortoise]

In terms of the birth records, I looked that up as well and couldn't find anyone named Ryland Lindbergh Headley who had been born in the UK around 1932. Judging by the skin tone that the court artist has used, I would say that Headley is probably of Afro-Caribbean ancestry, so the most likely explanation is that he moved here as a part of the Windrush generation.

I've found a record on Ancestry which shows a Riley L Headley born 1932 arrived on a ship from Jamaica on 6th June 1956, and married in 1958 in Bristol. The name Ryland appears to be a name change, in Ipswich, in later electoral registers. IMO

for anyone who has an Ancestry membership I think this takes you to the record -

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