A KILLER has been found guilty of raping and murdering a pensioner after he was snared by DNA on a blue skirt 58 years later.
Ryland Headley broke into the Bristol home of Louisa Dunne, 75, in June 1967 before attacking her.
Louisa Dunne was discovered raped and murdered at home in 1967[/caption]
Ryland Headley has now been convicted almost 60 years later[/caption]
He was finally caught thanks to DNA found on a blue skirt[/caption]
She was discovered by neighbours on a pile of clothes with multiple bruising.
Headley, now aged 92, has been convicted of rape and murder 58 years after the horror – bringing an end to Britain’s oldest cold case review.
Bristol Crown Court heard police at the time had attempted to match thousands of potential suspects with a palm print left on Louisa’s window.
But the case went cold for decades until Headley was finally snared when DNA was found to be a match with semen found on Louisa’s blue skirt.
But while the depraved fiend was evading justice, he free to rape two other elderly women.
In 1977, Headley broke into an 84-year-old’s home and attacked her.
Later that month, he raped a 79-year-old woman after also gaining entry to her home.
Twice-widowed Louisa was last seen by a friend on June 27, 1967, before heading home at around 7.30pm.
The court heard a number of local women became concerned when they realised they had not seen Louisa all morning.
Violet Allen and Hilda Stedman then went over and found the front door shut and the sash window near the front door open as far as possible.
Prosecutor Anna Vigars KC said: “They looked through the window and called for her through the letter box but got no response.
“When she looked through the window, Violet Allen could see Mrs Dunne’s legs by the side of the table so, with the help of two other women, she climbed in through the window and went over to her.
“Violet Allen took hold of Mrs Dunne’s hand and immediately realised that she was dead because her hand was ice cold.”
A post mortem found Louisa had cuts and bruising on her mouth which indicated “something firm” had been pressed against her lips.
Swabs were taken from Louisa’s body, which tested positive for semen, but scientific examinations at that time were limited.
Jurors were told in 2003, the case was re-examined and police found the swabs matched Headley’s DNA in a “billion to one” breakthrough.
At the time of Louisa’s death, he had been living around a mile-and-a-half from the OAP’s home but fell outside the circle of houses were men were asked to provide handprint for the investigation.
The prosecution said three different finger print experts had since eventually come to the conclusion the “palm print on the window was caused by Mr Headley’s hand.”
Headley was finally snared at his home nearly 60 years later in Ipswich, Suffolk.
He could be heard moaning “I’m sick” as police swooped and asked the officers: “Who are you?”
Headley also demanded “what is this about?” before he was arrested.
The killer, who denied rape and murder, will be sentenced on a later date.
Louisa was found dead by her neighbours[/caption]
A window at her home had been broken and Louisa was lying dead on a pile of clothes[/caption]
Louisa had been suffocated to death[/caption]
