A 92-year-old man has been found guilty of the rape and murder of 75-year-old Louisa Dunne in 1967 in what is thought to be the UK’s longest-running cold case ever to be solved.

Ryland Headley, who committed the crime aged 34, forced entry into the home of Dunne in Bristol in June 1967 before attacking her.

Headley, of Clarence Road, Ipswich, had denied rape and murder but was found guilty of both charges by the jury at Bristol Crown Court.

The defendant did not give evidence during the trial.

Ryland Headley has been found guilty of the rape and murder of 75-year-old Louisa Dunne in 1967

Detective Inspector Dave Marchant, of Avon and Somerset Police, spoke about the testimonies of two widows raped by Ryland Headley in 1977 which were read during his 2025 trial.

He said: "Hearing the voices of the victims of his 1977 offences, is just incredibly powerful and harrowing. I think it gives us an insight into probably what happened within 58 Britannia Road to some degree.

"Mr Headley has offered no evidence for explanation for what happened at that address that night so to hear those women, their accounts being read out in court, I think was very impactful, very impactful. It just gave a sense of how depraved and predatory Mr Headley’s behaviour is.

"He’s now three times convicted of rape, stranger rapes, breaking into elderly women’s addresses overnight and subjecting them to just most abhorrent, heinous attacks for his own pleasure."

Ryland Headley plead not giulity to the rape and murder of 75-year-old Louisa DunneAvon and Somerset Police/PA