The granddaughter of the victim of what is thought to be the UK’s longest-running cold case to ever be solved has spoken of the “far reaching impact” of her grandmother’s death.
Louisa Dunne, 75, died in June 1967 after Ryland Headley forced entry into her Bristol home and attacked her. The now-92-year-old has been convicted of rape and murder 58 years after the offences occured after Avon and Somerset detectives sent off items from the original investigation for DNA testing.
The mother-of-two’s granddaughter, Mary Dainton, has shared her grief that those who knew and loved her grandmother are not here to see that justice has been done.
“The death of my grandmother, Louisa Dunne, has had a far-reaching impact throughout my family,” she said in a statement released by Avon and Somerset Police. “I was just 20 years old when my grandmother died and I’m now almost the same age as she was when she was killed.
“I only have one memory of meeting my grandmother due to family circumstances. I was 14 at the time and visited her in hospital.
“My mother told me that Louisa’s house in Britannia Road was a place of social and political activity”, she continued. “My grandfather, Edwin Parker, was a member of the early Labour Party and he loved my grandmother dearly. Sadly, he died in 1945 and the social and political elements of my grandmother’s life went with him.”
The force shared a photo of Ms Dunne and Mr Parker together.
Ms Dainton continued: “Louisa’s brutal death had a big impact on my mother and her wider family. I don’t think my mother ever recovered from it. The anxiety clouded the rest of her life.
“When people found out about the murder, including friends, they withdrew – there is a stigma attached to rape and murder in my experience, so I have rarely talked to anyone about this until now.”
She added that since Headley was charged, she had struggled emotionally in ways she could not anticipate as she’s now had to speak for people who are no longer alive and could not see justice brought to Ms Dunne.
Avon and Somerset Police had kept Ms Dunne’s clothing and other forensic evidence to await advances in science. The case was re-examined in 2023 and Dunne’s blue skirt was set away for testing in May last year.
DNA results matched to Headley, who had moved to Suffolk since the murder and served a prison sentence for raping two elderly women in 1977.
The trial heard a pathologist conclude that Dunne died from asphyxia due to strangulation from a scarf and pressure on her mouth, with a hand forcibly held over it.
Swabs were taken from her body, which tested positive for semen, but scientific examinations at that time were limited.
Headley, of Clarence Road, Ipswich, denied both charges but was found guilty by the jury at Bristol Crown Court on Monday afternoon, following nine hours and 53 minutes of deliberations. He did not give evidence.
Ms Dunne, a mother-of-two who had been widowed twice before and lived alone, was found by her neighbours inside her terraced home on the morning of 27 June. A woman had been heard screaming hours before she was found dead.
She used the front room as a bedroom and was found lying on a pile of old clothes. Police found no evidence of any violent struggle in the house.
Headley will be sentenced for the two offences on Tuesday morning by Mr Justice Sweeting, who told the jury: “This was a case that has been in the public eye.
“It involved many details which are no doubt distressing. If you are summoned again in the next 10 years for jury service, you are entitled to refuse.”
