logo
#

Latest news with #MaryDainton

Granddaughter speaks of how Louisa Dunne's murder cast shadow over family
Granddaughter speaks of how Louisa Dunne's murder cast shadow over family

The Independent

timea day ago

  • The Independent

Granddaughter speaks of how Louisa Dunne's murder cast shadow over family

The granddaughter of Louisa Dunne has spoken of how her death at the hands of Ryland Headley hung over her family for decades. Mary Dainton told Bristol Crown Court in a victim impact statement how her mother never recovered from the circumstances of her own mother's murder. 'The death of my grandmother had a far-reaching effect throughout my family,' she told the court. 'I was 20-years-old when my grandmother died. I am now almost the same age as she was when she was killed. 'Since Ryland Headley was charged with her rape and murder, I have struggled emotionally in ways I didn't anticipate, but I feel it falls to me to speak for the people who are no longer here. 'Because of family circumstances I didn't know my grandmother. I know that we stayed with her when I was a very young child and I can remember visiting her in hospital when I was about 14. 'My mother told me that my grandmother's house in Britannia Road was a place of social and political activity because my grandparents were active members of the early Labour Party. 'Sadly, my grandfather, Edwin Parker, died in 1945 and the social and political elements of my grandmother's life went with him. 'A few years later she married Mr Dunne, who also pre-deceased her, so she was widowed twice. 'Louisa's death had a big impact on my mother, my aunt and her family. I don't think my mother ever recovered from it. 'The anxiety caused by her mother's brutal rape and murder clouded the rest of her life as well as the lives of her sister, my aunt and her son, my cousin. 'The fact that the offender wasn't caught, caused my mother to become and remain very ill. 'There were no counsellors for working class people then. My mother came from a generation that dealt with tragedy differently. 'When people found out about the murder they withdrew from us. 'In my experience there is a stigma attached to rape and murder, so I have rarely talked to anyone about this until now, when the emotions I have repressed for so long have come to the surface. 'It has turned my life upside down. I feel sad and very tired, which has affected the relationships I have with those close to me. 'I didn't expect to have to deal with something of such emotional significance at this stage of my life. 'It is only through counselling that I am able to cope and have the resilience to be in court every day. 'It saddens me deeply that all the people who knew and loved Louisa are not here to see that justice is being done.'

Ryland Headley: Cold case rapist and killer, 92, jailed for life
Ryland Headley: Cold case rapist and killer, 92, jailed for life

BBC News

timea day ago

  • BBC News

Ryland Headley: Cold case rapist and killer, 92, jailed for life

A 92-year-old man has been jailed for life for the rape and murder of a woman in a case that took 58 years to Headley was 34 when he strangled 75-year-old widow Louisa Dunne at her home in Easton, Bristol, on 28 June was found lying on her living room floor by a neighbour, Bristol Crown Court heard. A pathologist confirmed that she had died from asphyxia due to strangulation and pressure on her judge, Mr Justice Sweeting, said the attack was "pitiless and cruel" and that Headley, of Ipswich, Suffolk, had shown "no remorse" for his actions. At the time of her death, Mrs Dunne was living Sweeting told the court that Headley had been planning to rape Mrs Dunne when he broke into her home and "brutally" attacked her. "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 treated her as a means to an end," he said. "The violation of her home, her body and ultimately her life was a pitiless and cruel act by a depraved man. "You may not have intended to kill, but you did rape her and you brutally attacked her," he added. Mrs Dunne's granddaughter, Mary Dainton, took to the witness box to give a victim impact statement. She spoke about the "far-reaching" devastation left by Headley's actions. She said that it fell to her to "speak for the people who are no longer here". Ms Dainton, now 78, was 20 years old when Mrs Dunne was killed. She told the court that people "withdrew" from her family when they found out about the circumstances of her death. 'Saddens me deeply' Ms Dainton said: "I have struggled emotionally in ways I did not anticipate."There is a stigma attached to rape and murder."It has turned my life upside down. I feel sad and very tired, which has affected the relationships I have with those close to me."It saddens me deeply that all the people who knew and loved Louisa are not here to see that justice is being done."Mr Sweeting commended the Crown Prosecution Service, the police and forensic scientists involved for their hard who had denied the rape and murder, will spend a minimum term of 20 years in prison. After sentencing, Mr Sweeting told him: "You will never be released. You will die in prison."

Ryland Headley: Man, 92, who raped and murdered Louisa Dunne in Bristol nearly 60 years ago jailed
Ryland Headley: Man, 92, who raped and murdered Louisa Dunne in Bristol nearly 60 years ago jailed

Sky News

timea day ago

  • Sky News

Ryland Headley: Man, 92, who raped and murdered Louisa Dunne in Bristol nearly 60 years ago jailed

A 92-year-old man has been sentenced to life with a minimum term of 20 years in prison for the rape and murder of an elderly widow nearly 60 years ago. Ryland Headley was found guilty on Monday of killing 75-year-old Louisa Dunne at her Bristol home in June 1967, in what is thought to be the UK's longest cold case to reach trial. The mother-of-two's body was found by neighbours after Headley, then a 34-year-old railway worker, forced his way inside the terraced house in the Easton area before attacking her. 3:09 Police found traces of semen and a palm print on one of the rear windows inside the house - but it was about 20 years before DNA testing. The case remained unsolved for more than 50 years until Avon and Somerset detectives sent off items from the original investigation and found a DNA match to Headley. He had moved to Suffolk after the murder and served a prison sentence for raping two elderly women in 1977. Prosecutors said the convictions showed he had a "tendency" to break into people's homes at night and, in some cases, "target an elderly woman living alone, to have sex with her despite her attempts to fend him off, and to threaten violence". Headley, from Ipswich, who did not give evidence, denied raping and murdering Ms Dunne, but was found guilty of both charges after a trial at Bristol Crown Court. Detectives said forces across the country are investigating whether Headley could be linked to other unsolved crimes. Mrs Dunne's granddaughter, Mary Dainton, who was 20 when her relative was killed, said in a victim impact statement that her murder "had a big impact on my mother, my aunt and her family. "I don't think my mother ever recovered from it. The anxiety caused by her mother's brutal rape and murder clouded the rest of her life. "The fact the offender wasn't caught caused my mother to become and remain very ill. "When people found out about the murder, they withdrew from us. In my experience, there is a stigma attached to rape and murder." Finding out her grandmother's killer had been caught after almost six decades "turned my life upside down," she said. "I feel sad and very tired, which has affected the relationships I have with those close to me. I didn't expect to deal with something of such emotional significance at this stage of my life. "It saddens me deeply that all the people who knew and loved Louisa are not here to see that justice has been done." After her statement, Mr Justice Sweeting told Mrs Dainton: "It is not easy to talk about matters like this in public. "Thank you very much for doing it in such a clear and dignified way." The judge told Headley his crimes showed "a complete disregard for human life and dignity. "Mrs Dunne was vulnerable, she was a small elderly woman living alone. 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. "She must have experienced considerable pain and fear before her death," he said. Sentencing Headley to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 20 years, the judge told him: "You will never be released, you will die in prison." Please refresh the page for the latest version.

Man, 92, jailed for rape and murder of 75-year-old woman in ‘UK's longest-running cold case'
Man, 92, jailed for rape and murder of 75-year-old woman in ‘UK's longest-running cold case'

The Independent

timea day ago

  • The Independent

Man, 92, jailed for rape and murder of 75-year-old woman in ‘UK's longest-running cold case'

A 92-year-old man who raped and murdered an elderly widow in the 1960s has been jailed for life in what is thought to be the UK's longest-running cold case ever to be solved. Ryland Headley was 34 when he forced open a window at the home of Louisa Dunne, 75, in the Easton area of Bristol in June 1967 before attacking her. Nearly six decades later, Headley, now 92, has been sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 20 years after he was found guilty of both charges by a jury at Bristol Crown Court on Monday afternoon. Mrs Dunne's grandaughter told the sentencing hearing on Tuesday how Headley's evasion from justice had a devastating effect on her family. Mary Dainton, who was a 20-year-old student when her grandmother was murdered, told the court: 'Her death had a big impact on my mother, my aunt and her family. 'I don't think my mother ever recovered from it. The anxiety caused by her mother's brutal rape and murder clouded the rest of her life. The fact the offender wasn't caught caused my mother to become and remain very ill.' Mrs 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 1967. A pathologist concluded that Mrs Dunne 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 known, 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 Mrs 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 Mrs 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 Mrs Dunne's rape and murder but was found guilty by a jury after nine hours and 53 minutes of deliberations.

Man, 92, jailed for 20 years over 1967 rape and murder of Louisa Dunne in Bristol
Man, 92, jailed for 20 years over 1967 rape and murder of Louisa Dunne in Bristol

The Guardian

timea day ago

  • The Guardian

Man, 92, jailed for 20 years over 1967 rape and murder of Louisa Dunne in Bristol

A 92-year-old man has been jailed for life with a minimum of 20 years after being convicted of the rape and murder of a woman in Bristol 58 years ago. Ryland Headley will almost certainly spend the rest of his life in prison for killing Louisa Dunne at her home in 1967. It is thought to the be the oldest cold case solved in modern English policing history and Headley is believed to be the oldest person in the UK to be convicted of murder. After killing Dunne, who lived alone in the Easton area of Bristol, Headley left south-west England with his family and may have spent some time in London before moving to Ipswich in Suffolk. In 1977, he raped two women, aged 79 and 84, in their homes in Ipswich. He was convicted and originally jailed for life, but at an appeal doctors told the court the rapes arose due to sexual frustration arising from his marriage to an 'ambitious and demanding' wife. The sentence was reduced and he spent only about two years in jail. In 2023, cold case detectives in Avon and Somerset police reviewed the unsolved murder of Dunne and sent off the skirt she had been wearing and samples of hair for analysis. A full DNA profile was obtained and a match with Headley found. His DNA was on the national database because he was arrested, but not charged, over an unrelated matter in 2012. Dunne's granddaughter, Mary Dainton, has spoken about how the family had given up hope of the killer ever being found and been resigned to living with the 'emptiness and sadness' the crime had left them with. She said: 'When people found out about the murder, including friends, they withdrew – there is a stigma attached to rape and murder. 'Since Ryland Headley was charged, I've struggled emotionally in ways I did not anticipate, and it falls to me to speak for people who are no longer here. It saddens me deeply that all the people who knew and loved Louisa are not here to see that justice is being done.' The National Crime Agency is working with Avon and Somerset police to identify whether Headley has committed any other offences.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store