26 September 2025
In this week's NLJ, Steven Ball of Red Lion Chambers unpacks how advances in forensic science finally unmasked Ryland Headley, jailed in 2025 for the 1967 rape and murder of 75-year-old Louisa Dunne. Preserved swabs and palm prints lay dormant for decades until DNA-17 profiling produced a billion-to-one match
Headley, now 92, was convicted at Bristol Crown Court after chillingly similar prior offences were exposed.
But Ball contrasts this triumph with the case of Peter Sullivan, wrongfully jailed for 38 years for a 1986 murder on flawed evidence. His eventual exoneration underscores both the power and perils of forensic science. The judgment, Ball argues, shows justice delayed need not be denied—but also highlights the criminal justice system’s duty to guard against miscarriages when science is in flux.
Cold cases may yet reopen, proving that no crime is too old for the truth to emerge.
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