The mystery of a tragic murder that occurred in 1967 has finally been solved.
Louisa Dunn, 75, was found dead by a neighbor inside her home in the southwestern English city of Bristol on June 28, 1967.
The cause of her death was reported to be strangulation and suffocation.
A 92-year-old man in Britain has been charged with the murder and rape of a woman nearly six decades ago, British police said Wednesday.
The case remained cold for 57 years, until non-adult Ryland Headley of Ipswich, eastern England, was arrested Tuesday and later charged.
The arrest came after Avon and Somerset Police launched a review of the case last year, which included further forensic examination of items related to the case.
“This development marks an extremely important moment in this investigation,” the force's Detective Inspector Dave Merchant said in a statement. “We have informed Louisa's family of this charging decision and a specialist liaison officer will continue to support them in the coming days, weeks and months.”
Merchant said the public could see “operational police activity in the Ipswich area” as a result of the arrests, the BBC reported.
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“We recognize this will also be a blow to the community in Easton,” Merchant said.
Headley appeared at Bristol court via video-link on Wednesday and was remanded in custody. He was not asked to enter plea on both the charges. According to the BBC, Headley spoke only to confirm his name, date of birth and address.
ITV News said the case is believed to be the oldest cold case murder arrest in British history.
Police did not provide details about the new forensic analysis in the case, but DNA and genetic genealogy testing are often the key to solving decades-old cold cases. Just last week, investigators in the US announced that they had used DNA evidence to solve a 65-year-old case involving a 7-year-old boy whose body was found in a culvert.
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