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Facing death: the 'goofy' Briton accused of butchering this Hollywood
DAVID ROSE
The Mail on Sunday (United Kingdom)
Published: Apr 01, 2007
AMERICAN prosecutors are to demand the death penalty for a British man
accused of a grotesque double killing on the drug-fuelled fringes of
the showbusiness community in the Hollywood hills.
Neil Revill, 33, has spent nearly six years in a maximum security jail
in Los Angeles, waiting to be brought to trial. He has always
vigorously protested his innocence, but his plight has until now been
unpublicised.
Now, however, he has been told he will face charges of first degree
murder at a trial in August. Supporters of the 'goofy' and 'gentle'
Briton say he is incapable of killing - and are to appeal to Tony
Blair to intervene.
Revill's lawyers say the case against him is flimsy. There were no
witnesses linking him to the killings of drug dealer Arthur Davodian
and his girlfriend Kimberley Crayton in 2001 and no confession by
Revill, who claims to have simply been a guest at Davodian's apartment
the night before the murders.
Even by the standards of LA - a city inured to violence - the double
killing was exceptional in its savagery. Davodian, 22, was killed
first, then stabbed 17 times before his head was severed with
clinical-precision and removed. It was found ten days later, wrapped
in a carrier bag in the front yard of a Masonic lodge.
Girlfriend Crayton, 21, the niece of jazz singer Al Jarreau, had
apparently locked herself in their bedroom while her lover died. But
the killer, or killers, smashed down the door and despatched her with
equal ruthlessness.
She suffered terrible defensive wounds on her hands and arms. Only her
14-month-old daughter, Kaylee, was left alive.
Last week, Revill, a half-blind severe dyslexic from Consett, County
Durham, spoke to The Mail on Sunday by a video link. Though he admits
he had sunk into the world of drugs after his marriage failed - and
had delivered drugs for Davodian on a previous occasion - he has
fiercely denied any part in the murders.
He said: 'All these years, I've kept thinking that something was about
to happen, that there would be some new piece of evidence that would
make them drop the charges and set me free. But maybe that's a
delusion.' Clive Stafford Smith, of the charity Reprieve, who is
working with Revill's lawyers, will write to the Prime Minister this
week pointing out that no weapon has been recovered, there are no
witnesses and no confession from Revill.
There is also new evidence that Davodian was a police informant who
had caused the arrest of powerful figures in the Armenian and Israeli
mafias - gangs whose signature punishment for 'grasses' is
decapitation.
One of those he informed on was Andre Bolandi, a leader of a gang
called Armean Power, and Davodian's main supplier, who thanks to
Davodian's information is now serving a long sentence.
It has also emerged that there was blood in Davodian's flat from at
least two unknown males.
Revill's fall into drug addiction had been a gradual one. At 23, he
moved to Amsterdam and hitchhiked to Munich. There he met the American
student who was to become his wife - a marriage which was behind his
move to America, but which dissolved in 1999.
Revill met Davodian after his marriage ended and became a heavy drug
user.
Then he also became a drug dealer.
Davodian and Crayton were killed in the early afternoon of October 11,
2001. Revill was arrested on November 22.
Revill's lawyers have not challenged his continued detention because
police inquiries into the murders have continued ever since he was
held, turning up further evidence that appears to support his claim of
innocence.
LA public defender Doug Goldstein, Revill's lead lawyer, said: 'He's
pleasant, polite and articulate: The kind of guy you'd invite home to
dinner.
He's goofy, kind of humble.' Revill's former wife, now a partner in an
international LA law firm, is standing by him. Speaking to The Mail on
Sunday on condition of anonymity, she said: 'I can't believe he is
capable of these murders. He was always so gentle.' As the trial
approaches, Revill is growing more nervous. He said: 'I know I could
lose this thing and be sent to death row. I understand what might
ultimately happen.'
Read a longer version of our interview with Neil Revill at
_www.mailonsunday.co.uk/revill_ (http://www.mailonsunday.co.uk/revill)
DAVID ROSE
The Mail on Sunday (United Kingdom)
Published: Apr 01, 2007
AMERICAN prosecutors are to demand the death penalty for a British man
accused of a grotesque double killing on the drug-fuelled fringes of
the showbusiness community in the Hollywood hills.
Neil Revill, 33, has spent nearly six years in a maximum security jail
in Los Angeles, waiting to be brought to trial. He has always
vigorously protested his innocence, but his plight has until now been
unpublicised.
Now, however, he has been told he will face charges of first degree
murder at a trial in August. Supporters of the 'goofy' and 'gentle'
Briton say he is incapable of killing - and are to appeal to Tony
Blair to intervene.
Revill's lawyers say the case against him is flimsy. There were no
witnesses linking him to the killings of drug dealer Arthur Davodian
and his girlfriend Kimberley Crayton in 2001 and no confession by
Revill, who claims to have simply been a guest at Davodian's apartment
the night before the murders.
Even by the standards of LA - a city inured to violence - the double
killing was exceptional in its savagery. Davodian, 22, was killed
first, then stabbed 17 times before his head was severed with
clinical-precision and removed. It was found ten days later, wrapped
in a carrier bag in the front yard of a Masonic lodge.
Girlfriend Crayton, 21, the niece of jazz singer Al Jarreau, had
apparently locked herself in their bedroom while her lover died. But
the killer, or killers, smashed down the door and despatched her with
equal ruthlessness.
She suffered terrible defensive wounds on her hands and arms. Only her
14-month-old daughter, Kaylee, was left alive.
Last week, Revill, a half-blind severe dyslexic from Consett, County
Durham, spoke to The Mail on Sunday by a video link. Though he admits
he had sunk into the world of drugs after his marriage failed - and
had delivered drugs for Davodian on a previous occasion - he has
fiercely denied any part in the murders.
He said: 'All these years, I've kept thinking that something was about
to happen, that there would be some new piece of evidence that would
make them drop the charges and set me free. But maybe that's a
delusion.' Clive Stafford Smith, of the charity Reprieve, who is
working with Revill's lawyers, will write to the Prime Minister this
week pointing out that no weapon has been recovered, there are no
witnesses and no confession from Revill.
There is also new evidence that Davodian was a police informant who
had caused the arrest of powerful figures in the Armenian and Israeli
mafias - gangs whose signature punishment for 'grasses' is
decapitation.
One of those he informed on was Andre Bolandi, a leader of a gang
called Armean Power, and Davodian's main supplier, who thanks to
Davodian's information is now serving a long sentence.
It has also emerged that there was blood in Davodian's flat from at
least two unknown males.
Revill's fall into drug addiction had been a gradual one. At 23, he
moved to Amsterdam and hitchhiked to Munich. There he met the American
student who was to become his wife - a marriage which was behind his
move to America, but which dissolved in 1999.
Revill met Davodian after his marriage ended and became a heavy drug
user.
Then he also became a drug dealer.
Davodian and Crayton were killed in the early afternoon of October 11,
2001. Revill was arrested on November 22.
Revill's lawyers have not challenged his continued detention because
police inquiries into the murders have continued ever since he was
held, turning up further evidence that appears to support his claim of
innocence.
LA public defender Doug Goldstein, Revill's lead lawyer, said: 'He's
pleasant, polite and articulate: The kind of guy you'd invite home to
dinner.
He's goofy, kind of humble.' Revill's former wife, now a partner in an
international LA law firm, is standing by him. Speaking to The Mail on
Sunday on condition of anonymity, she said: 'I can't believe he is
capable of these murders. He was always so gentle.' As the trial
approaches, Revill is growing more nervous. He said: 'I know I could
lose this thing and be sent to death row. I understand what might
ultimately happen.'
Read a longer version of our interview with Neil Revill at
_www.mailonsunday.co.uk/revill_ (http://www.mailonsunday.co.uk/revill)