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Britain's Most Evil Killers S08E04 (Oct 6 2023)
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00:00On a warm summer's evening in 1993,
00:04police in East London made a tragic discovery
00:07at the home of two elderly siblings.
00:11They found Annie slumped in an armchair in the living room
00:16and Billy lying on the floor pretty much in front of her.
00:20A beloved grandmother and a World War II veteran
00:24killed in a violent attack.
00:27There's no obvious suspect.
00:30Annie and Billy haven't got any obvious enemies.
00:32With no killer caught,
00:34for years the victim's family searched for answers.
00:38That was my life,
00:40just constantly trying to find out what had happened.
00:44Finally, a forensic breakthrough led police to Danville Neal,
00:48a sexually deviant career criminal with a taste for brutality.
00:53He was actually what you call a violent, prolific burglar.
00:57That kind of criminal is not that common.
01:00After almost 30 years,
01:03Danville Neal was finally unmasked
01:05as one of Britain's most evil killers.
01:31In 1993,
01:33the East London community of Bethnal Green
01:36was no stranger to crime.
01:39There was violence.
01:40There was a lot of burglaries, drugs, heroin was at the top of its game.
01:45But the brutal attack on pensioners Annie Castle
01:49and her brother Billy Bryan
01:51was a far cry from everyday criminal activity.
01:55Not only does it cause moral revulsion,
01:58it also causes panic in the community.
02:01People don't want to think
02:03that they're not safe in their own home.
02:05The police would have been under a huge amount of pressure
02:09to solve this.
02:11Only when Danville Neal was convicted
02:13could this community feel justice had been done
02:17for Annie and Billy.
02:22This killer story begins in the London borough of Lewisham.
02:28Danville Neal was born in September 1957.
02:32He was actually what you would describe as a South London boy.
02:35We don't know a great deal about Danville Neal's background.
02:39We can guess or at least speculate
02:40that he must have had a difficult childhood
02:43because by the age of 16, in 1973,
02:47he gets his first conviction for burglary.
02:50Neal started offending at quite a young age,
02:54an acquisitive crime like theft.
02:58And that's not actually abnormal
03:00for that age of young men.
03:04But, you know, it's something that they pass through
03:07and, you know, forget about as they get older.
03:14This was not the case with Danville Neal.
03:18As he entered adulthood,
03:20his path in life seemed very much set.
03:23Danville Neal was a career criminal.
03:27He was a petty thief and a burglar
03:30and he used to fence stolen items
03:34around the South London area where he mainly operated.
03:39Also, by his own admissions,
03:41was involved in distributing cannabis.
03:45Much of what is known about Danville Neal's early adult life
03:50comes from his lengthy rap sheet.
03:52He had a number of convictions.
03:54I think it was something like 15 convictions for burglary
03:56between 1973 and 1998.
04:00But Neal was not simply interested in stealing people's property.
04:06Danville Neal was a man with proclivity to violence,
04:09sexual violence, psychological violence.
04:13He had not only broken into people's houses,
04:17but he specifically targeted people
04:20who he thought had stashes of cash or valuables in their homes
04:27and he would threaten them, tie them up and beat them.
04:32And during the course of some of these burglaries...
04:35In 1984, he and an accomplice committed two violent burglaries,
04:42which were to set a pattern for his later crimes.
04:48One night in June 1984,
04:5226-year-old Danville Neal
04:54and a fellow career criminal, William Norris,
04:57travelled the five miles from Lewisham
04:59to the middle-class suburb of Penge.
05:03In the first occasion,
05:05he broke into a home where the family were at home.
05:08Neal wakes up the sleeping couple, mum and dad,
05:12and tells them that they've already killed one of the children.
05:16Your girl's dead.
05:18Neal and his accomplice
05:20beat both mum and dad with an iron bar
05:24and try and smother the father
05:27and rape the woman.
05:30He tried to rip rings off her fingers
05:33and I think at one point she said to him,
05:35what are you going to do with these rings?
05:36They're not even worth 30 bob.
05:39There's also a suggestion that
05:40there was some kind of sexual humiliation of the husband
05:43as well as rape of the wife.
05:46It was a terrifying ordeal for the couple.
05:49Neal had played on their worst fears,
05:53but he was bluffing.
05:57Thankfully, their three children were asleep upstairs
05:59and they weren't woken,
06:02but the couple at the time didn't know what was going on,
06:06they didn't know that the children were okay.
06:09He starts with theft,
06:11which is a pretty normal way
06:15to start a criminal career, if you like.
06:17But then he moves to burglary
06:19and he moves to burglaries that are violent.
06:23Now, that is one hell of a development.
06:27This is the kind of offender
06:29we need to be really worried about.
06:32In August 1984,
06:34Neal and his familiar accompanist, William Norris,
06:38attack another house,
06:39this time in Norwood,
06:41also in south-east London,
06:42where a woman is alone, asleep.
06:46It's another home invasion.
06:48A really, really frightening experience for this woman,
06:51who's woken up in the middle of the night
06:53by this guy in a bedroom,
06:55again threatening,
06:57again used to violence.
07:00They threatened her,
07:01they smothered her in actual fact,
07:03and they raped her.
07:05And in that instance,
07:06he only made off with,
07:09I think, 15 pounds and a music system.
07:12So really very, very low, low-value items.
07:16But the level of violence used
07:19was extreme and gratuitous
07:22and designed to cause, you know,
07:25maximum fear and alarm of his victim.
07:28We might think that the motivation
07:30is only to take things that they can sell
07:35or take money.
07:36But these crimes are not all about
07:39what they can acquire during that burglary.
07:42The sexual violence has absolutely nothing to do
07:45with the acquisitive part of this burglary.
07:49In my opinion,
07:50the overriding motivation here
07:52is that joy of dominating
07:55and the power and the humiliation
07:58of the people in the home,
08:01and that is incredibly dangerous.
08:05These two burglaries,
08:07just a couple of months apart
08:08in the summer of 1984,
08:11were violent and sadistic.
08:13But Danville Neal and his accomplice
08:16did not escape justice for long.
08:20He didn't wear a balaclava.
08:22He didn't wear a ski mask.
08:24Well, it's perfectly obvious by this point
08:26that Danville Neal
08:28is a person of interest to the police,
08:30and it doesn't take them very long
08:31to track him down.
08:33And the two men are brought to trial
08:36and, indeed, convicted
08:37of these aggravated burglaries
08:39with burglary with sexual violence
08:42and other violence.
08:44In June 1985,
08:47Danville Neal and his accomplice
08:49were found guilty at London's Old Bailey
08:51and sentenced to 12 years in jail.
08:54But just seven years later,
08:57Neal was a free man once again.
09:06Danville Neal is released in August 1992,
09:11and he effectively goes back
09:13to his old ways pretty much straight away.
09:16He really doesn't know any other life
09:19than the criminal life.
09:20So, you know,
09:21he goes back to his old stomping ground
09:23in Sydenham.
09:26Getting a real job
09:28was the last thing
09:29on Danville Neal's mind in 1992.
09:32Now almost 35 years old,
09:35he simply picked up where he left off.
09:38He'd already left traumatized victims
09:40in his wake.
09:41Next time he struck,
09:43the consequences
09:44would be even more devastating.
09:56In August 1992,
09:59prolific burglar
10:00and violent rapist Danville Neal
10:02was released on license
10:04after serving seven years
10:06of a 12-year sentence
10:07for rape and burglary.
10:09He returned to southeast London,
10:11the only home he'd ever known,
10:13and resumed the life of crime
10:15he'd pursued
10:15since he was in his teens.
10:22Seven miles away
10:24in Bethnal Green,
10:25pensioners 74-year-old Annie Castle
10:28and 71-year-old Billy Bryan
10:30were enjoying
10:31their well-earned retirement
10:33and looking back
10:34on a life well-lived.
10:36Annie Castle
10:36and her brother
10:38had lived
10:40in the East End of London
10:42all their lives.
10:43Bethnal Green
10:44is really, you know,
10:46very much in the center
10:47of the East End.
10:48Quite a sort of
10:49working-class community,
10:50very close-knit,
10:52so the neighbors
10:53all knew each other.
10:56In 1993,
10:57Annie and Billy
10:58were living in a flat
10:59on the Minerva estate,
11:01somewhere they'd called home
11:03for almost 50 years.
11:05Annie had moved in
11:06with her husband
11:08shortly after the end
11:09of the war
11:10when these flats
11:10had recently been constructed.
11:12Annie was a lovely,
11:16pillar of the community
11:17and she had five children
11:20and I think 13 grandchildren
11:23and went on to have
11:2515 great-grandchildren.
11:27When her brother,
11:29Billy,
11:29was invalided
11:30out of the army
11:32at the end
11:32of the Second World War,
11:34he got tuberculosis,
11:35so he was sort of
11:36released from the army
11:38and was really taken in
11:40by Annie and her husband
11:42and the rest of the family
11:44and he lived with them
11:45from then on.
11:47Annie's husband, Jim,
11:48died in 1987,
11:50but she and brother, Billy,
11:52continued to live together.
11:55Annie's grandson, Mark,
11:56remembers the Bethnal Green Flat
11:58as a lively hub
12:00for the entire family.
12:01We would be
12:04round nanny's every Saturday.
12:06He'd get there
12:06and nanny would be
12:09up
12:09making a fuss over here
12:11and then another member
12:12of the family
12:13would turn up
12:13with their kids
12:15and then we'd all go down
12:16and play football
12:16and then someone else
12:17would turn up
12:18and then one of the mums
12:19would go,
12:19oh, there's a jumbug sale
12:20over to church.
12:21A couple of the mums
12:22would go.
12:23All the dads
12:24would be sitting there,
12:25the mums would be
12:25walking around,
12:26nanny would be
12:27making teas, toast,
12:29Billy was cooking.
12:30It was just great fun.
12:32Annie and Billy's warmth
12:34extended beyond their family
12:36to their neighbours
12:37and acquaintances
12:38in the local area.
12:40The neighbours
12:40all knew each other
12:41and would socialise together.
12:43So, for example,
12:44Annie would go
12:45to the local social club
12:46every week
12:47with her friend.
12:48I think it was Winifred.
12:51Annie was an out-and-about
12:53type of person.
12:55Bingo.
12:56Going to old people's
12:58little get-togethers,
13:00and she looked
13:01a million dollars.
13:02When she was walking
13:04down the street
13:05and I actually
13:05was there once
13:06and she looked
13:07a million dollars
13:08with a nice long coat on,
13:10all her hair done,
13:11make-up.
13:12Annie was also described
13:14as being very generous,
13:15so she would help people
13:16in her community.
13:17She would often give
13:18money to people
13:19to support them
13:20if she could help them out.
13:23Billy would,
13:25because of his illness,
13:26this was, you know,
13:28stay sort of quite close
13:29to the house,
13:30but he was very interested
13:31in the local community.
13:33He had a pair of binoculars,
13:35but he used to use them
13:36to spy on the local
13:38fruit and veg stall
13:39down the road
13:40so he could check
13:41what they had in on that day
13:42to see if he wanted anything.
13:46As well as being
13:47a close-knit community,
13:49the layout of the estate
13:51meant residents
13:52were often aware
13:53of one another's
13:54comings and goings.
13:56There were a number
13:57of blocks of flats,
13:58but it was on quite
13:59an open sort of green area
14:01and even lived
14:02on the first floor,
14:03but it wasn't
14:03a high-rise floor,
14:05it was just a few steps up
14:06onto her landing
14:08where there were
14:09several other flats
14:10along that particular landing.
14:12The flat's front doors
14:14were accessed
14:15from shared walkways
14:16along the fronts
14:17of the buildings,
14:18while at the back,
14:19some of the flats
14:20had enclosed concrete balconies.
14:22The blocks faced one another
14:24across communal lawns,
14:26as neighbor Ann Ambrose remembers.
14:29I lived opposite them,
14:31so you could have a chat
14:32across the grass
14:33because we've got
14:33great big grass expense,
14:35so you could actually
14:36chat if you needed to.
14:38When the peace
14:39of this settled community
14:41was brutally shattered
14:42one night in August 1993,
14:45it would be the neighbors
14:47who noticed something
14:48was amiss.
14:50The 22nd of August 1993,
14:54Billy and Annie
14:55are at home
14:56in their flat.
14:57In the mid-afternoon,
14:59about 5.30, I think,
15:02Annie goes out
15:03to her weekly trip
15:07to the social club
15:08on a Sunday
15:09with a friend, Winifred.
15:10They did this regularly
15:12every Sunday,
15:13so they met
15:13at around about 5.30,
15:15and then they returned
15:17at about 8.30.
15:19Now, according to Winifred,
15:21Billy would very often
15:23be standing
15:24in the communal balcony,
15:26waiting for Annie
15:27to return home
15:28from the social club,
15:30and he would usually
15:32prepare a hot drink,
15:33like a coffee,
15:34and a sandwich for her
15:35for when she returned,
15:36and that does seem
15:38to be what had happened
15:39in that particular day,
15:40although when Annie
15:43returned home,
15:44the front door was shut.
15:46There was no sign
15:47of Billy.
15:49Much of what happened
15:50after Annie Castle
15:52entered her flat
15:53that evening
15:54is unknown.
15:55Other residents
15:56would later help police
15:58piece the story together.
16:01Neighbours recall
16:02hearing screams
16:03that evening,
16:07but no-one
16:07paid much attention.
16:11At around 1.30 a.m.,
16:14Anne Ambrose
16:15was getting ready
16:15for bed
16:16in the flat
16:17opposite Annie
16:18and Billy's.
16:19I just looked over
16:20and I noticed
16:21the lights were on,
16:22but you don't think
16:23that's any problem at all.
16:25You know, you think,
16:26well, naturally,
16:27they've just not gone
16:27to bed yet.
16:28And the lights
16:29were still on,
16:29when she got up
16:31to go to the loo
16:32at about 4 in the morning.
16:33And then I noticed
16:34that the back door
16:35was open slightly
16:36because, say,
16:37we've got back balconies.
16:39But even then,
16:40I don't think
16:41anything suspicious
16:41went through in my mind.
16:43And then she got up
16:44in the morning
16:45and she left
16:46at Monday morning
16:47to go to work.
16:49She said she noted again
16:50that the lights were on.
16:51And then it was
16:52when I got back home
16:54that I noticed
16:55that nothing had changed
16:56across the way
16:57and I thought,
16:58that cannot be right.
16:59She got back
17:00about 10.30
17:00that night
17:01and when she saw
17:03that the lights
17:04were still on
17:05and the back door
17:07was still open,
17:08she decided
17:09that she would
17:10make a phone call
17:11to Annie
17:12and she didn't get
17:13any reply to her call.
17:15So she goes round
17:16and knocks on
17:18Annie and Billy's door.
17:19No answer.
17:21She looks through
17:22the letterbox.
17:24Can't see anything.
17:25So at that point
17:27she decided
17:27that she was going
17:28to call the police.
17:29When a police officer
17:31responded to
17:32Annie's call
17:33that night,
17:34he recognized
17:35immediately
17:35that this was
17:37an emergency.
17:38The elderly siblings
17:39were nowhere to be seen
17:41and their normally
17:42pristine flat
17:43was in disarray.
17:45He looked through
17:46the window
17:46and what he could see
17:47were the lights
17:48were still on,
17:48the fridge door
17:49was open,
17:50there were cupboards
17:51and doors open.
17:53You could see
17:54that there's been
17:55something that's been
17:55ransacked.
17:56Went round to the
17:57back of the flat,
17:59looked up at the
18:00balcony area
18:01and they saw
18:01that the door
18:02was open.
18:03At about 10 past
18:04midnight,
18:05the fire brigade
18:06arrive and
18:07a ladder is erected
18:08and the police
18:09enter the flat
18:11through the back.
18:12And unfortunately,
18:13what he saw there
18:15was quite an awful
18:16sight.
18:23What the police
18:24officer found
18:25when he entered
18:26Annie Castle
18:27and Billy Bryan's
18:28flat that night
18:29shocked the community
18:31and marked the start
18:33of a quest for justice
18:34that would span
18:35three long decades.
18:47In August 1993,
18:49serial burglar
18:51and violent
18:52rapist Danville
18:53Neal had been
18:54out of jail
18:55for a year
18:56and was living
18:57in southeast London.
18:59North of the river
19:00in Bethnal Green,
19:01siblings Annie Castle
19:03and Billy Bryan
19:04had been enjoying
19:05their retirement.
19:07On the 23rd of August,
19:09all of that
19:10changed.
19:12I was working
19:14with my father
19:14in the front market
19:15night workers
19:17and, um,
19:18we got home
19:19and went to bed.
19:22Mine was ringing
19:22downstairs
19:23and ringing
19:23and ringing
19:24and ringing
19:25and ringing
19:25and ringing.
19:26Then it'd go off
19:27and then it'd ring again
19:27and straight away
19:28and I was talking
19:29about it, right?
19:29So I went down
19:31and it was my father.
19:32He said,
19:32uh,
19:32Annie and Billy
19:33have been found
19:34dead in the flat.
19:34And I was like,
19:36oh, my God.
19:38The police officer
19:39who entered
19:40Annie and Billy's
19:41home
19:42just before midnight
19:43on August the 23rd
19:45had found the two
19:46pensioners
19:47in the living room.
19:48Annie was slumped
19:49in a chair,
19:51um,
19:51with her head down
19:52and, uh,
19:54Billy was laying
19:55on his side
19:56directly in front
19:57of him.
19:59He'd had his hands
20:01tied together
20:01and, uh,
20:02with a cord
20:03and he had
20:04some sort of cloth
20:06tied around his feet.
20:09It was neighbour
20:10Anne Ambrose
20:11who'd raised
20:12the alarm
20:13that evening
20:13about unusual
20:15activity
20:15at the older
20:16couple's flat.
20:17It wasn't too long
20:20before the police
20:21came back out
20:23and I said
20:24to them,
20:25how are they?
20:26And he said,
20:27they're dead.
20:28It was such a shock.
20:30The whole house
20:31was in,
20:32in complete disarray.
20:34Um,
20:34in the lounge area,
20:36cushions had been
20:37upended,
20:38a vase had been
20:39smashed
20:40and there was glass
20:40all over the floor.
20:42Cupboards open,
20:43drawers open.
20:44A screwdriver
20:45is found
20:46in the lounge
20:47and a hammer
20:48is found
20:49outside the flat.
20:51One of their
20:52pairs of glasses
20:53was just sort of
20:55chucked on the floor
20:56or fallen on the floor
20:57somehow
20:58and Annie's handbag
21:00was lying on the floor
21:02with the contents
21:03strewn all over the place.
21:06Shabnam Chowdhury
21:07was one of the detectives
21:09assigned to investigate
21:10the unexplained deaths
21:12and to piece together
21:13exactly what had befallen
21:15Annie and Billy
21:16and why.
21:18Once a detective
21:19has attended
21:20what you call
21:21a senior investigating officer,
21:22that now becomes
21:23an official
21:25murder investigation
21:26and a crime scene
21:27for evidence
21:28to be gathered.
21:29When they looked
21:30at the scene
21:31they could see
21:32that Annie's fingers
21:34had areas
21:35of sort of
21:35white
21:36where she would
21:37normally have
21:38worn her
21:39her rings.
21:40So she was
21:42wearing
21:43two gold
21:45wedding rings
21:46and she also
21:47had two
21:48diamond rings
21:50that she would
21:50habitually wear.
21:51So it was clear
21:52that they'd been
21:53ripped off her fingers
21:55either when she was alive
21:56or after she'd died.
21:59It's not a very
22:01thorough burglary
22:02given the fact
22:04that a lot of things
22:05are missed.
22:06For example
22:07more than
22:08£4,000 in cash
22:10hidden in socks
22:11in the flat.
22:13You don't know
22:14what has actually happened.
22:15You don't know for sure
22:16whether it is
22:16actually a burglary.
22:17You don't know for sure
22:18whether somebody
22:19is known to those individuals.
22:20There were no signs
22:22of a breaking
22:22of that particular
22:24flat.
22:25You've got to keep
22:26an open mind.
22:27One of the first
22:28tasks for the
22:29investigation team
22:30was to work out
22:31exactly when
22:33Annie and Billy
22:33had been attacked.
22:35No one had seen
22:36them since Annie
22:37had arrived home
22:38from the social club
22:39at around 8.30
22:41on the Sunday evening.
22:43There was a half drunk
22:45cup of coffee
22:47and the remnants
22:48of a meat sandwich
22:50so within about
22:51half an hour
22:53something has happened
22:54to interrupt
22:56their usual routine.
22:59And we did have
23:00plenty of witnesses
23:01that came forward
23:02but nobody that
23:03actually saw
23:04anything that happened
23:05so everybody gave
23:06a picture
23:07which we were able
23:09to draw up
23:09a timeline
23:10of events
23:11that likely
23:12took place.
23:12One neighbour
23:13had heard a scream
23:14at around 9.30pm
23:16while Anne Ambrose
23:18had seen lights
23:19and movement
23:19at around 1.30am.
23:22There was a six-year-old
23:22boy living nearby
23:24who was woken up
23:25in the night
23:26and heard someone
23:27saying repeatedly
23:28get out of here
23:29get out of here.
23:31He was awoken
23:32during the early hours
23:33of the morning
23:34and he became
23:35very scared.
23:36He went in to his mother
23:37and he told her
23:38what he'd heard
23:40and then she put him
23:41back to bed.
23:42So when you combine
23:43all of that information
23:45and all of that evidence
23:46together
23:46what you can work out
23:48is that there would
23:49have been a timeline
23:50of between
23:51around 9.30pm
23:53when the first scream
23:54was heard
23:55to around about
23:564.30pm
23:57early hours
23:58of the following morning
23:59on the 23rd
24:00when both
24:01Anne and Billy
24:02were subjected
24:03to that violent attack
24:05of being tied up
24:07and actually
24:07being murdered
24:08in their own homes.
24:11The post-mortem
24:12examinations
24:13confirmed suspicions
24:14that Anne and Billy
24:15had indeed died
24:17during a prolonged
24:18violent incident.
24:22Anne Castle's
24:23post-mortem
24:24was interesting
24:25because Anne actually
24:26had a history
24:27of heart disease
24:29and angina
24:30the fact that
24:31she was placed
24:32in such a stressful
24:33situation
24:34would have caused
24:35her to have
24:35a heart attack.
24:37Physical
24:38examination of her body
24:40found that there were
24:41bruises to her arms
24:43which were
24:44consistent with her
24:46being restrained
24:47physically with hands.
24:49So we
24:50straight away
24:52realised that
24:53Nanny was beaten
24:54and so
24:55Billy had been beaten up
24:56as well.
24:57Billy's post-mortem
24:59was more complex
25:00in actual fact
25:01because he too
25:02also did have
25:03a history
25:04of heart disease
25:05and of heart problems
25:07but he was subjected
25:09to more violence,
25:11subjected to severe violence.
25:13The evidence
25:15showed that he'd been
25:16not just restrained
25:18but he'd been beaten
25:19and beaten by somebody
25:21probably wearing a ring
25:22that did cause
25:24not just bruising
25:25but sort of
25:26some cuts
25:27from
25:27you know
25:28small puncture wounds
25:30from being hit
25:31by someone wearing
25:32a prominent ring.
25:33He had
25:34injuries inflicted
25:36to one of his
25:37eye sockets.
25:38He had injuries
25:39under his chin
25:40some abrasions
25:41under his chin.
25:42He'd also been
25:43assorted
25:44on both of his arms
25:45on his body
25:46and also within
25:47on his thighs.
25:49Despite the horrific
25:51number of injuries
25:52Billy had suffered
25:53it was not the beating
25:55that had killed
25:56the 71-year-old veteran.
25:58He had been suffocated,
26:01asphyxiated
26:02and that was
26:03the cause of death.
26:04It caused him
26:05to have a heart attack
26:06as well
26:07but the cause of death
26:09itself was
26:10asphyxiation.
26:12Hearing that
26:13his beloved grandmother
26:14and great uncle
26:15had endured
26:16such a violent death
26:18was devastating
26:19for Mark Castle
26:20and for their
26:21extended family.
26:23I just was like
26:24numb, numb, shock.
26:27Shock, whodunit.
26:29Older people
26:30statistically
26:31are actually
26:32highly unlikely
26:33to suffer
26:34this kind of crime
26:36especially, you know,
26:38if they
26:39don't go out
26:41very often
26:41and they live
26:42in secure homes
26:43and we
26:45can't
26:47conceive
26:48of the type
26:49of person
26:50that would
26:51target
26:52the vulnerable
26:54in that way.
26:56Immediately
26:57the first place
26:58your head's
26:59going to go to
27:00is that
27:00there's an evil
27:02predator
27:02on the loose.
27:04These people
27:05don't share
27:06your values,
27:07they don't share
27:08your moral code.
27:09that can be
27:11terrifying
27:12for a community.
27:14You do get scared
27:15because you think
27:16well who in our
27:17is there anyone
27:18in our community
27:18would do that
27:19to these people
27:20and obviously
27:21we were just
27:22living in hope
27:23that they'd catch
27:24whoever this person was.
27:26The investigation
27:27team followed
27:28every line of inquiry
27:29at their disposal.
27:31This is not
27:33an entry level
27:34offence
27:34so they would
27:35have started
27:36looking through
27:37who their
27:39local criminals
27:40were
27:41and who was
27:42most likely
27:43to have committed
27:44this type
27:45of offence.
27:46We would target
27:47individuals
27:48who we might think
27:49might have been
27:50responsible for this
27:51particularly in
27:52the Bethnal Green area
27:54because we did have
27:55a number of
27:55prolific burglars
27:57in that area.
27:58None of the usual
27:59suspects were linked
28:01with the crime
28:02and no fingerprints
28:03were found
28:04at the scene
28:04that could be matched
28:06with known criminals
28:07on the national database.
28:09There was nothing
28:10that came from
28:11that particular
28:11investigation
28:12in those very
28:13early stages
28:14in 1993
28:15that could actually
28:17put anybody
28:17at that scene
28:19of that murder
28:20at that time.
28:22By 1999
28:23six years later
28:24no one
28:26has been charged
28:27for these
28:28heinous crimes
28:29in spite of the fact
28:31that a reward
28:32of 5,000 pounds
28:33has been offered.
28:35Nothing.
28:36Absolutely nothing.
28:39In 1999
28:41police investigating
28:43the murders
28:44of Annie Castle
28:45and Billy Bryan
28:46achieved a small
28:47but frustrating
28:48step forward.
28:51Billy was tied
28:53with a black cord
28:54that later transpired
28:56to be a cord
28:58from a set
28:59of binoculars
28:59that came from
29:00the same property.
29:01In 1996
29:03new advanced
29:04scientific technology
29:05was introduced
29:07and then in 1999
29:09what actually happened
29:10was that scientific
29:11technology
29:11was allowed
29:12to be used
29:13in casework.
29:14The black cord
29:15was submitted
29:16to the scientific lab
29:18and actual fact
29:19it had been preserved
29:20all that time
29:21within the same packaging
29:23never been removed.
29:24There was DNA extracted
29:27and they put it
29:29through the DNA database
29:31and they got
29:33more than 300 possibles.
29:36In the early 90s
29:38we didn't have
29:39a DNA database.
29:40We do now
29:42but we did not then
29:43and what has happened
29:46over the years
29:47is that
29:48since the introduction
29:49of DNA identification
29:52it has developed
29:54really quite quickly.
29:58The list of suspects
30:00had been narrowed down
30:01and one of them
30:02had a long record
30:04for violent offences.
30:05Unfortunately
30:06it was 308 names.
30:08Within that list
30:09came Danville Neal.
30:12Danville Neal
30:14had been convicted
30:14of yet another burglary
30:16in 1998
30:17and in 1999
30:19was believed
30:20to have been serving time
30:22for this offence.
30:23As he's kept on offending
30:25over the years
30:26and DNA has been developing
30:28alongside him
30:29his DNA profile
30:31has been taken
30:32and it is now
30:33on the database
30:35so that
30:36any crimes
30:37that he committed
30:38before
30:38and after
30:40are now going to
30:42leave him
30:42open to being arrested.
30:44The problem was
30:46he was number 138
30:47six on that list
30:48and therefore
30:49it wasn't enough
30:50for them
30:51to profile him
30:53as being
30:54responsible.
30:56Police didn't have
30:57enough evidence
30:58at the time
30:59to single Danville Neal
31:00out
31:00from the 308
31:02potential culprits.
31:04For Annie
31:04and Billy's
31:05devastated loved ones
31:06the news brought hope
31:08but no resolution.
31:10We had regular meetings
31:12with these detectives
31:13where they were
31:13telling us
31:15what had gone on.
31:16and that they had
31:18a little bit of DNA
31:18but it wasn't
31:20advanced as it is now
31:21so it was really
31:23really tough
31:24to get
31:25a suspect
31:26and again
31:28it went quite after that
31:29for a number of years.
31:31It was a devastating time
31:33for the families
31:34of Annie Castle
31:35and Billy Bryan
31:36and as the years
31:38went by
31:38and the years
31:39became decades
31:40the case remained
31:42unsolved.
31:43but as forensic science
31:45continued to advance
31:46Danville Neal's name
31:48wouldn't remain hidden
31:49on the list for long
31:51and justice
31:52would soon be done.
32:02After pensioners
32:04Annie Castle
32:05and her brother
32:05Billy Bryan
32:06were found dead
32:07at the flat
32:08they shared
32:09in August of 1993
32:10years passed
32:12with no suspect
32:13charged.
32:14For the perpetrator
32:16though
32:16time was running out.
32:20In 2017
32:22there had been
32:23some new techniques
32:24in DNA identification.
32:27By 2020
32:28the techniques
32:29had been approved
32:30for police
32:31to apply
32:32to unsolved crimes.
32:33As before
32:34the focus
32:35of the investigation
32:36was Billy's
32:37binocular strap
32:38which had been used
32:39to bind
32:40the 71-year-old's hands
32:41before his murder.
32:43The strap
32:44was actually knotted
32:45where the perpetrator
32:46had tied the knots
32:48in order to
32:48secure Billy's hands
32:50and tie them up
32:51and for the first time
32:53ever
32:54those knots
32:55were undone
32:56and therefore
32:57they used
32:58the DNA
33:00from those knots.
33:01And the DNA
33:04comes back
33:05as identifiable
33:06to one
33:07Danville Neal.
33:09Danville Neal
33:10was already
33:11very very well
33:12known to the police
33:14as a prolific
33:15burglar
33:15and he had
33:17a history
33:17of violence
33:18as well.
33:19So not only
33:21is he a one-in-a-billion
33:23match
33:23to the DNA
33:24he also
33:26absolutely
33:27fits the profile
33:28of the kind
33:29of person
33:29who would have
33:30done this.
33:31It was an
33:32unbelievable
33:33breakthrough
33:34almost three
33:35decades
33:35after the crime.
33:37Eager to build
33:38a case
33:39officers obtained
33:40a warrant
33:40to search
33:41Danville Neal's home.
33:43Now it might seem
33:43unusual that they're
33:44going to search
33:45his premises
33:46because
33:46thirty years
33:47have passed
33:48but the fact
33:48remains
33:49that there was
33:50jewellery
33:51outstanding
33:52from that
33:53burglary
33:53and whilst
33:54they were
33:54searching the
33:55premises
33:55Danville Neal
33:57came back home.
33:58The officers
33:58arrested Danville
34:00for the double
34:01murder of
34:02Annie Castle
34:03and Billy Ryan.
34:05Neil by now
34:0663 years old
34:08denied any
34:09knowledge of
34:10the victims
34:10or the crime.
34:12He clearly
34:13stated he'd
34:14never ever
34:14been to
34:15that flat
34:16he'd never
34:17been to
34:17Bethnal Green
34:18and he didn't
34:19know anything
34:19about that
34:20particular
34:21burglary.
34:22Though the
34:23search of
34:24Neil's home
34:25hadn't turned
34:26up any of
34:26Annie or
34:27Billy's
34:27belongings
34:28it had
34:29given police
34:30another piece
34:31of evidence
34:32in their
34:32case against
34:34the suspected
34:34killer.
34:37They discovered
34:39that Danville
34:40Neil owned
34:41a pair of
34:42white high
34:43tech training
34:45shoes.
34:46They brought
34:47Danville
34:47Neil in
34:48for an
34:49interview
34:49and they
34:50asked him
34:51about his
34:51shoes and
34:52they said
34:53oh what
34:53about your
34:54trainers?
34:54Are these
34:55the kind
34:55of trainers
34:56that you
34:56wear all
34:56the time?
34:57And he
34:58spoke about
34:59those trainers
34:59quite candidly
35:01back in the
35:0290s and
35:03still to this
35:04date of his
35:05age at 63
35:06he always wore
35:07the same type
35:08of trainers
35:08which were
35:09high tech
35:09squash type
35:10trainers
35:10They're a
35:11very particular
35:12kind of
35:12trainer
35:13sneaker
35:14a very
35:15particular
35:16pattern
35:16on the
35:17soles
35:18Unbeknownst
35:19to Neil
35:19in 1993
35:21scene of
35:22crime officers
35:23had recovered
35:24footprints from
35:25the home of
35:26Annie Castle
35:26and Billy
35:27Bryan
35:28The exhibits
35:29officer and
35:30the crime scene
35:31manager would
35:32have lifted
35:33all forms of
35:34different types
35:34of evidence
35:35and within that
35:37came some
35:37footprints on
35:38newspaper articles
35:40that were found
35:41on the floor
35:41these were in
35:42the shape of
35:43high tech
35:44trainers
35:45It was another
35:47important piece
35:48of evidence
35:49to link
35:49Neil with the
35:50fatal attack
35:51in 1993
35:52Finally
35:54on the 6th of
35:55July 2021
35:56the police
35:57not only arrest
35:59Danville Neil
36:00but they charge
36:01him with the
36:02murders of
36:03Annie and Billy
36:06In the
36:07summer of
36:082021
36:09the team
36:10now investigating
36:11the murders
36:12were able to
36:13share with
36:13Mark Castle
36:14and his family
36:15the news
36:16they had
36:16waited
36:1728 years
36:18for
36:19We got a
36:20phone call
36:20to attend
36:21a meeting
36:22with some
36:23detectives
36:24and said
36:25they'd like to
36:26tell you
36:27we've got a
36:27viable suspect
36:28no names
36:29were mentioned
36:31no area
36:33nothing about
36:35him
36:35whatsoever
36:36I remember
36:37leaving there
36:38in a bit
36:39of a
36:39trance
36:40really
36:40and I
36:41sobbed
36:43Hope was on
36:44the horizon
36:45in the family's
36:46quest for
36:46justice
36:47Danville Neil
36:48was remanded
36:49in custody
36:5016 months
36:51after he was
36:52charged
36:53he stood trial
36:54for the
36:54double murder
36:55and a trial
36:56was heard
36:57at the
36:57Old Bailey
36:58in
36:58November
37:002022
37:02journalist
37:03Emily
37:04Penning
37:04attended
37:05the trial
37:05at London's
37:06most famous
37:07criminal court
37:08people have
37:09been waiting
37:10for years
37:12to see
37:13someone in
37:14the dock
37:14for Annie
37:15and Billy's
37:16death
37:16so you know
37:18you really feel
37:18the weight of
37:19that
37:19the weight
37:20of the crime
37:21the level
37:22the brutality
37:23the callousness
37:24that they were
37:25treated with
37:29he pleads
37:30not guilty
37:31I had nothing
37:32to do with it
37:32I don't know
37:33anything
37:33Danville Neil
37:34is now 65
37:35years old
37:35he's escaped
37:37justice
37:38for many
37:39many years
37:40more than
37:41a quarter
37:41of a century
37:43when I first
37:44saw him
37:44he was on
37:44screen
37:45from where
37:46I could see
37:47he looked
37:48smart
37:50tie and
37:51shirt on
37:52then when
37:53we went
37:54to trial
37:55he was a
37:56fragile old
37:57man
37:57grey hair
37:59could hardly
38:00walk
38:02glasses
38:03unshaven
38:03grey
38:04which was
38:05as I know
38:07was just an
38:08act
38:09playing the
38:10sympathy card
38:11my initial
38:13impressions of
38:14Danville Neil
38:14though
38:15was he
38:16looked
38:16exactly
38:17what he
38:18is
38:19a career
38:20criminal
38:20someone who
38:23doesn't care
38:25about
38:27the hurt
38:28that he
38:29causes to
38:29other people
38:30he didn't
38:31exude
38:32a feeling
38:33of someone
38:35who is
38:35innocent
38:36everything he
38:37said
38:37I think
38:38just seemed
38:39like a lie
38:39to my mind
38:41he seemed
38:41cold and
38:43callous
38:43which is
38:44exactly what
38:45he was
38:51the prosecution's
38:53case centered
38:54on the DNA
38:54found on the
38:55cord that had
38:56bound Billy's
38:57hands
38:58this proved
38:59that they claimed
39:00that Danville Neil
39:01could be the only
39:02person responsible
39:03for attacking
39:04and killing
39:05Annie and Billy
39:06in their home
39:07that night
39:08in August
39:081993
39:09the most
39:11crucial part
39:12of that
39:13evidence
39:13was linking
39:15him
39:15solely him
39:17directly
39:17to that
39:18murder scene
39:19and that
39:20was in the
39:21form of the
39:22DNA on the
39:23strap
39:23he never
39:24really gave
39:24an explanation
39:25as to how
39:26his DNA
39:27his bodily
39:28fluids
39:28were placed
39:30on that
39:30knot
39:31Danville Neil
39:32insists
39:34that the only
39:35reason
39:36there's DNA
39:37on the
39:38binocular
39:39strap
39:39is that he
39:41happened to
39:41have sold
39:42a pair
39:43of binoculars
39:43to Billy
39:45at a car
39:46boot sale
39:46that would
39:47have made
39:48more sense
39:49had it been
39:50simply
39:51somewhere
39:52on the
39:52binocular
39:53strap
39:53but the
39:54DNA evidence
39:55was found
39:56on the
39:56knot
39:57that was
39:58used
39:58to subdue
40:00Billy
40:01it was
40:02an unlikely
40:03story
40:03and one
40:04the police
40:05had been
40:05able to
40:06disprove
40:06they spoke
40:07to
40:07Billy's
40:08nephew
40:09and he
40:10said
40:10oh no
40:10Billy
40:12was very
40:12proud
40:13of his
40:13gadgets
40:14he was
40:15really into
40:15them
40:16and he
40:16would have
40:16bought
40:16them new
40:17and actually
40:18when the
40:19police
40:19looked into
40:20it even
40:20further
40:21they discovered
40:22that this
40:23particular
40:23type of
40:24binocular
40:25had only
40:26started to
40:27be
40:27imported
40:29into
40:29Britain
40:29in
40:301990-91
40:32so they
40:33would have
40:33been
40:33pretty much
40:34brand new
40:35when they
40:36were acquired
40:36by Billy
40:39the court
40:40was also
40:40told about
40:41the shoe
40:42prints
40:42found in
40:42the flat
40:43so similar
40:44to the
40:44trainers
40:45habitually
40:45worn
40:46by Neil
40:46and about
40:48some of
40:48the similar
40:49crimes
40:49he'd been
40:50convicted
40:50of
40:50in the
40:51past
40:51all of
40:52that
40:53added
40:54together
40:54to a
40:55pretty
40:55compelling
40:56case
40:56against
40:56Danville
40:57Neil
40:57when the
40:58jury
40:59retired
40:59to
40:59consider
41:00their
41:00verdict
41:01Annie
41:01and
41:01Billy's
41:02loved
41:02ones
41:02faced
41:03a
41:03tense
41:03wait
41:04to hear
41:04if
41:05after
41:0529
41:06years
41:06justice
41:07would
41:08be
41:08served
41:08and
41:09and I
41:09thought
41:09he was
41:10going
41:10to walk
41:10the day
41:12of the
41:13verdict
41:14there
41:14was
41:1512
41:15of us
41:16upstairs
41:16waiting to
41:17go in the
41:17gallery
41:17and I
41:18lost it
41:19sobbed
41:20and sobbed
41:21and sobbed
41:23I
41:23was
41:24so scared
41:24he was
41:25going to
41:25walk
41:27because
41:27once
41:27he
41:28walks
41:28we
41:28got
41:28nothing
41:29and
41:30then
41:30the jury
41:30went out
41:32came back
41:32relatively
41:33quickly
41:34I think
41:34and
41:35we went in
41:36and I'd never
41:37been so scared
41:38in my life
41:38the first
41:39count
41:40was
41:40the murder
41:41of
41:41Billy
41:42and that
41:43came back
41:44guilty of
41:45murder
41:46the second
41:47count
41:48came back
41:48not guilty
41:49of murder
41:50so it was a bit
41:50of a
41:51heart-stopping
41:52moment
41:52oh my goodness
41:54they're going to
41:54acquit on
41:55the second
41:56murder
41:56and then
41:57they said
41:57how do you
41:58find the
41:59defendant
41:59on the
42:00count
42:01two
42:01of
42:02manslaughter
42:02and they
42:04said
42:04guilty
42:06so
42:07did they
42:07come out
42:08with a
42:08guilty
42:08it's like
42:11gone
42:12everything
42:13had come
42:13out of me
42:14steam
42:15pain
42:16had gone
42:18and
42:18everyone
42:19was
42:20grabbing me
42:21and pulling me
42:22and kissing
42:22this one
42:23shaking that one
42:24Mrs. Justice
42:25Chee McGrub
42:26sentenced Danville
42:28Neal
42:28to
42:29life in prison
42:30and she said
42:32that he would
42:32have to stay
42:33in prison
42:33for at least
42:3532 years
42:37in passing
42:39sentence
42:40the judge
42:41says
42:42you dodged
42:44justice
42:45for nearly
42:4630 years
42:47now justice
42:48has caught up
42:49with you
42:50she said
42:51it was an
42:52absolutely
42:52appalling
42:53crime
42:53not least
42:55because
42:55of the
42:56frailty
42:57of the
42:57victims
42:57but because
42:59there were
43:00two victims
43:02involved in
43:03his crime
43:03so not
43:04only
43:05had he
43:05effectively
43:06tortured
43:07Billy
43:07in a
43:08failed
43:08attempt
43:08to find
43:09the
43:09valuables
43:10his actions
43:11had also
43:12led to
43:12the death
43:12of Annie
43:13the judge's
43:15sentence
43:15means that
43:16Danville Neal
43:17will almost
43:19certainly die
43:19in jail
43:20it would mean
43:21he'd be over
43:2197
43:22before he could
43:23even be eligible
43:24for parole
43:26and that must
43:26be regarded
43:27as a very
43:27distant possibility
43:28given Neal's
43:30violent history
43:31the idea
43:32he'll never
43:33be released
43:34will be a
43:34comfort to
43:35those who
43:36suffered
43:36at his
43:37hands
43:38I don't
43:39think he
43:39was solely
43:40motivated by
43:41greed
43:41if that's
43:42the case
43:43he was a
43:43very poor
43:44burglar
43:44he never
43:45seemed to
43:46make real
43:47money out
43:47of burglary
43:48but I think
43:49he was motivated
43:49by violence
43:50of all
43:51kinds
43:52there was
43:53nothing else
43:54to Neal
43:54except
43:55this need
43:57to be
43:57cruel
43:58and
44:01controlling
44:02and domineering
44:03and that
44:04makes him
44:05really evil
44:08the conviction
44:09of Danville Neal
44:10brought a
44:11measure of
44:11closure
44:12not only
44:13to the
44:13family of
44:14Annie Castle
44:14and Billy
44:15Bryan
44:15but also
44:16to all
44:17of the
44:17victims
44:18who survived
44:19his violent
44:19attacks
44:20throughout
44:21his criminal
44:21career
44:22a career
44:23that had
44:23begun
44:24when he
44:24was still
44:25in his
44:25teens
44:26with Annie
44:27and Billy's
44:28deaths
44:28likely to be
44:29the last
44:30entry
44:30on his
44:31lengthy
44:31rap sheet
44:32Danville Neal
44:33has finally
44:34been recognised
44:35as one of
44:36Britain's
44:36most evil
44:37killers
44:38as one of
45:07others