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At SXSW, ‘My Brother’s Killer’ Reopens a 1990 West Hollywood Murder Through Fresh Leads

The film spotlights how independent media can revive a long-stalled investigation.

Overview

  • Director Rachel Mason revisits the 1990 killing of William Arnold Newton, known in gay pornography as Billy London, in a documentary premiering at SXSW.
  • Newton’s severed head and feet were found in a dumpster near La Brea and Santa Monica Boulevard, and his torso was never recovered.
  • LAPD pursued early leads that included ex-boyfriend Marc Rabins and a brief look at Jeffrey Dahmer before the case went cold for decades.
  • The documentary credits podcasters Christopher Rice and Eric Shaw Quinn with supplying new intelligence to investigators within the past five years.
  • Early reviews from Variety and Deadline call the film engrossing and empathetic while noting it offers limited exploration of the era’s porn industry and social context.