New documentary helps crack brutal 35-year cold case using gay porn archive
We have a morbid obsession with true crime documentaries, and while Netflix has arguably become the home of this genre, it continues to be popular on streaming services and the wider internet alike.
With viewers determined to hunt the Golden State Killer in I'll Be Gone in the Dark and astounded by how Richard Ramirez got away with his crimes for so long in The Night Stalker, they've also been left with their jaws on the floor while watching Don't F**k with Cats and transfixed by the life and times of Robert Durst in The Jinx.
Speaking of The Jinx, Andrew Jarecki's 2015 true crime documentary included shocking off-camera footage that led to Durst's arrest on a first-degree murder warrant on the eve of the final episode's airing.
Now, Rachel Mason's My Brother's Killer has been praised for solving the 35-year cold case of William Arnold Newton.
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Mason previously made a name for herself for directing Circus of Books, a 2019 documentary that focused on her parents running the West Hollywood adult bookstore and gay pornography shop of the same name.
My Brother's Killer premieres at the South by Southwest, gaining traction because the documentary's research led to new information helping resolve Newton's brutal 1990 murder, referred to as the 'gay Black Dahlia'.
Performing in the adult entertainment industry under the name of Billy London, Newton was butchered shortly after he completed work on his final film, The Grip of Passion. Last seen at WeHo's Rage Nightclub, parts of Newton's dismembered body were discovered in an alleyway dumpster the next day.
As the murder's 30th anniversary approached, podcasters and authors Christopher Rice and Eric Shaw Quinn covered this tragic tale on The Dinner Party Show, establishing a dedicated e-mail address for tips and information that led to an apparent eyewitness account. Mason appeared on a later episode and confirmed she was making a documentary.
Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, Mason explained how things evolved and how DarraLyn Madden eventually confessed to being Newton's killer.
Amateur sleuth Clark Williams had started digging into the gay porn films that were being made during that era, coming across an interview with Darrell Lynn Madden, a member of a white supremacist skinhead group who'd admitted to carrying out two homophobic murders in Baltimore and Los Angeles.
Williams found Madden's name in several of the gay films from that time, realizing it was the same person from the interview.
Things came together when My Brother's Killer used archival footage of a gay porn industry memorial award show that saw Madden take to the stage. Mason referred to the moment as 'surreal' and added: "It’s basically a time capsule of that era. And in that footage you see someone who later became the suspected killer actually walk on stage. It’s chilling."
Mason started corresponding with Madden, who is now a transgender woman called DarraLynn.
Apparently living a 'triple life' 1990, Madden was moonlighting as a sex worker, gay adult film star, and member of a Neo-nazi gang that was predominantly attacking homosexual men.
My Brother's Killer even includes Madden's on-screen confession, although she doesn't face charges for Newton's killing due to a lack of evidence and the fact that she's already serving time in prison for other crimes.
Discussing what it was like coming face to face with Madden in shackles in a maximum-security unit, Mason admitted: "What struck me most was how charismatic she was. The detective who interviewed her said the same thing — she’s very charming, very funny. Someone you could easily imagine having a conversation with over a beer. That makes it even more disturbing."
Ultimately, My Brother's Killer focuses on Newton's life and the aftermath of his murder in terms of how it affected those close to him, including his partner, Marc Rabins. Importantly, Mason says it offers 'closure' for Newton's family and clears Rabins of the suspicion that has hung over him for decades.