Man jailed for killing brother and sister in Bethnal Green burglary almost 30 years ago
Danville Neil, 65, must serve at least 32 years in jail
Last updated 25th Nov 2022
A man described as a career criminal - who killed an elderly brother and sister in a bungled burglary in east London - has been jailed for life with a minimum term of 32 years.
Danville Neil, 65, "dodged justice for nearly 30 years" after attacking Second World War veteran William Bryan, 71, and widow Anne Castle, 74, during a break-in at their Bethnal Green home in August 1993.
Following a trial at the Old Bailey, Neil was found guilty of Mr Bryan's murder and of Mrs Castle's manslaughter.
"unscrupulous" and "lacking in mercy"
Sentencing him, Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb said: "You dodged justice for nearly 30 years, now justice has caught up with you."
She later said: "This was a notorious and universally appalling crime, both because of your history and the doubly fatal consequences of what you did."
The pensioners were beaten and restrained as their flat was ransacked in the search for valuables.
The judge told Neil his actions were "unscrupulous" and "lacking in mercy", and the siblings died "as a result of your greed".
She added: "You were a well-established and experienced career burglar by 1993.
"But you had it in you to offend in a way which was far more serious."
Neil pulled two wedding rings and two diamond rings from Mrs Castle's fingers, but failed to find some £4,000 in cash - some of which had been stashed in socks, the Old Bailey was told.
Mrs Castle suffered a heart attack and Mr Bryan went into cardiac arrest after being beaten and smothered during the night-time raid.
The murders went unsolved for nearly 30 years until Neil's DNA was found on the knot of a strap used to tie Mr Bryan's hands.
The court heard Neil had a string of convictions for some 15 burglaries between 1973 and 1998.
He was jailed for the two violent burglaries and released on licence in August 1992 - a year before the double murders.
During his trial, Neil had accepted his DNA was found at the scene of the killings, but denied he had been there or knew the victims.
He claimed an innocent explanation for the forensic link was that he had sold Mr Bryan binoculars at a car boot sale and it was the strap which was used to bind him.
But Mrs Castle's grandson remembered his great uncle was keen on gadgets and had two sets of binoculars which he would have bought new.
Pillar of the community
A statement from Mrs Castle's granddaughter, read out to the court, described her as a "pillar of the community who was well loved and respected by everybody".
It went on to say the pair "showed all the things which are good in people".
Another family statement said "for almost 30 years a weight has been over our shoulders".
Cheers and applause were heard in the public gallery as the sentence was given.