Decades-Old Murder of Gay Porn Star Probed in 'My Brother's Killer' Documentary

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In 'My Brother's Killer,' director Rachel Mason investigates the unsolved 1990 murder of 25-year-old gay porn performer William Arnold Newton, whose severed head and feet were found in a dumpster near West Hollywood. The film explores Newton's background, his involvement in the adult film industry, and the long-running police investigation that eventually uncovered the shocking identity of his killer decades later.

Why it matters

The brutal murder of Newton, who performed under the name 'Billy London,' shook Los Angeles' gay community at the height of the AIDS epidemic and a period of heightened violence against LGBTQ individuals. Mason's documentary sheds light on this cold case and the complex personal histories of both the victim and his eventual killer.

The details

Newton had just finished work on a porn film called 'The Grip of Passion' when he went missing after telling his roommates he was going to rent a movie. His severed head and feet were later discovered in a dumpster, while his torso was never recovered. For years, police suspected Newton's ex-boyfriend Marc Rabins, who also worked in gay porn under the name 'David Rey,' but the case went cold. It wasn't until filmmaker Rachel Mason teamed up with podcasters Christopher Rice and Eric Shaw Quinn that new information emerged, leading to the identification of the real killer - a man with a history of gay-bashing violence and a double life in the porn industry.

• Newton was last seen alive in 1990 at the now-defunct West Hollywood gay nightclub Rage.
• His severed head and feet were discovered in a dumpster near La Brea and Santa Monica Blvd. shortly after his disappearance.
• The documentary was completed and premiered at the 2026 SXSW Film Festival.