Man faces death penalty in US

8:30am Sunday 23rd November 2008

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A MAN will face the death penalty if he is found guilty of a double murder in the US.

Neil Revill has spent seven years on remand in a US jail awaiting trial for the murder of a Californian drug dealer and his girlfriend.

The 36-year-old, from Consett, will finally appear before a court next month.

Police arrested Mr Revill after the double killing of 22-year-old Arthur Davodian, who was beheaded, and Kimberley Crayton, in October 2001.

The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office said that if Mr Revill is convicted of the most serious charges – that the murders involved torture – it would press for the death penalty, which under California state law would mean execution either by lethal injection or gas.

Mr Davodian was murdered in the flat he shared with Ms Crayton, who was the 21-year-old niece of jazz singer Al Jarreau.

Mr Davodian was stabbed 17 times in the body, before his head was severed. It was found ten days later by a schoolboy.

Police believe that, while the first murder was being carried out, Ms Crayton had locked herself in their bedroom, but the door was smashed down and she was murdered. Her 14-month-old daughter, who was in the flat at the time, survived.

Mr Revill was arrested a month later - on November 22. He has been held at a maximum security prison ever since.

Mr Revill has been charged with the murders of both victims, as well as drug dealing and assaulting another woman with a knife. The 36-year-old is to appear in court on December 10.