New suspect indicted in Dail case

GOLDSBORO -- A Wayne County grand jury today indicted a suspect in the rape that Dwayne Dail spent half his life paying for.

William Neal, a Goldsboro native who is currently serving a seven-year sentence as a habitual felon, was indicted eight months after Dail was cleared of the crime.

Neal walked into a Wayne County courtroom this afternoon, appearing haggard and slight in an orange jumpsuit. A judge appointed an attorney and sent him back to prison in Johnston County, where he is serving a seven-year sentence for a string of property crimes.

His bond on the new charge was set at $1 million and would become effective if the rape case is still pending when he completes his current prison term in 2010.

Dail, 39, spent more than 18 years in prison after a 12-year-old girl pointed to him as the man who climbed through her apartment window one summer night in 1987 and raped her.

A dime-size drop of semen extracted last summer from a long-forgotten nightgown belonging to the child proved Dail wasn't the rapist. A judge let him go in August; he has since joined family in Florida and is trying to rebuild his life.

Since last fall, investigators have said the DNA evidence matched a man in prison, but until today they had not disclosed Neal's name.

Neal's family lived near the girl's apartment at the time of the rape. Like Dail, Neal was lanky and fair. But he was 13 years older than Dail, and a scruffy beard covered much of his face.

Neal, who is now in prison in Johnston County, has spent his adult life in and out of North Carolina prisons. He was convicted of a string of breaking and entering charges and drug charges. He has never been convicted of a sex offense.

The indictment blind-sided Neal's family, who are well-regarded residents of Goldsboro.

His sister Robin Bjorling said her brother has battled a drug addiction and has always been in trouble. Bjorling said the nature of the new charges is hard for his family to comprehend.

"If you'd have told me my brother broke into someone's house and stole, I'd believe you," Bjorling said. "But, raping a child? Raping anyone? That's not his MO."