SEXY BEAST - WINSTONE ASSISTS IN MURDER INVESTIGATION

WINSTONE ASSISTS IN MURDER INVESTIGATION

SEXY BEAST star RAY WINSTONE is turning real-life detective in a bid to overturn his nephew's best friend's murder conviction. Winstone's nephew Bobby Hopwood's pal Sam Hallam was jailed for life in 2005 alongside Bullabeck Ring-Biong for the 2004 murder of Ethiopian refugee Essayas Kassahun, who was killed in Whitecross, East London. A campaign has been started in a bid to quash the ruling with many witnesses insisting Hallam was not at the murder scene at the time of Kassahun's death. The actor is appearing on U.K. TV show Tonight With Trevor MCDonald on Monday (23Jul07) to highlight Hallam's plight. Winstone says, "I've gone through all the paperwork. I've looked at all the evidence. I've looked at photographs. I've spoken to people. "I cannot for the life of me, putting myself in the place of a juror, see how I can come to the conclusion of guilty. There were no forensics to link Sam to the crime and no CCTV of him even being in the area."