Michael Willis, a former BBC Radio 1 DJ and convicted paedophile, has died at the age of 79 after reportedly falling into the River Dart. Willis, who had changed his name to David Evans, was last seen in December taking a water taxi to a pontoon where his yacht was moored in Dartmouth, Devon. The following morning, his boat was found unlocked with his phone inside, and his torch was discovered still lit on the pontoon. After an extensive search, his body was found in January near Dartmouth Castle.
Willis, known professionally as Steve Merike in the 1970s, had a career that included working on Radio Caroline and a brief stint at BBC Radio 1. He was also a college lecturer and a Liberal Democrat parliamentary candidate in Loughborough. However, his career was overshadowed by his criminal activities. In 2015, he received a suspended nine-month jail term after admitting to downloading indecent images and movies of children between 2006 and 2013. He claimed that he had been intrigued by the Jimmy Savile case and wanted to pass on his findings to a sociologist.
In 2020, Willis was jailed for 18 months after being found guilty of possessing indecent images of children on his computer aboard his yacht in Plymouth. Following his release, he moved to Dartmouth and lived on a small cabin cruiser named High Cirrus. Willis had connections to the notorious paedophile Jimmy Savile, having worked with him during his time at Radio 1.
An inquest into his death has been opened, with Devon area coroner Alison Longhorn stating that there are no suspicious circumstances. The medical cause of death is currently unascertained.
