• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Advertise
  • Contact Us
  • About Towleroad
  • Towleroad on Social Media
  • Privacy Policy

Towleroad Gay News

Gay Blog Towleroad: More than gay news | gay men

  • Politics
  • Health
  • Travel
  • Gay Pride
  • Music
  • Sports
  • Law/Justice
  • Celebrities
  • Men
  • Space
  • Science
  • Gay Iconography
  • Madonna
  • Books
  • Monkeypox
  • Film/TV

Gay Man’s 30-Year-Old Cliff Plunge Death Finally Ruled a Hate Crime

Michael Fitzgerald December 1, 2017 Leave a Comment

sydeny australia map

Almost 30 years following his death, an Australian coroner has ruled that American citizen Scott Johnson was the victim of a hate crime.

In 1988, Johnson fell to his death off the North Head cliffs in Sydney. Yesterday, New South Wales state coroner Michael Barnes said he was “persuaded to the requisite standard Scott Johnson died as a result of a gay hate attack.”

In 1989, Mr Johnson’s death was ruled a suicide. When evidence began to emerge that gangs had been attacking gay men in the area during the 1980s and 1990s, his family pushed for a second inquest. In 2012, the suicide ruling was overturned. A recommendation was made that police reinvestigate his death.

scott johnsonRELATED: 88 Suspicious Deaths in Sydney Will Be Investigated as Anti-Gay Hate Crimes: VIDEO

It is now thought that as many as 88 deaths in Sydney starting in the 1970s, including 30 unsolved cases, were hate crimes. Last year, a multimedia project including a four-part fictional drama examined the case. Deep Water also included a documentary and a podcast.

The New York Times reports:

Former Australian officials have said the police at that time were often hostile toward gay men and complacent about investigating their deaths. In 2013, the police of New South Wales, which includes Sydney, opened a review of 88 deaths of men between 1976 and 2000 to determine whether they should be reclassified as hate crimes.

No new arrests have been made since then, and Magistrate Barnes said there was insufficient evidence to determine who killed Mr. Johnson.

Mr. Johnson’s brother, Steve Johnson, an American tech entrepreneur who hired an investigator and pushed for the case to be reopened, said Thursday that he never believed his brother had committed suicide. When he learned about a 2005 inquest into three deaths from the same period, which found that the men had been driven off cliffs, “everything clicked into place,” said Mr. Johnson, 58, who was in court for the Thursday ruling.

At the inquest, Barnes said the initial investigators in Mr. Johnson’s case had “quickly jumped to conclusions without thoroughly and impartially examining all the facts.”

He added that that the area from which Mr. Johnson fell was a well-known cruising spot. Some retired officials have acknowledged that groups of teenagers and young men would target such areas but police failed to see it at the time.

In a statement, New South Wales police said that is had “conducted an exhaustive investigation over the past four years and presented all available evidence” about Mr. Johnson’s death to the coroner. “Any new information provided to police relating to the circumstances of Mr. Johnson’s death,” the statement added, “will be thoroughly investigated.”

Steve Johnson said: “Now I know his final moments were filled with terror, and that’s just like living it all over again.”

(Scott Johnson image via Twitter)

Topics: Uncategorized More Posts About: Australia, hate crime, Scott Johnson, Sydney

Related Posts
  • Jussie Smollett Song Drops; Produced Since Prison Release Pending Appeal, ‘Thank You God’: LISTEN
  • Jussie Smollett Gets 150 Days For Faking Hate Crime; “If Anything Happens To Me … I Did Not Do It To Myself. I Am Not Suicidal!” He Yelled Leaving Court
  • ‘Inside the Gay Prison Experiment’ — A ‘Queer Serial’ Audible Podcast — Is An Obsessed Quest For Info About The Anti-Gay Australian Govt. Campaign vs. “The Greatest Menace to Society: Homosexuality”
  • Actor Kevin Spacey facing sexual assault charges in UK

    Actor Kevin Spacey facing sexual assault charges in UK

    Published by AFP The two-time Oscar winner was artistic director of the Old Vic London (AFP) – Hollywood actor Kevin Spacey is facing sexual assault charges in the UK, police and prosecutors said on Thursday, after …Read More »
  • Depeche Mode’s Andy Fletcher has died aged 60

    Depeche Mode’s Andy Fletcher has died aged 60

    Published by BANG Showbiz English Depeche Mode’s Andy Fletcher has died aged 60. The keyboardist and founding member – who was born in Nottingham and moved to Basildon in the 70s – of the 80s band …Read More »
  • TV board dismisses Senator’s request to allow parents to shield kids from LGBTQ characters; Cites 95% Parent Satisfaction With Ratings

    TV board dismisses Senator’s request to allow parents to shield kids from LGBTQ characters; Cites 95% Parent Satisfaction With Ratings

      Published by The Kansas City Star   The TV Parental Guidelines Monitoring Board dismissed a request from Sen. Roger Marshall, a Republican from Kansas, asking them to update their ratings system so parents could shield …Read More »
  • Apple unveils new Pride Apple Watch bands and watch face

    Apple unveils new Pride Apple Watch bands and watch face

    Published by BANG Showbiz English Apple has unveiled new Pride bands and a watch face for the Apple Watch to mark Pride Month. The tech giant is releasing a Pride Edition Sport Loop and the Pride …Read More »
Previous Post: « Jimmy Kimmel Says He’ll Fight Roy Moore, Teach Him About Real Christian Values: WATCH
Next Post: Trump Leaves LGBT Community, People of Color Out of World AIDS Day Message »

Primary Sidebar

News

  • Don McLean, Larry Gatlin Pull Out Of NRA Convention Concert In Texas

    Don McLean, Larry Gatlin Pull Out Of NRA Convention Concert In Texas

  • Trump must testify in New York probe, appeals court rules

    Trump must testify in New York probe, appeals court rules

  • Guns are now the leading cause of death for American children

    Guns are now the leading cause of death for American children

  • The staggering toll of gun violence in the United States

    The staggering toll of gun violence in the United States

Break

  • Justin Timberlake has sold his song catalogue in a deal reportedly worth 100 million dollars

    Justin Timberlake has sold his song catalogue in a deal reportedly worth 100 million dollars

  • Dyson set to preview new robots to help with tasks at home

    Dyson set to preview new robots to help with tasks at home

  • Elvis fever set to shake Cannes

    Elvis fever set to shake Cannes

  • Battle Of The Billionaires! Elon Musk SLAMS Bill Gates After Article Claims Microsoft Mogul Is Funding Musk’s Critics

    Battle Of The Billionaires! Elon Musk SLAMS Bill Gates After Article Claims Microsoft Mogul Is Funding Musk’s Critics

RSS Partner Links

  • Ellen DeGeneres does the final episode of her daytime talk show after 19 years on the air
  • Morning Wood
  • Katie Holmes Makes Red Carpet Debut with New Boyfriend Bobby Wooten III, One Month After Relationship Was Revealed
  • “Laverne Cox got her own Barbie and she is dressed fabulously” links
  • The Sussexes are confirmed for the June 3rd service at St. Paul’s Cathedral
  • Joe Alwyn & Margaret Qualley Strike a Pose at 'The Stars At Noon' Photo Call in Cannes
  • One Tree Hill's James Lafferty Has Married 'The Royals' Actress Alexandra Park!
  • Lala Kent Claims Ex Randall Emmett Had Her 'Watched' & Threatened to Call the Cops on Her
  • Richard Harrison: Dick Fleshback

Most Recent

  • ‘The Reckoning Is Going To Happen’: Kevin Spacey’s Brother Slams Actor Hours After Sexual Assault Charges

    ‘The Reckoning Is Going To Happen’: Kevin Spacey’s Brother Slams Actor Hours After Sexual Assault Charges

  • Actor Kevin Spacey facing sexual assault charges in UK

    Actor Kevin Spacey facing sexual assault charges in UK

  • Depeche Mode’s Andy Fletcher has died aged 60

    Depeche Mode’s Andy Fletcher has died aged 60

  • TV board dismisses Senator’s request to allow parents to shield kids from LGBTQ characters; Cites 95% Parent Satisfaction With Ratings

    TV board dismisses Senator’s request to allow parents to shield kids from LGBTQ characters; Cites 95% Parent Satisfaction With Ratings

  • Apple unveils new Pride Apple Watch bands and watch face

    Apple unveils new Pride Apple Watch bands and watch face

  • Lithuanian parliament agrees to consider same-sex partnership bill

    Lithuanian parliament agrees to consider same-sex partnership bill

  • German minister warns against homophobia amid monkeypox outbreak

    German minister warns against homophobia amid monkeypox outbreak

Most Commented

Social

Twitter @tlrd | Facebook | Instagram @tlrd
  • Advertise
  • Contact Us
  • About Towleroad
  • Towleroad on Social Media
  • Privacy Policy

Copyright © 2022 · Log in