Scott Johnson's family never believed the American-born man committed suicide in Sydney, as police reported. Now, nearly twenty years since Johnson's mysterious death, his loved ones have hired a private investigator, Daniel Glick and a retired detective, John McNamara, to get some answers. And with somberly promising results.

Not only has the investigator ruled out suicide, but he discovered that Johnson may have been targeted by an anti-gay serial killer. Or killers…

Sydney Morning Herald reports that the area where police found Johnson's body has hosted other violent crime in the past:

The extraordinary theory is based on similarities between Johnson's death and the murders of up to six men, including WIN television newsreader Ross Warren, in Sydney's eastern suburbs between 1987 and 1990.

In 2004 Coroner Jacqueline Milledge ruled that violent gangs preying on homosexuals probably hurled three of the group to their deaths at Marks Park, overlooking Bondi Beach. She also determined that gay bashings in the park were common and that similar attacks might have occurred at gay beats at Alexandria and Randwick.

What's more, police never told Johnson's parents that the park had a reputation as a gay cruising area.

The area's violent history, coupled with Johnson's cheery demeanor – including excitement over his celebrated math doctorate – led the Glick to rule out suicide. While he can't be sure if Johnson's death counts as a murder, he hasn't ruled it:

I'm putting a fall, after some kind of a struggle gone wrong perhaps, at the top of the list. Homicide would be second and, of course, suicide way down the bottom simply because, if that's the scenario, nothing quite adds up.

What more mysterious than Johnson's death is that Glick and McNamara gathered more facts in ten days than Australian authorities did in twenty years.

Maths genius thrown off cliff top by gay-hate gang [SMH]
Suicide Case Re-Opened [SameSame]