The American brother of a man who was killed over 30 years ago in Australia has offered a reward of AUS$1million ($660,000) to help find those responsible. The reward money comes in addition to another AUS$1million already offered by New South Wales Police.
Scott Johnson was an American mathematician who was based in Sydney. He’d moved to the city to complete his Ph.D. and be with his partner.
In December 1988, his body was found floating in the water at the foot of a cliff at Blue Fish Point, near Manly’s North Head beach.
Related: Hunting gay men for sport: Man’s fall from cliff ruled a hate crime 30 years later
How about we take this to the next level?
Our newsletter is like a refreshing cocktail (or mocktail) of LGBTQ+ entertainment and pop culture, served up with a side of eye-candy.
The area above the cliff was known as a gay cruising spot. His clothes were found neatly laid out at the top of the cliff.
The 27-year-old’s death was initially ruled as suicide. However, the local gay community and Johnson’s family always questioned this ruling. His death came at a time when homophobic violence and gay-bashings were commonplace in the area. Gangs were known to target gay men.
In 2017, a new investigation by the local coroner ruled Johnson died, “as a result of actual or threatened violence” by people who attacked him over his sexuality. The coroner said it was “highly unlikely” Johnson died by suicide.
In 2018, the local police offered their reward for more information.
Johnson’s brother, Steve, has already spent thousands of dollars trying to find his brother’s killer or killers. He’s now matching the police reward with $660,000 of his own money.
Appealing on anyone with information to come forward, Johnson said in a statement.
“I have been greatly encouraged by the recent progress in the investigation, and truly honored by the reception Scott’s case has had with the community.
“We now live in a more tolerant and open society – particularly here and in the United States – where societies enable their LGBTIQ communities to be their true selves, live safely and unlock their full potential.
“I wish Scott had been afforded the same opportunity, and every effort I put into helping find his killer(s) is also to acknowledge that bullying and gay-hate crime will not be tolerated in our community.
“With a reward of up to $2 million on the table, I am hoping that Scott will finally get justice,” he said.
“Please, do it for Scott, do it for all gay men who were subject to hate crime, and now, do it for yourself.”
Related: Hunting gay men for sport: Australia investigating the deaths of 88 men as hate crimes
Police Commissioner Mick Fuller said it was the first time such a large offer had been made in New South Wales.
“It has been 31 long years in Scott’s family’s pursuit of answers, and the dedication to their brother is as inspiring as it is heartbreaking.
“Steve has never wavered in his fight for justice; dedicating his time and efforts to Scott’s honor, and today, he stands before you to offer his own money in hope that detectives get the elusive pieces to this puzzle.”
PLAYS WELL WITH OTHERS
Sucks this guy has spent so much time suffering over the loss of his Brother. If you read the NY Times link it’s absolutely clear this was part of a series of disgusting horrific brutal murders of Gay men. Can’t even imagine the horror racing through those poor souls minds as they plummeted to their deaths…
Two million dollars is a huge incentive for someone to finally come forward. Unfortunately the smcubag pukes Police who didn’t even perform a cursory investigation that allowed the vermin that committed these acts to remain free to prey on innocent men…..
Chrisk
Yes and the former Police ruled these deaths as suicide even though they knew what was going on. So yeah, it wasn’t just the killing thugs that were toxic.
mattpj71
I very clearly remember this, even though I live on the other side of the country. The word got around that guys were being killed over in NSW, the police knew about it and did nothing. Scott Johnson was just one of many who were thrown/pushed off the cliffs to their deaths. I remember there was a well known news reader who got killed the same way. I hope after all these years someone will finally get charged. There surely must be someone, after all these years who has feelings of guilt. that could provide some answers to the families of all those poor guys that were murdered. I for one, would be more than happy to match the reward money on offer once there has been a conviction.
Chrisk
Reminds me of ISIS throwing gay men off roof tops. It’s as cruel and barbaric as you can get. Yet the town comes out to watch and if any survive the fall they’ll be sure to beat them to a bloody pulp.
Hopefully all these shit stains will be held responsible one day.
Jared MacBride
I sympathize with the family and recognize the murder went unsolved because of institutional indifference. But a private citizen offering a large bounty is something that just about never works out well and virtually always does more harm than good.
mattpj71
This was not just one murder, there were roughly 24 men that were killed by being thrown off the cliffs. These cliffs were right next to the beat/cruising area. All these murders happened between 76 and 2000. Can you imagine going to your local cruising area, being ambushed, bashed and then thrown off a cliff to your death? These murders were reportedly done by groups of men. Hopefully at least one of them will be able to shed some light on who is responsible, just send an anonymous phone call to crimestoppers. After all these years, it must be weighing very heavily on their minds, so now is the time to do the right thing and let the police know what you know. I am more than happy to reiterate my stance on the reward. I will gladly pay one million(1m) to whoever is responsible for the conviction of the person/s who killed these innocent men, including Scott Johnson. The total reward now is 3 million dollars, so that should be some incentive. It is a record amount for a reward, so hopefully someone comes forward.
nitejonboy
So when was the last murder in that area ? I find it hard to believe they would just stop, unless the person responsible, or persons, died or got put in prison for another crime..serial killers don’t usually just retire especially if motivated by racism or homophobia..if there’s been one recently in the last year or so I’d say they need to be putting cameras in that area or start staking it out nightly and set up a trap for this person..I don’t know the details of these killings though. God be with him, I pray they find out the truth and bring the person or persons to justice.
Gandalf The Grey
We should all have brothers and family members that loving. I hope he gets his justice.
winemaker
This reminds me of the murders of 5 white gay men in San Francisco in the mid 1970’s. The suspect was black and called the ‘Doodler’ because he drew caricatures of his victims in various Castro district gay bars before stabbing them to death. A San Francisco Police Department sketch artist has made several updated sketches of the suspect over the last 40 years based on an original description of the suspect by a survivor of one of the brutal attacks. An original sketch of the suspect was obtained from victim interviews after police at the time linked the killer to two violent assaults in July 1975. The assault victims — both white gay men — had similar injuries to those found on the bodies of the five known Doodler victims, gave similar descriptions of their attacker to police, and one of the men even said that his attacker had been drawing caricatures on a piece of paper when they met in a late-night diner. Both victims described their attacker as a “black male, approximately 19-25 years old, 5’11-6’0, lanky in appearance, with a medium complexion and smooth skin,” per police. A forensic artist then took the 1975 suspect sketch created from those descriptions and used age progression imaging to create a picture of what the Doodler might look today, As of today, the case remains open and the suspect is possibly dead or if still alive hasn’t been caught. Stories like this remind you it’s dangerous and basically a crap shoot meeting someone in a bar or club and going home with them, either your place or their place.