1
00:00:04,640 --> 00:00:07,900
[Unsettling soundscape]

2
00:00:17,200 --> 00:00:20,540
[Young man 1] He hit him across
the head with a sledgehammer.

3
00:00:22,320 --> 00:00:25,959
Yeah, they went up to him and
they go, "What are you gay for?"

4
00:00:25,960 --> 00:00:28,359
And the bloke went to say
something, and he goes,

5
00:00:28,360 --> 00:00:31,260
"Don't talk or you're dead."

6
00:00:31,444 --> 00:00:32,487
Bang!

7
00:00:32,488 --> 00:00:35,268
[Laughing] Hit him across
the mouth with a sledgehammer.

8
00:00:45,440 --> 00:00:48,679
[Young man 2] There's all poofters
up in there! Heaps of them!

9
00:00:48,680 --> 00:00:50,639
I don't know who was there, man,

10
00:00:50,640 --> 00:00:53,180
but they hit him with this skateboard.

11
00:00:55,880 --> 00:01:00,679
He just fuckin' screamed like
they all do, "Oh, let me go!"

12
00:01:00,680 --> 00:01:02,559
Someone pushed him over the thing,

13
00:01:02,560 --> 00:01:05,700
about, like, three, four-foot
drop, something like that.

14
00:01:05,912 --> 00:01:10,912
Synced and corrected by Aaronnmb
www.addic7ed.com

15
00:01:16,640 --> 00:01:20,839
I came across the beat
at Bondi by accident.

16
00:01:20,850 --> 00:01:25,095
I was going for a walk one afternoon
and put two and two together.

17
00:01:25,120 --> 00:01:29,009
Lots of men walking around, and
it sort of just happened that way.

18
00:01:29,034 --> 00:01:31,009
And then I got to know it.

19
00:01:31,034 --> 00:01:33,087
When I discovered that it was a beat,

20
00:01:33,112 --> 00:01:35,439
the excitement part of it was there.

21
00:01:35,440 --> 00:01:37,079
Also the scary side of this,

22
00:01:37,080 --> 00:01:41,959
and this anonymous sort of sex
that was happening at the time.

23
00:01:41,960 --> 00:01:45,759
Even though you knew that
the beat was a bit dangerous,

24
00:01:45,760 --> 00:01:47,940
it just got your heart pumping.

25
00:01:48,680 --> 00:01:51,443
Even though you didn't even
know the names of some people,

26
00:01:51,468 --> 00:01:52,456
it was that connection,

27
00:01:52,457 --> 00:01:55,457
and with those sounds in
the background, the waves.

28
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[Waves crash]

29
00:01:58,721 --> 00:02:01,060
It was idyllic.

30
00:02:02,907 --> 00:02:05,119
People would touch you
as they were walking past,

31
00:02:05,120 --> 00:02:07,220
or run their hands along, you know...

32
00:02:07,960 --> 00:02:11,039
Start talking to you, which
I would never have done.

33
00:02:11,040 --> 00:02:12,962
I would not start a conversation

34
00:02:12,963 --> 00:02:14,763
with someone I didn't know at that time.

35
00:02:15,589 --> 00:02:18,049
I was so shy and introverted.

36
00:02:24,200 --> 00:02:26,500
I wouldn't say romantic, but...

37
00:02:28,559 --> 00:02:30,419
it was special.

38
00:02:37,280 --> 00:02:39,759
This particular night, I
wasn't going to do the beat.

39
00:02:39,760 --> 00:02:43,260
I was actually going for
a jog around the headland.

40
00:02:44,531 --> 00:02:46,479
There's an area where you go down,

41
00:02:46,480 --> 00:02:49,039
turn a corner and there's
the stairs that go up.

42
00:02:49,040 --> 00:02:52,940
And that's where I... first
seen the group of kids.

43
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I had a bad feeling about this.

44
00:03:01,960 --> 00:03:04,439
And they asked me if I had a cigarette.

45
00:03:04,440 --> 00:03:06,260
Got a ciggie, mate?

46
00:03:08,880 --> 00:03:12,140
[Ominous soundscape]

47
00:03:21,200 --> 00:03:23,879
I had nothing on me, not
even my keys were on me,

48
00:03:23,880 --> 00:03:26,159
because I'd hidden them
near my apartment building.

49
00:03:26,160 --> 00:03:29,639
And I thought, "I'm going to go
home a different way," and I did.

50
00:03:29,640 --> 00:03:31,940
I didn't come back down that pathway.

51
00:03:47,440 --> 00:03:49,599
The boys were angry, I think,

52
00:03:49,600 --> 00:03:53,839
because they kept calling me
'poofter' and all the rest of it.

53
00:03:53,840 --> 00:03:56,759
And I didn't know how they knew that.

54
00:03:56,760 --> 00:03:59,020
And that was a shock for me.

55
00:04:08,386 --> 00:04:13,359
And one of the boys had this stick,
and it was the girls that said,

56
00:04:13,360 --> 00:04:16,839
"Stick it in his arse.

57
00:04:16,840 --> 00:04:18,719
He'll probably like that."

58
00:04:18,720 --> 00:04:21,540
And there was one particular
girl that kept saying that.

59
00:04:22,280 --> 00:04:26,340
Brown hair, she had.
Green bikini top on.

60
00:04:30,600 --> 00:04:34,540
For me at the time, it just kept
going and going and never stopped.

61
00:04:40,720 --> 00:04:44,470
And they said, "Let's take
him up, and throw him off,

62
00:04:44,495 --> 00:04:46,604
where we threw the other dude."

63
00:04:51,960 --> 00:04:56,279
I knew what was on that cliff.

64
00:04:56,280 --> 00:04:58,239
I knew how far it was down.

65
00:04:58,240 --> 00:05:01,119
I knew everything about that place.

66
00:05:01,120 --> 00:05:03,260
I'd been there so many times.

67
00:05:06,960 --> 00:05:09,479
I knew if they lost their balance,

68
00:05:09,480 --> 00:05:12,839
I could get away, 'cause I could run.

69
00:05:12,840 --> 00:05:16,260
I knew I could run fast enough.

70
00:05:18,800 --> 00:05:21,319
I ran like the wind.

71
00:05:21,320 --> 00:05:25,319
So I ran down and up these
stairs, up into another park,

72
00:05:25,320 --> 00:05:28,420
and I was screaming out for help.

73
00:05:33,000 --> 00:05:36,279
And I remember the man in this balcony

74
00:05:36,280 --> 00:05:38,959
yelled out, "I don't help poofters!"

75
00:05:38,960 --> 00:05:42,420
That was the last I remember
about then getting home.

76
00:05:44,680 --> 00:05:48,359
[Men sing] ♪ Happy homosexuals ♪

77
00:05:48,360 --> 00:05:50,239
♪ We're homosexuals ♪

78
00:05:50,240 --> 00:05:52,839
♪ We're having a lovely time today... ♪

79
00:05:52,840 --> 00:05:55,279
Sydney is rapidly becoming, for gays,

80
00:05:55,280 --> 00:05:57,599
the San Francisco of
the Southern Hemisphere.

81
00:05:57,600 --> 00:05:59,239
Now, this may be a subject

82
00:05:59,240 --> 00:06:02,759
which you feel that you or your
children would do better to avoid.

83
00:06:02,760 --> 00:06:04,999
If so, please switch off now.

84
00:06:05,000 --> 00:06:08,260
[Don't Leave Me This
Way by The Communards]

85
00:06:28,160 --> 00:06:30,140
Tonight I can express what I am

86
00:06:30,141 --> 00:06:32,500
in a happy and joyous
mood, and I love it.

87
00:06:34,680 --> 00:06:37,265
♪ Don't leave me this way ♪

88
00:06:39,520 --> 00:06:41,319
♪ I can't survive ♪

89
00:06:41,320 --> 00:06:43,039
♪ I can't stay alive ♪

90
00:06:43,040 --> 00:06:45,919
♪ Without your love ♪

91
00:06:45,920 --> 00:06:47,759
♪ No, baby ♪

92
00:06:47,760 --> 00:06:52,279
♪ Don't leave me this way ♪

93
00:06:52,280 --> 00:06:54,639
♪ I can't exist ♪

94
00:06:54,640 --> 00:06:57,719
♪ I would surely miss your tender kiss ♪

95
00:06:57,766 --> 00:07:02,239
♪ So don't leave me this way ♪

96
00:07:02,240 --> 00:07:05,599
♪ Ohhh, baby ♪

97
00:07:05,600 --> 00:07:09,039
♪ My heart is full of
love and desire for you ♪

98
00:07:09,040 --> 00:07:10,519
♪ So come on down... ♪

99
00:07:10,520 --> 00:07:12,959
God made Adam and Eve,
not Adam and Steve.

100
00:07:12,960 --> 00:07:14,829
[Laughter]

101
00:07:18,920 --> 00:07:21,199
[Men yell]

102
00:07:21,200 --> 00:07:23,759
Yes, I have. I was bashed last year.

103
00:07:23,760 --> 00:07:26,359
Looked up and there was
about six guys surrounding me,

104
00:07:26,360 --> 00:07:28,439
started hitting me,
calling me a poofter, and...

105
00:07:28,440 --> 00:07:32,260
I've been bashed twice, and some
people I know have been murdered.

106
00:07:34,800 --> 00:07:36,359
Look, in the '80s and '90s

107
00:07:36,360 --> 00:07:38,479
there was clearly an epidemic

108
00:07:38,480 --> 00:07:40,759
of anti-gay and anti-lesbian violence.

109
00:07:40,760 --> 00:07:43,959
It was regular, it was commonplace.

110
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Every weekend in all sorts of areas.

111
00:07:49,240 --> 00:07:52,039
The attitude at a social level

112
00:07:52,040 --> 00:07:56,959
was one of great antagonism
and a lot of prejudice.

113
00:07:56,960 --> 00:08:00,220
There was a huge amount of
homophobia, and that was the norm.

114
00:08:02,280 --> 00:08:03,759
Good heavens.

115
00:08:03,760 --> 00:08:05,740
Told you he had a big nose.

116
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That one.

117
00:08:11,200 --> 00:08:14,639
He was no different than
any other kid growing up

118
00:08:14,640 --> 00:08:17,999
until probably he got to
about 15, 16 years of age,

119
00:08:18,000 --> 00:08:20,519
and that's when certain
members of the family

120
00:08:20,520 --> 00:08:22,839
started noticing a
bit of a change in him.

121
00:08:22,840 --> 00:08:25,319
- The music.
- [Laughter]

122
00:08:25,320 --> 00:08:27,759
It was the music, and it was Dad.

123
00:08:27,760 --> 00:08:30,439
Dad's gone, "There's something
wrong with that boy," you know?

124
00:08:30,440 --> 00:08:34,503
He'd sit there and everyone
else was listening to, you know,

125
00:08:34,528 --> 00:08:36,479
we've got Pink Floyd going

126
00:08:36,480 --> 00:08:39,039
and we've got AC/DC going,

127
00:08:39,040 --> 00:08:41,999
and then he comes home
with a Donna Summer album.

128
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"Oh, my God!" Dad goes.
"What...?" You know? [Laughs]

129
00:08:45,440 --> 00:08:48,359
Next thing you know, Donna Summer's
blaring on a quadraphonic stereo

130
00:08:48,360 --> 00:08:50,544
in the main lounge room, you know?

131
00:08:50,746 --> 00:08:52,168
And Tina Turner.

132
00:08:52,193 --> 00:08:53,030
One minute you walk past,

133
00:08:53,031 --> 00:08:54,731
everyone else is thumping
their head on the table,

134
00:08:54,857 --> 00:08:57,279
John's doing the bump, you know?

135
00:08:57,280 --> 00:09:01,540
Well, I think, when I
first worked it out...

136
00:09:02,600 --> 00:09:05,399
I thought, "My godfather," you know?

137
00:09:05,400 --> 00:09:08,119
But... that's life.

138
00:09:08,120 --> 00:09:10,839
I mean, you just gotta accept it as is.

139
00:09:10,840 --> 00:09:15,719
I thought, "Oh, well, he's
gay. Just keep an eye on him."

140
00:09:15,720 --> 00:09:17,119
[Laughs]

141
00:09:17,120 --> 00:09:19,132
He was a son, you know?

142
00:09:19,157 --> 00:09:20,233
The eldest boy, so

143
00:09:20,634 --> 00:09:23,165
it doesn't matter whether
he's gay or whatever he is.

144
00:09:23,200 --> 00:09:25,759
He's still your kid.

145
00:09:25,760 --> 00:09:29,039
Everyone in the football club knew
he was gay. All the parents knew.

146
00:09:29,040 --> 00:09:33,439
Like, talk about sausage on a
bread, not just sausage on a bread.

147
00:09:33,440 --> 00:09:35,926
Comes on a plate with a
serviette now, you know?

148
00:09:35,951 --> 00:09:39,135
They all knew, and they had no problem

149
00:09:39,160 --> 00:09:41,439
with John being around their kids.

150
00:09:41,440 --> 00:09:43,879
He was just John, Pete's brother.

151
00:09:43,880 --> 00:09:47,479
It was an area down at
the point, South Bondi,

152
00:09:47,480 --> 00:09:51,399
that the gays usually

153
00:09:51,400 --> 00:09:54,279
go for, you know, for
the walk around there.

154
00:09:54,280 --> 00:09:58,479
So if you're gay and you
want a bit of gay stuff...

155
00:09:58,480 --> 00:10:00,079
[Laughs]

156
00:10:00,080 --> 00:10:03,079
you go down to the point
at Bondi and walk around,

157
00:10:03,080 --> 00:10:07,519
then you meet these people and
do whatever you're gonna do.

158
00:10:07,520 --> 00:10:11,479
The bottom of Marks Park and the
gully there, there was no lights.

159
00:10:11,480 --> 00:10:14,039
There's no lights nearly
all the way to Tamarama.

160
00:10:14,040 --> 00:10:16,679
The brush up one side
and then rock face,

161
00:10:16,680 --> 00:10:19,639
no handrails or any
of that sort of thing.

162
00:10:19,640 --> 00:10:23,079
You've also got to put up
with the fact that the...

163
00:10:23,626 --> 00:10:28,611
A couple of mobs that love to go
down and belt the tripe out of 'em.

164
00:10:30,200 --> 00:10:34,319
I always used to let him know

165
00:10:34,320 --> 00:10:36,980
that I was concerned about his safety.

166
00:10:44,744 --> 00:10:49,039
That night, he was finishing
work at Bronte Bowling Club.

167
00:10:49,040 --> 00:10:53,359
Then he came home, got changed
out of his work clothes.

168
00:10:53,360 --> 00:10:56,799
Peter came over and met him and then
they were off to the Bondi Hotel.

169
00:10:56,800 --> 00:10:59,380
They were going to
have a few drinks there.

170
00:11:00,240 --> 00:11:04,759
All I know is John walked out of the
hotel, to the other side of the road.

171
00:11:04,760 --> 00:11:08,220
To my knowledge, it was
the last sighting of him.

172
00:11:49,840 --> 00:11:52,919
I was at work down at
Double Bay Public School,

173
00:11:52,920 --> 00:11:54,875
and I'm standing in the playground

174
00:11:54,876 --> 00:11:56,460
when a police car
pulled up out the front.

175
00:11:56,734 --> 00:11:59,439
They were looking for
the yardsman, who was me,

176
00:11:59,440 --> 00:12:02,079
and they said, "We need
a quick word with you."

177
00:12:02,080 --> 00:12:03,743
They took me into the
principal's office.

178
00:12:03,768 --> 00:12:07,660
And they said, "Look, we'd like
you to come and try and identify...

179
00:12:09,064 --> 00:12:10,879
a body," you know?

180
00:12:10,880 --> 00:12:14,119
They said, "Look, we've
found someone, a body,

181
00:12:14,120 --> 00:12:16,119
that we believe is your brother's."

182
00:12:16,153 --> 00:12:18,030
My first question was,
"Well, what happened?"

183
00:12:18,031 --> 00:12:19,231
You know? And they've gone,

184
00:12:19,280 --> 00:12:24,079
"Well, he's been found at the
bottom of the cliff at South Bondi.

185
00:12:24,080 --> 00:12:26,039
We believe it could be suicide."

186
00:12:26,040 --> 00:12:29,086
They drove me into
Glebe, and that's when...

187
00:12:30,440 --> 00:12:32,044
the world changed.

188
00:12:34,120 --> 00:12:36,079
- [Chuckles]
- [Man] Take three!

189
00:12:36,080 --> 00:12:37,839
Afternoon. 1:30 news.

190
00:12:37,840 --> 00:12:40,319
I'm going to laugh during
this serious story now.

191
00:12:40,320 --> 00:12:43,199
For Thursday, 12 May, '88,

192
00:12:43,200 --> 00:12:45,279
runs two minutes, starting
in 10 seconds from...

193
00:12:45,280 --> 00:12:49,039
[Man] 10, 9, 8, 7, 6,

194
00:12:49,040 --> 00:12:52,580
5, 4, 3, 2...

195
00:12:53,560 --> 00:12:55,959
Good afternoon. Ross Warren
with a WIN News Break.

196
00:12:55,960 --> 00:12:58,119
- [Laughs]
- Cut.

197
00:12:58,120 --> 00:13:01,719
There are people that
have got that 'it' factor.

198
00:13:01,720 --> 00:13:06,199
You can't necessarily pinpoint
exactly what that 'it' factor is,

199
00:13:06,200 --> 00:13:08,359
but Ross Warren had it.

200
00:13:08,360 --> 00:13:10,919
Good evening. Birds were singing
and flowers were blooming.

201
00:13:10,920 --> 00:13:13,479
And thanks to the girls at DJs for
this one. It's a good one, isn't it?

202
00:13:13,480 --> 00:13:17,239
He was ambitious, and very,
very keen to build a career

203
00:13:17,240 --> 00:13:20,599
in an industry that I
knew he would succeed in.

204
00:13:20,600 --> 00:13:21,965
I mean, it sounds a little cliché,

205
00:13:21,966 --> 00:13:25,036
but I'd say he was a beautiful person.

206
00:13:25,200 --> 00:13:28,319
He was very caring,

207
00:13:28,320 --> 00:13:32,300
very giving, very thoughtful of others.

208
00:13:33,640 --> 00:13:38,340
I actually met Ross down at Marks Park.

209
00:13:40,080 --> 00:13:44,970
We were kind of dating casually
for a small number of weeks.

210
00:13:47,680 --> 00:13:52,300
And that's when it developed fairly
quickly into a good friendship.

211
00:14:05,920 --> 00:14:11,780
Oftentimes, guys who do beats
won't go out on the gay scene.

212
00:14:17,480 --> 00:14:19,519
Maybe they're not
comfortable with themselves

213
00:14:19,520 --> 00:14:23,799
or maybe they don't want other
people to know that they're gay.

214
00:14:23,800 --> 00:14:28,260
They might be a little wary
about going into a gay bar.

215
00:14:35,000 --> 00:14:38,159
And then for other guys, I think
there's a bit of an attraction,

216
00:14:38,160 --> 00:14:43,079
it's a bit of a thrill,
because of the inherent risk.

217
00:14:43,080 --> 00:14:47,460
And because it's doing
something which is forbidden.

218
00:14:53,920 --> 00:14:56,319
He wasn't ashamed of being gay.

219
00:14:56,320 --> 00:15:00,359
What he was ashamed of
was when people found out,

220
00:15:00,360 --> 00:15:03,188
what their perception would be of him.

221
00:15:03,213 --> 00:15:07,999
And in terms of career, what
it would be for him, ultimately.

222
00:15:08,000 --> 00:15:11,879
At work, Ross was
completely in the closet.

223
00:15:11,880 --> 00:15:15,999
He couldn't afford to be out back then,

224
00:15:16,000 --> 00:15:18,999
because I'm sure there would have been

225
00:15:19,000 --> 00:15:21,780
a negative impact on his career.

226
00:15:29,200 --> 00:15:33,212
So Ross went out at, sort
of, 10 o'clock that night,

227
00:15:33,734 --> 00:15:37,867
left his stuff at my place
and... and off he went.

228
00:15:42,841 --> 00:15:47,780
He was probably out for three hours
at a bar or two on Oxford Street.

229
00:15:49,160 --> 00:15:50,919
He wouldn't drink and drive.

230
00:15:50,920 --> 00:15:53,519
So I'm guessing he's probably
had a couple of drinks

231
00:15:53,520 --> 00:15:56,580
during that three or so
hours when he's been out.

232
00:16:36,240 --> 00:16:39,199
Come quarter to five or
five o'clock, you know,

233
00:16:39,200 --> 00:16:42,159
close to his appointed
start time on the Sunday,

234
00:16:42,160 --> 00:16:46,439
I rang the TV station to see if
he had shown up and they said,

235
00:16:46,440 --> 00:16:47,919
"No, he hasn't."

236
00:16:47,920 --> 00:16:51,701
And they were obviously quite
concerned because he had a job to do.

237
00:16:51,726 --> 00:16:54,860
He was going to be on air
presenting the weather.

238
00:16:58,800 --> 00:17:01,719
I was devastated

239
00:17:01,720 --> 00:17:05,380
because there was no way he
wouldn't turn up for work.

240
00:17:08,600 --> 00:17:13,260
We thought, "Well, what's happened
to Ross? Where could he be?"

241
00:17:15,320 --> 00:17:18,199
Because I had met Ross at Marks Park,

242
00:17:18,200 --> 00:17:21,780
the first place I thought was,
"Well, maybe he's gone there."

243
00:17:22,520 --> 00:17:26,060
His car was sitting right
next to the top of the stairs.

244
00:17:30,360 --> 00:17:32,340
His wallet was there.

245
00:17:33,640 --> 00:17:37,319
We just had this awful,
horrible, sinking feeling

246
00:17:37,320 --> 00:17:39,839
that someone's bashed him or killed him.

247
00:17:39,840 --> 00:17:42,239
Went straight to Bondi Police Station,

248
00:17:42,240 --> 00:17:43,999
told them what had happened.

249
00:17:44,000 --> 00:17:46,660
I don't think they were too interested.

250
00:17:48,240 --> 00:17:50,300
We went back to Marks Park.

251
00:17:52,817 --> 00:17:57,759
We decided to walk down to
the rocks, next to the sea.

252
00:17:57,829 --> 00:18:01,220
When we went down there,
we walked around and...

253
00:18:01,245 --> 00:18:03,829
we saw his keys.

254
00:18:04,282 --> 00:18:06,719
They were placed in a little pocket

255
00:18:06,720 --> 00:18:09,759
where the sea had eroded the wall

256
00:18:09,760 --> 00:18:12,239
and they were placed in there.

257
00:18:12,240 --> 00:18:14,919
So they couldn't have been dropped.

258
00:18:14,920 --> 00:18:17,959
You hope that he'll turn up and say,

259
00:18:17,960 --> 00:18:20,959
"Oh, I got hit on the head,
I didn't know where I was."

260
00:18:20,960 --> 00:18:23,959
Yeah, that's your...
You always live in hope.

261
00:18:23,960 --> 00:18:28,719
When they found the keys on the rocks,

262
00:18:28,720 --> 00:18:32,119
I knew that it was more than that.

263
00:18:32,120 --> 00:18:34,479
The Ross Warren case
is a perfect example.

264
00:18:34,480 --> 00:18:36,079
The guy disappears.

265
00:18:36,080 --> 00:18:39,206
It's painfully obvious that
something's gone horribly wrong.

266
00:18:39,238 --> 00:18:41,839
Yet a couple of days later,
the detective just says,

267
00:18:41,840 --> 00:18:44,119
"The body'll wash up
later on. See you later."

268
00:18:44,120 --> 00:18:45,795
Did you think just for a moment

269
00:18:45,796 --> 00:18:47,555
it might have been
something like a murder?

270
00:18:47,800 --> 00:18:50,479
His friends went looking for him.

271
00:18:50,480 --> 00:18:54,279
His friends found his keys.

272
00:18:54,280 --> 00:18:56,460
What did the police do?

273
00:18:57,200 --> 00:19:02,937
The investigator wrote it off as
suicide, or it was an accident,

274
00:19:02,962 --> 00:19:06,841
and that his body would
eventually wash up.

275
00:19:06,920 --> 00:19:11,159
He was a gay man at a
beat who went missing

276
00:19:11,160 --> 00:19:14,322
at a time when it was known

277
00:19:14,347 --> 00:19:18,159
that there was other
gay-hate-related crime in the area,

278
00:19:18,160 --> 00:19:20,932
and scant regard was given to the fact

279
00:19:20,933 --> 00:19:22,815
that he could have been a victim.

280
00:19:26,666 --> 00:19:29,420
I was bleeding. Um...

281
00:19:31,605 --> 00:19:35,456
But my head was throbbing. It
was absolutely throbbing. And...

282
00:19:36,464 --> 00:19:40,319
I rang a friend, and
she drove all the way in.

283
00:19:40,320 --> 00:19:44,820
She's the one that said to me,
"Ring the police." So I did.

284
00:19:45,834 --> 00:19:50,829
I didn't tell the police
anything about the gay bit at all.

285
00:19:50,920 --> 00:19:54,118
I thought I was going to get
in trouble from the police.

286
00:19:54,143 --> 00:19:56,199
Yeah, I think that it was all about,

287
00:19:56,200 --> 00:19:59,660
"This is my punishment
for being who I am."

288
00:20:01,013 --> 00:20:05,519
I just wanted to drop the whole
thing, just stop it, no more.

289
00:20:05,840 --> 00:20:07,686
The police told me to
come to the station.

290
00:20:07,687 --> 00:20:10,407
I had to give this statement.

291
00:20:10,840 --> 00:20:13,133
I remember sitting in the waiting room,

292
00:20:13,158 --> 00:20:17,644
and then they asked me to come
in, and they sat me in a cell.

293
00:20:19,431 --> 00:20:22,060
I remember the big bars at the front.

294
00:20:24,000 --> 00:20:25,565
I can swear, when I was in the cell,

295
00:20:25,566 --> 00:20:27,156
I could hear them talking about me.

296
00:20:27,760 --> 00:20:29,279
[Laughter]

297
00:20:29,280 --> 00:20:32,439
Like, I knew that the other
police officers were laughing at me

298
00:20:32,440 --> 00:20:36,219
and making fun of me, the
younger police officers.

299
00:20:36,244 --> 00:20:39,759
I was gay, so I was like
a second-class citizen.

300
00:20:39,760 --> 00:20:43,231
The police actually, you
know, took it upon themselves

301
00:20:43,256 --> 00:20:46,479
to put him in a cell and make him
wait there before he was interviewed.

302
00:20:46,480 --> 00:20:48,119
I mean, what were they thinking?

303
00:20:48,120 --> 00:20:51,479
And they were giggling and laughing
about this while they were at it,

304
00:20:51,480 --> 00:20:56,300
and he is a 22-year-old,
timid, you know, frightened man.

305
00:20:57,360 --> 00:20:59,860
And then I had to go
and look at photographs.

306
00:21:01,720 --> 00:21:04,340
And everything was hurried.

307
00:21:07,040 --> 00:21:10,140
It wasn't the end of their
shift, but I was hurried.

308
00:21:11,480 --> 00:21:13,765
This was something that they had to do,

309
00:21:13,766 --> 00:21:14,900
but they didn't really want to do it

310
00:21:15,027 --> 00:21:17,260
is how I felt.

311
00:21:20,040 --> 00:21:22,279
I call him suspect one.

312
00:21:22,280 --> 00:21:23,759
He was tall.

313
00:21:23,760 --> 00:21:26,596
I still say about 18, 17...

314
00:21:26,621 --> 00:21:29,319
18 years of age at the time.

315
00:21:29,320 --> 00:21:33,599
Blondish hair,
blondish-brownish, but young.

316
00:21:33,600 --> 00:21:36,039
And he is, you know, to
this day, very determined,

317
00:21:36,040 --> 00:21:39,439
this is the man he
alleges, you know, said,

318
00:21:39,440 --> 00:21:41,879
"Let's throw him over, like,
where we did the other one."

319
00:21:41,880 --> 00:21:44,999
He was solid on his identification.

320
00:21:45,000 --> 00:21:49,992
I don't understand why you
don't hold someone to account

321
00:21:50,360 --> 00:21:55,239
if you've got a very good
description and identification

322
00:21:55,240 --> 00:21:57,679
from a victim.

323
00:21:57,961 --> 00:22:02,531
I don't know why at the time
that he reported and identified

324
00:22:02,556 --> 00:22:06,574
who it was that was responsible
for nearly killing him...

325
00:22:06,599 --> 00:22:07,966
more wasn't done.

326
00:22:15,680 --> 00:22:18,480
[David] Working on Bondi,
you got to see lots of people,

327
00:22:18,481 --> 00:22:19,790
so I knew the group.

328
00:22:22,440 --> 00:22:25,195
One of the biggest worries
I was having is because...

329
00:22:25,196 --> 00:22:26,456
they could find me.

330
00:22:26,840 --> 00:22:29,980
Yeah, I was worried that
they were gonna find me.

331
00:22:36,280 --> 00:22:39,799
[Pete] They ushered me into a
little room with a square table.

332
00:22:39,800 --> 00:22:44,719
You know, there was a window there
with a bifold grey blind on it,

333
00:22:44,720 --> 00:22:48,239
and then they said, "Well,
okay, are you ready?"

334
00:22:48,240 --> 00:22:52,399
They pulled the curtain back
and they folded back the blanket,

335
00:22:53,040 --> 00:22:56,070
and I saw John, with
half his face missing,

336
00:22:56,071 --> 00:22:57,245
from where he'd hit the rocks.

337
00:22:58,160 --> 00:23:01,168
And he was still wearing the jumper.

338
00:23:01,362 --> 00:23:04,415
And that... and I said, "That's him."

339
00:23:04,440 --> 00:23:07,559
And then they just pulled the
blanket back over his face,

340
00:23:07,560 --> 00:23:12,239
shut the little curtain, and
said, "Okay, mate, you're all done.

341
00:23:12,652 --> 00:23:15,190
Where can we drop you?"

342
00:23:15,215 --> 00:23:16,680
They were going through Bondi Junction.

343
00:23:16,704 --> 00:23:18,855
I said, "Oh, fucking, you
know, just let me out..."

344
00:23:18,880 --> 00:23:20,090
They were carrying on like it was

345
00:23:20,091 --> 00:23:22,751
a normal day's work, just having a chat.

346
00:23:22,760 --> 00:23:25,719
They were both in the front,
you know, chatting away.

347
00:23:25,720 --> 00:23:28,500
And I said, "Look, just drop me here."

348
00:23:33,320 --> 00:23:36,959
When he knocked at the door, I had
to open the door and go, "Mate..."

349
00:23:36,960 --> 00:23:40,279
He's gone, "Oh, we ready to go?"
That's what Dad's like, you know.

350
00:23:40,280 --> 00:23:41,959
"Where's John?"

351
00:23:41,960 --> 00:23:44,599
"Mate, best you come
inside and sit down."

352
00:23:44,600 --> 00:23:49,584
That's right. Peter answered
the door and said John was dead.

353
00:23:50,840 --> 00:23:53,279
And that's how Dad found out.

354
00:23:53,280 --> 00:23:55,359
Hell of a shock. [Chuckles]

355
00:23:55,360 --> 00:23:58,500
He just went weak at the knees. White.

356
00:23:59,720 --> 00:24:02,940
As you would, you know?

357
00:24:12,760 --> 00:24:14,599
At first, when it first happened,

358
00:24:14,600 --> 00:24:17,239
so many things went
through the mind, you know?

359
00:24:17,240 --> 00:24:19,679
The police saying suicide.

360
00:24:19,680 --> 00:24:24,079
I thought, well, he's a victim
of either gay-bashing or robbery.

361
00:24:24,080 --> 00:24:26,279
That's what I thought it was.

362
00:24:26,280 --> 00:24:29,439
Certainly it was never
going to be suicide.

363
00:24:29,440 --> 00:24:32,759
You look at that case, you
look at the facts of that case,

364
00:24:32,760 --> 00:24:36,999
and you go, "How could anyone even
imagine that that was suicide?"

365
00:24:37,000 --> 00:24:40,439
You know, there was a man who
had no reason to commit suicide.

366
00:24:40,440 --> 00:24:42,399
He'd just inherited
a large sum of money.

367
00:24:42,400 --> 00:24:45,679
I think it was more that they just
weren't understanding of the fact

368
00:24:45,680 --> 00:24:47,359
that just because you were gay

369
00:24:47,360 --> 00:24:49,239
and you were found at
the bottom of a cliff

370
00:24:49,240 --> 00:24:51,359
doesn't necessarily mean
that you take your own life

371
00:24:51,360 --> 00:24:55,660
because you, you know, you
don't want to be gay anymore.

372
00:24:56,720 --> 00:25:00,079
You've got a guy who's so
looking forward to going up,

373
00:25:00,080 --> 00:25:03,799
getting his inheritance,
building a property,

374
00:25:03,800 --> 00:25:07,879
going up to live with Dad,
to start a whole new thing-o.

375
00:25:07,880 --> 00:25:10,999
He had plans. Trawl
the bowels of the earth

376
00:25:11,000 --> 00:25:14,639
to find out a reason why John
would want to commit suicide.

377
00:25:14,640 --> 00:25:18,879
Never got any information
much off the police at all.

378
00:25:18,880 --> 00:25:21,279
What Bondi police did
was just diabolical.

379
00:25:21,280 --> 00:25:24,199
There was no compassion, nothing.

380
00:25:24,200 --> 00:25:26,519
It was, "Right, okay,
we've found your brother.

381
00:25:26,520 --> 00:25:28,380
You identify him.

382
00:25:29,480 --> 00:25:31,079
Then go away."

383
00:25:31,080 --> 00:25:34,119
That's what it was.
"Go away. It's done now.

384
00:25:34,120 --> 00:25:36,439
"We'll get back to you if we need you."

385
00:25:36,440 --> 00:25:39,239
And they never got back.

386
00:25:39,240 --> 00:25:42,679
All we got was a letter saying
there's an inquest and come to that.

387
00:25:42,680 --> 00:25:44,999
And we went to that, and,
boom, seven minutes later,

388
00:25:45,000 --> 00:25:47,999
we're standing out on the street
knowing no more than what we did

389
00:25:48,000 --> 00:25:49,599
when we walked in the building.

390
00:25:49,600 --> 00:25:54,060
It left more questions than any answers.

391
00:25:58,280 --> 00:26:02,045
The perception of,
particularly the gay community,

392
00:26:02,070 --> 00:26:06,919
that the police aren't going to
treat them properly, is probably true.

393
00:26:06,920 --> 00:26:09,037
I think that they have
had that perception.

394
00:26:09,062 --> 00:26:12,311
I think there was a very strong, um...

395
00:26:12,312 --> 00:26:14,334
cultural attitude in
the police service then,

396
00:26:14,359 --> 00:26:17,256
about what was a worthy
victim and what wasn't.

397
00:26:17,281 --> 00:26:21,287
Remember that homosexuality
decriminalised in 1984.

398
00:26:21,312 --> 00:26:24,317
So you've still got a very
deeply inculturated attitude

399
00:26:24,342 --> 00:26:26,959
that says gay men are criminals.

400
00:26:26,984 --> 00:26:30,600
They're deviants, they're
perverts and they're criminals.

401
00:26:30,625 --> 00:26:32,104
They're poofters.

402
00:26:32,105 --> 00:26:34,264
[Woman] Yeah? What's wrong with them?

403
00:26:34,265 --> 00:26:36,304
Um, I hate 'em.

404
00:26:36,305 --> 00:26:38,769
So has anyone ever been poofter-bashing?

405
00:26:39,027 --> 00:26:41,384
Um, I know that bloke there has, but...

406
00:26:41,385 --> 00:26:44,064
Oh, some of my friends do, but I don't.

407
00:26:44,065 --> 00:26:47,504
- Hate 'em.
- Yeah? What's wrong with them?

408
00:26:47,505 --> 00:26:50,104
Just don't like 'em,
how they act and shit.

409
00:26:50,105 --> 00:26:53,624
They must have some disorder
in their mental minds, right?

410
00:26:53,625 --> 00:26:57,704
Because otherwise they wouldn't
be having sex with other men.

411
00:26:57,705 --> 00:27:00,144
Bash 'em. They're
poofters. Hate their guts.

412
00:27:00,145 --> 00:27:03,464
- Do you have sex for pleasure?
- I haven't had sex.

413
00:27:03,465 --> 00:27:05,606
[Yells indistinctly]

414
00:27:06,020 --> 00:27:07,995
One of the things that
was really obvious was,

415
00:27:08,020 --> 00:27:09,704
in my work with the young people,

416
00:27:09,705 --> 00:27:12,304
was that they thought
the police supported them.

417
00:27:12,305 --> 00:27:13,845
Like, a lot of them would say,

418
00:27:13,846 --> 00:27:15,255
"Well, the cops aren't
gonna do anything.

419
00:27:15,265 --> 00:27:16,664
It's about poofters."

420
00:27:16,665 --> 00:27:18,784
So, you know, the kids had an attitude

421
00:27:18,785 --> 00:27:21,984
that said gays were the lowest
thing on the social ladder,

422
00:27:21,985 --> 00:27:24,224
and so it was okay for them to bash

423
00:27:24,225 --> 00:27:26,464
'cause the gay men weren't
going to report to police,

424
00:27:26,465 --> 00:27:28,144
'cause they were scared of police.

425
00:27:28,145 --> 00:27:30,664
And if they did, the police
weren't gonna do anything

426
00:27:30,665 --> 00:27:32,144
'cause it was just gay men.

427
00:27:32,145 --> 00:27:33,944
You know, I remember myself one time

428
00:27:33,945 --> 00:27:36,904
when I was probably 13, 14, you know,

429
00:27:36,905 --> 00:27:39,424
following the group of boys

430
00:27:39,425 --> 00:27:42,024
down there with my cousins,
you know, older girl cousins.

431
00:27:42,104 --> 00:27:44,480
I sort of hung around
and stuck with the girls.

432
00:27:44,505 --> 00:27:45,910
But we all sort of stood back

433
00:27:45,911 --> 00:27:48,156
while the guys went
looking to bash someone.

434
00:27:48,265 --> 00:27:53,264
It was something to do, but
it was, you know, a sport,

435
00:27:53,265 --> 00:27:56,064
a regular thing, you
know, like, meeting up,

436
00:27:56,065 --> 00:27:58,944
the night was boring,
"Okay, let's go gay-bashing."

437
00:27:58,945 --> 00:28:01,904
I think for me at the time,
it was just peer pressure.

438
00:28:01,905 --> 00:28:05,344
It was just wanting to
be... Just being a follower.

439
00:28:05,345 --> 00:28:09,344
I think it's just that
attitude that, in them days,

440
00:28:09,345 --> 00:28:11,584
it was like, you know,
it's just so wrong.

441
00:28:11,585 --> 00:28:13,384
A man shouldn't be with another man.

442
00:28:13,385 --> 00:28:16,744
It's disgusting, it's not
normal, it's unnatural.

443
00:28:16,745 --> 00:28:20,445
"Look at that poofter, look
at that faggot," you know?

444
00:28:21,185 --> 00:28:23,605
"I'd like to smack him in the mouth."

445
00:28:29,385 --> 00:28:33,224
The toilet block at Alexandria
Park was a known gay beat,

446
00:28:33,225 --> 00:28:35,944
and directly opposite is the
Cleveland Street High School.

447
00:28:35,945 --> 00:28:37,210
When I first went there,

448
00:28:37,211 --> 00:28:39,851
I was somewhat concerned
about that toilet block.

449
00:28:39,825 --> 00:28:43,645
It was directly opposite the
playing fields of the school itself.

450
00:28:46,465 --> 00:28:49,228
I noticed there were these...

451
00:28:49,253 --> 00:28:52,985
quite flashy modern
cars turning up there,

452
00:28:54,251 --> 00:28:58,904
and well-dressed males getting
out and going into the toilet,

453
00:28:58,905 --> 00:29:04,285
and all sorts of situations of
sexual gratification and so on.

454
00:29:07,091 --> 00:29:11,744
So I can only describe that
toilet block, to put it bluntly,

455
00:29:11,745 --> 00:29:16,565
as a cesspit of moral
turpitude, and that's being kind.

456
00:29:19,545 --> 00:29:22,584
Men would leave their phone
numbers on the wall, you know,

457
00:29:22,585 --> 00:29:24,464
"call me for sex" or whatever.

458
00:29:24,465 --> 00:29:28,264
So, you know, the guys who would
go gay-bashing would go there,

459
00:29:28,265 --> 00:29:30,984
'cause they knew that at
certain times of night,

460
00:29:30,985 --> 00:29:33,784
you would find either gay
men there looking for sex,

461
00:29:33,785 --> 00:29:37,144
or they would call one of
the phone numbers on the wall

462
00:29:37,145 --> 00:29:40,085
and try and lure them there to the park.

463
00:29:46,729 --> 00:29:51,159
Richard Johnson was
lured to a toilet block

464
00:29:51,323 --> 00:29:56,184
in Alexandria Park, which
is opposite the high school.

465
00:29:56,185 --> 00:29:58,904
There was a group of young
people from the high school

466
00:29:58,905 --> 00:30:01,944
who were between 15 and 17,

467
00:30:01,945 --> 00:30:04,864
and they stomped on him

468
00:30:04,865 --> 00:30:08,605
until they burst his liver.

469
00:30:10,705 --> 00:30:14,184
He got massive internal
bleeding and died.

470
00:30:14,185 --> 00:30:16,104
Now, these are a bunch of teenage boys.

471
00:30:16,135 --> 00:30:19,920
You know, they were kids from
Cleveland High, Cleveland Street High.

472
00:30:19,945 --> 00:30:21,424
They were kids.

473
00:30:21,425 --> 00:30:24,144
It was like a rite of passage

474
00:30:24,145 --> 00:30:27,944
for young men with emerging sexualities.

475
00:30:27,945 --> 00:30:30,384
And because, you know,

476
00:30:30,385 --> 00:30:33,864
because some of those young
men might have been gay,

477
00:30:33,865 --> 00:30:36,984
they were suppressing
their homosexuality.

478
00:30:36,985 --> 00:30:39,624
And because some of them, obviously,

479
00:30:39,625 --> 00:30:42,224
the majority of them were heterosexual,

480
00:30:42,225 --> 00:30:44,584
they were reinforcing
their heterosexuality

481
00:30:44,585 --> 00:30:47,085
and their fear of homosexuality.

482
00:30:48,985 --> 00:30:51,024
[Young man 1] You're a sick puppy, mate.

483
00:30:51,025 --> 00:30:53,144
Tell me some good stories, ya cunt.

484
00:30:53,145 --> 00:30:56,464
[Young man 2] About fag-bashing?
It's something to do, mate.

485
00:30:56,465 --> 00:30:58,824
Mate, I made fuckin' one...

486
00:30:58,825 --> 00:31:01,765
One gay I bashed, I got fuckin' 1,300.

487
00:31:02,865 --> 00:31:05,584
Do it for the fuckin'
money, mate. It's still fun.

488
00:31:05,585 --> 00:31:08,805
It's a sport in Redfern.
It's a fuckin' hobby, mate.

489
00:31:09,985 --> 00:31:13,365
What are you doin' tonight,
boys? Just goin' fag-bashin'.

490
00:31:20,625 --> 00:31:22,304
When Richard Johnson was murdered,

491
00:31:22,305 --> 00:31:24,344
it was a shock to the
students at the school

492
00:31:24,345 --> 00:31:27,144
'cause they knew a lot of those kids.

493
00:31:27,145 --> 00:31:31,464
And... they were horrified

494
00:31:31,465 --> 00:31:34,725
by the fact that they'd
been charged with a murder...

495
00:31:36,185 --> 00:31:40,944
but they were also sad
that it had happened,

496
00:31:40,945 --> 00:31:44,744
and a lot of them felt it
was the gay man's fault.

497
00:31:44,745 --> 00:31:46,944
Because he was gay and, you
know, he just happened...

498
00:31:46,945 --> 00:31:49,144
If he hadn't have been gay,
he wouldn't have been there

499
00:31:49,145 --> 00:31:51,005
and he wouldn't have been murdered.

500
00:31:54,825 --> 00:31:57,344
I specifically remember
a lot of sympathy

501
00:31:57,345 --> 00:31:59,264
for the perpetrators as well.

502
00:31:59,265 --> 00:32:01,184
I could imagine that, you know,

503
00:32:01,185 --> 00:32:04,344
possibly some of the
guys that were there

504
00:32:04,345 --> 00:32:08,624
were just followers and wanting
to be, to look, you know,

505
00:32:08,625 --> 00:32:11,344
wanting to look macho,
wanting to fit in.

506
00:32:11,345 --> 00:32:15,904
I felt sympathy with the perpetrators
and the person who was murdered

507
00:32:15,905 --> 00:32:18,624
because I think that the
actions of those young people

508
00:32:18,625 --> 00:32:23,384
were informed by social
attitudes that were wrong,

509
00:32:23,409 --> 00:32:28,338
and it was sad that they had
to grow up in a world where...

510
00:32:30,064 --> 00:32:34,184
they felt that someone's
sexuality was wrong.

511
00:32:34,185 --> 00:32:39,384
They were charged with the
offence at various degrees,

512
00:32:39,385 --> 00:32:44,864
and then trials were set down for
later in the year to be dealt with.

513
00:32:44,865 --> 00:32:49,704
But meanwhile, these kids
were still at the school.

514
00:32:49,705 --> 00:32:53,464
Now, there was certain
pressure put on me

515
00:32:53,465 --> 00:32:56,464
to get rid of them out of the school.

516
00:32:56,465 --> 00:33:01,064
Now, I resisted that. The
parents of some of these boys

517
00:33:01,065 --> 00:33:03,984
virtually begged me to
have them stay at the school

518
00:33:03,985 --> 00:33:07,424
in so far as they could be
under some form of supervision.

519
00:33:07,425 --> 00:33:10,565
So I had them stay at the school.

520
00:33:12,825 --> 00:33:15,704
"They're just poofters and
gafs," was the word they used,

521
00:33:15,705 --> 00:33:17,424
being 'fags' backwards.

522
00:33:17,425 --> 00:33:20,504
"Who gives a damn," and "Yeah,
but they're child molesters."

523
00:33:20,505 --> 00:33:22,984
So they had a huge
amount of stereotypes,

524
00:33:22,985 --> 00:33:25,464
and it was like no one
ever questioned them.

525
00:33:25,465 --> 00:33:28,104
It was like, "This is
true, we know it's true,

526
00:33:28,105 --> 00:33:31,304
and no one's ever
told us it's not true."

527
00:33:31,305 --> 00:33:35,024
Because I think one of the things
for teachers in that era as well

528
00:33:35,025 --> 00:33:38,144
was that if you intervened
and said something about kids

529
00:33:38,145 --> 00:33:40,664
with that attitude, then
they'd turn around and go,

530
00:33:40,665 --> 00:33:44,325
"Why are you saying that, sir?
Is that 'cause you're a poof?"

531
00:33:47,025 --> 00:33:51,064
Mr Tonks was actually my sex
education teacher in high school.

532
00:33:51,065 --> 00:33:55,984
But I remember him being a teacher
that everyone liked, you know?

533
00:33:55,985 --> 00:33:59,725
He was sort of cool, and, you
know, got on with all the kids.

534
00:34:01,345 --> 00:34:03,984
Wayne Tonks one day

535
00:34:03,985 --> 00:34:07,584
was taunted by this
boy in the playground

536
00:34:07,585 --> 00:34:12,544
about homosexuality, using
the term 'faggot' and so on.

537
00:34:12,545 --> 00:34:16,584
And Wayne Tonks came to
me very, very distressed.

538
00:34:16,585 --> 00:34:18,504
So I got hold of this boy.

539
00:34:18,505 --> 00:34:24,344
I sent him home with a view to
having him return in four days time,

540
00:34:24,345 --> 00:34:26,704
but he didn't return to the school.

541
00:34:26,705 --> 00:34:28,784
He elected to leave,

542
00:34:28,785 --> 00:34:33,184
and I understand that
he was one of the boys

543
00:34:33,185 --> 00:34:36,984
involved in the Rich Johnson affair.

544
00:34:36,985 --> 00:34:40,624
[Shane] Wayne Tonks was quite
a reserved sort of person,

545
00:34:40,625 --> 00:34:42,504
but an exceptionally good teacher.

546
00:34:42,505 --> 00:34:45,184
He was such a reliable man.

547
00:34:45,185 --> 00:34:47,024
Always on time for school,

548
00:34:47,025 --> 00:34:49,984
and, I might add, he always
used to be impeccably dressed.

549
00:34:49,985 --> 00:34:54,144
I knew he was gay, but
he wasn't openly gay, no.

550
00:34:54,675 --> 00:34:57,799
I didn't have a very close
relationship with Wayne

551
00:34:57,824 --> 00:35:02,344
because I think he was frightened
of my being gay, and openly gay.

552
00:35:02,345 --> 00:35:07,904
And Wayne never, sort of,
let's say, came out about it.

553
00:35:07,905 --> 00:35:10,344
As a matter of fact,
I harboured a suspicion

554
00:35:10,345 --> 00:35:14,664
that he was a bit scared that I
was going to find out he was gay.

555
00:35:14,665 --> 00:35:17,016
But I knew he was gay,

556
00:35:17,041 --> 00:35:20,144
but his private life, that was
nothing whatever to do with me.

557
00:35:20,230 --> 00:35:24,440
And I tried at one point to
talk to him about being gay

558
00:35:24,465 --> 00:35:27,184
and he didn't want to know me,

559
00:35:27,185 --> 00:35:29,704
because he was too
frightened to talk to me,

560
00:35:30,080 --> 00:35:34,345
because he might have been identified
as a gay man... in that context.

561
00:35:35,265 --> 00:35:37,881
Which was very isolating
and sad for him.

562
00:35:45,345 --> 00:35:49,304
I was alerted by one of the
staff that Wayne hadn't turned up.

563
00:35:49,305 --> 00:35:52,584
I rang his home. There was no answer.

564
00:35:52,585 --> 00:35:54,704
I thought, "It's
totally out of character,

565
00:35:54,705 --> 00:35:57,184
and I've got to get
to the bottom of it."

566
00:35:57,185 --> 00:35:58,704
And I rang the police.

567
00:35:58,705 --> 00:36:02,464
I was working as a detective
sergeant at Chatswood Police Station,

568
00:36:02,465 --> 00:36:06,824
and we received a call
to go to Wayne's home.

569
00:36:06,825 --> 00:36:09,184
The home appeared to
have been ransacked.

570
00:36:09,185 --> 00:36:12,544
Telephone cable to
the unit had been cut.

571
00:36:12,545 --> 00:36:15,144
I recall there was a
large ceramic piggy bank

572
00:36:15,145 --> 00:36:17,784
which had been smashed
beside Wayne himself.

573
00:36:17,785 --> 00:36:20,224
His ankles, his knees,

574
00:36:20,225 --> 00:36:25,249
were tied securely with green
commercial grade adhesive tape.

575
00:36:25,274 --> 00:36:28,304
His hands were bound to a degree

576
00:36:28,329 --> 00:36:32,653
that the circular shape of
the taped material on his hands

577
00:36:32,654 --> 00:36:34,904
was about the size of a rockmelon.

578
00:36:34,905 --> 00:36:40,504
Excessive. There was no way that
this man was going to break free

579
00:36:40,505 --> 00:36:44,224
or to free himself
somehow from this tape.

580
00:36:44,225 --> 00:36:50,584
But of course his eyes and his
mouth were also encased in this tape.

581
00:36:50,585 --> 00:36:55,224
And a plastic bag had
been placed over his head.

582
00:36:55,225 --> 00:36:57,805
[Sniffles] Yeah, something that...

583
00:36:59,265 --> 00:37:02,525
something that I probably
will never forget, yeah.

584
00:37:03,665 --> 00:37:06,064
I felt shocked because it was, like,

585
00:37:06,065 --> 00:37:09,344
one, that I didn't know that
he was gay in the first place,

586
00:37:09,345 --> 00:37:11,584
so there was that,
but it was also, like,

587
00:37:11,585 --> 00:37:15,725
it was sad, shocking and sad.

588
00:37:17,545 --> 00:37:22,024
What surprised me most
was that the young people

589
00:37:22,025 --> 00:37:24,704
weren't aware that it was
illegal to bash a gay man,

590
00:37:24,705 --> 00:37:28,085
and that you would go
to jail for doing that.

591
00:37:34,345 --> 00:37:36,424
We've had a murder that
you know had been committed

592
00:37:36,425 --> 00:37:38,864
by some of the kids and
ex-kids from the school,

593
00:37:38,865 --> 00:37:42,264
and suddenly you've got a teacher
at the same school who's murdered.

594
00:37:42,265 --> 00:37:43,822
We were very concerned about whether

595
00:37:44,323 --> 00:37:46,533
any of the kids had
been involved in that.

596
00:37:48,505 --> 00:37:51,104
[Young man] We were just
gonna walk by him, and he goes,

597
00:37:51,105 --> 00:37:54,344
"I know that poofter, man.
I've belted him before."

598
00:37:54,345 --> 00:37:56,439
They'd belted him at Moore Park,

599
00:37:56,464 --> 00:37:59,079
when they was up the Cross
before, and took his wig.

600
00:37:59,104 --> 00:38:02,184
Pissed in it and chucked it in a tree.

601
00:38:02,185 --> 00:38:05,645
That was one of the funniest days, man.

602
00:38:07,105 --> 00:38:09,824
Because of the fact that
some of those students

603
00:38:09,825 --> 00:38:13,824
were students from the school
and possibly taught by Wayne,

604
00:38:13,825 --> 00:38:15,984
they became suspects,

605
00:38:15,985 --> 00:38:18,240
and the similarities in relation

606
00:38:18,241 --> 00:38:20,851
to the Johnson murder were quite unique.

607
00:38:27,145 --> 00:38:29,744
I know that, from
interviewing his friends,

608
00:38:29,745 --> 00:38:31,944
he would never go to Oxford Street.

609
00:38:31,945 --> 00:38:33,240
He was concerned that,

610
00:38:33,241 --> 00:38:36,741
being a school teacher,
that students may see him,

611
00:38:36,985 --> 00:38:39,224
put two and two together.

612
00:38:39,225 --> 00:38:42,584
So, in that sense, he was very guarded.

613
00:38:42,585 --> 00:38:45,845
[Electronica-style music]

614
00:38:51,185 --> 00:38:54,264
I tried to, like, avoid
the subject altogether,

615
00:38:54,265 --> 00:38:58,264
so, you know, if it was,
like, brought up, you know,

616
00:38:58,265 --> 00:39:01,304
"Oh, look at that person,
you know, they're..."

617
00:39:01,305 --> 00:39:03,144
"He looks like a poof," or whatever,

618
00:39:03,145 --> 00:39:04,864
then I wouldn't say anything,

619
00:39:04,865 --> 00:39:07,424
and then I would quickly
try and change the subject.

620
00:39:07,425 --> 00:39:11,344
I think I still felt at that
time like, "I can change this,"

621
00:39:11,345 --> 00:39:14,525
'cause it was, like, to me,
there's no way I could be gay.

622
00:39:18,225 --> 00:39:22,304
When I realised that I was
attracted to, you know, men,

623
00:39:22,305 --> 00:39:24,424
you know, I struggled with that myself,

624
00:39:24,425 --> 00:39:27,384
because I thought, you know, how
could I ever come out and be gay?

625
00:39:27,385 --> 00:39:30,584
Like, my family won't accept me,
the people around me, the community.

626
00:39:30,585 --> 00:39:33,304
No-one will accept me.
There's no way I can be gay.

627
00:39:33,305 --> 00:39:37,404
There was fear in knowing
that if I came out to be gay,

628
00:39:37,429 --> 00:39:39,024
then I could be attacked,
do you know what I mean?

629
00:39:39,025 --> 00:39:42,024
You're talking about an era where
there was no sort of tolerance

630
00:39:42,025 --> 00:39:44,744
for difference or
different ways of being.

631
00:39:44,745 --> 00:39:46,899
It was, like, a pretty narrow stereotype

632
00:39:46,900 --> 00:39:48,756
of what masculinity should be like.

633
00:39:59,664 --> 00:40:02,904
Anything outside of that
was pretty quickly squashed,

634
00:40:02,905 --> 00:40:06,544
and I think that also was a
major thing for those kids,

635
00:40:06,545 --> 00:40:10,424
and for young people generally,
is, like, you've gotta be macho.

636
00:40:10,425 --> 00:40:12,064
And how do you be macho?

637
00:40:12,065 --> 00:40:13,325
Well, a really good way of proving

638
00:40:13,326 --> 00:40:16,777
how macho you are is to bash a "poofter".

639
00:40:28,985 --> 00:40:31,264
The attack on Mr Johnson was described

640
00:40:31,265 --> 00:40:34,024
as "the most severe
bashing a man could receive

641
00:40:34,025 --> 00:40:35,944
without the use of weapons.

642
00:40:35,945 --> 00:40:39,744
He was kicked and jumped on,
causing horrendous injuries."

643
00:40:39,745 --> 00:40:41,704
[Reporter] Two of the
young men shed tears

644
00:40:41,705 --> 00:40:43,264
as their sentences were handed down.

645
00:40:43,265 --> 00:40:46,584
Police had relied on shoe-print
evidence against one of the men.

646
00:40:46,585 --> 00:40:49,260
A pattern of bruising
on the victim's skull

647
00:40:49,261 --> 00:40:51,161
was matched to these joggers.

648
00:40:51,265 --> 00:40:54,944
Families in court throughout
the trial left in tears.

649
00:40:54,945 --> 00:40:57,304
The judge found all four young men

650
00:40:57,305 --> 00:40:59,224
were motivated by peer group pressure,

651
00:40:59,225 --> 00:41:02,264
one of the young boys trying to
shake off his image as a sissy.

652
00:41:02,265 --> 00:41:05,184
All were angry at the
conduct of homosexuals,

653
00:41:05,185 --> 00:41:07,704
but the judge said that was no excuse.

654
00:41:07,705 --> 00:41:09,264
Every member of the community

655
00:41:09,265 --> 00:41:11,904
was entitled to the full
protection of the law.

656
00:41:11,905 --> 00:41:17,304
Everyone was a loser, and
there should have been more...

657
00:41:17,305 --> 00:41:20,864
There should have been more
sympathy and more thought

658
00:41:20,865 --> 00:41:23,904
about how terrible it
was for Richard Johnson,

659
00:41:23,905 --> 00:41:26,185
because it was a
brutal, terrible murder.

660
00:41:26,279 --> 00:41:27,864
But, you know, at that time,

661
00:41:27,865 --> 00:41:32,787
there were almost 30 unsolved
gay murders in Sydney.

662
00:41:33,265 --> 00:41:37,784
And there were a whole lot
of assaults and bashings

663
00:41:37,785 --> 00:41:39,765
that nobody ever heard about.

664
00:41:43,673 --> 00:41:45,298
[Young man 1] I wish I would have done

665
00:41:45,299 --> 00:41:47,068
more to that fuckin' Johnson bloke.

666
00:41:47,069 --> 00:41:50,304
If I'm gonna get 10 years, two kicks,

667
00:41:50,305 --> 00:41:53,424
then I'm gonna fuckin'
get 10 years for it,

668
00:41:53,425 --> 00:41:55,605
five years for each kick.

669
00:41:57,465 --> 00:42:01,424
[Young man 2] Heaps funny. Used
to love how they screamed, eh?

670
00:42:01,425 --> 00:42:04,064
Got heaps of clippings
at home, man, about...

671
00:42:04,065 --> 00:42:06,704
from all the poofters that we bashed.

672
00:42:06,729 --> 00:42:08,800
[Young man 1] Who pushed him? You?

673
00:42:08,825 --> 00:42:11,784
[Young man 2] No, not me. I was
going over to pick up his skateboard.

674
00:42:11,785 --> 00:42:13,384
I was gonna hit him again.

675
00:42:13,385 --> 00:42:15,744
[Young man 1] What did you
say when you first seen him?

676
00:42:15,745 --> 00:42:19,424
[Young man 2] I wasn't there when
they said something to him first off.

677
00:42:19,425 --> 00:42:21,864
I was coming down from
the top, from the lookout,

678
00:42:21,865 --> 00:42:24,184
and one of the boys
said, "You're a poof, eh?"

679
00:42:24,185 --> 00:42:27,184
And I've come running down the
stairs and I just looked around, mate,

680
00:42:27,185 --> 00:42:29,805
they were punching into him.

681
00:42:32,865 --> 00:42:35,464
There really was a phenomenon,

682
00:42:35,527 --> 00:42:37,261
[stuttering]

683
00:42:37,933 --> 00:42:42,264
an incredibly violent
period in our history

684
00:42:42,265 --> 00:42:46,657
when kids, essentially, mainly kids,

685
00:42:47,086 --> 00:42:50,864
were running around terrorising, beating

686
00:42:50,865 --> 00:42:53,504
and occasionally killing gay men.

687
00:42:53,505 --> 00:42:55,565
[Siren wails in the distance]

688
00:42:57,385 --> 00:43:00,064
[Paul] The Moore Park beat was huge.

689
00:43:00,065 --> 00:43:04,944
It had lots of sort of
tree cover in parts of it.

690
00:43:04,945 --> 00:43:09,224
Location-wise it was perfect, because
it was close to the Golden Mile,

691
00:43:09,225 --> 00:43:11,464
as it was called once.

692
00:43:11,465 --> 00:43:14,984
The Golden Mile was a name
that was given to Oxford Street.

693
00:43:14,985 --> 00:43:17,605
There was just so many
gay venues along there.

694
00:43:22,145 --> 00:43:26,045
[Electronic music]

695
00:43:34,505 --> 00:43:38,064
I ended up at the Taxi Club, because
the Taxi Club went 24 hours a day.

696
00:43:38,065 --> 00:43:40,424
It was the last place that was open.

697
00:43:40,502 --> 00:43:41,697
I was walking home

698
00:43:41,698 --> 00:43:43,908
and I was walking along South
Dowling Street and I thought

699
00:43:43,923 --> 00:43:46,384
"Oh, wonder what's happening
across the road tonight.

700
00:43:46,385 --> 00:43:48,108
I'll just go over and have a...

701
00:43:48,133 --> 00:43:51,584
have a wander round through
the undergrowth of the beat."

702
00:43:51,585 --> 00:43:55,464
And they weren't so much a meeting
place as just a casual sex place.

703
00:43:55,465 --> 00:43:58,704
It wasn't as though you were looking
for true love and happiness there.

704
00:43:58,705 --> 00:44:02,904
You were just there to probably
get your rocks off. [LAUGHS]

705
00:44:02,905 --> 00:44:04,904
My plan was not
necessarily to use the beat.

706
00:44:04,905 --> 00:44:06,784
It was just on my way home.

707
00:44:06,785 --> 00:44:09,754
So it was a location that I
would drive past on my way home

708
00:44:09,779 --> 00:44:11,543
every night that I worked in that area.

709
00:44:11,568 --> 00:44:13,864
I certainly wasn't doing
it for the risk element.

710
00:44:13,865 --> 00:44:17,485
I was just doing it
for the quick encounter.

711
00:44:18,665 --> 00:44:22,024
It was a very clear night,
but it was very cold.

712
00:44:22,025 --> 00:44:25,344
So generally speaking, I would
expect nothing much to happen.

713
00:44:25,345 --> 00:44:28,056
However, as I drove up there,

714
00:44:28,081 --> 00:44:31,229
I did see one car driving very fast.

715
00:44:34,305 --> 00:44:36,344
Someone went to the boot and opened it,

716
00:44:36,345 --> 00:44:38,544
and reached in and
handed out planks of wood

717
00:44:38,545 --> 00:44:41,285
to everyone that had got out of the car.

718
00:44:50,065 --> 00:44:53,445
And then they ran like
a mob into the park.

719
00:44:54,185 --> 00:44:56,744
Wow, that's pretty scary.

720
00:44:56,745 --> 00:44:59,344
I'm gonna stay here
and see what happens.

721
00:44:59,345 --> 00:45:02,605
[Unsettling music]

722
00:45:13,905 --> 00:45:18,104
I wasn't there for very
long, and I heard someone say,

723
00:45:18,105 --> 00:45:20,205
"There's one, get him."

724
00:45:29,161 --> 00:45:32,787
I was doing a really good job. [Laughs]

725
00:45:32,812 --> 00:45:34,993
Except I tripped on the other
side of South Dowling Street

726
00:45:35,017 --> 00:45:36,037
and fell into the gutter.

727
00:45:36,062 --> 00:45:38,645
They caught up to me, and
that's when they bashed me.

728
00:45:49,265 --> 00:45:52,765
Once I was on the ground, I
knew I was in a lot of trouble.

729
00:45:55,025 --> 00:45:58,024
I was absolutely terrified,
angry that I couldn't...

730
00:45:58,025 --> 00:46:00,264
I didn't know what to do.

731
00:46:00,265 --> 00:46:02,464
[Engine starts]

732
00:46:02,465 --> 00:46:06,424
I started the car and
turned my headlights on

733
00:46:06,425 --> 00:46:11,224
in the hope that my presence
there would stop them.

734
00:46:11,225 --> 00:46:13,784
The last thing I remember
before I probably passed out

735
00:46:13,785 --> 00:46:17,024
was I saw some car
lights coming towards me.

736
00:46:17,025 --> 00:46:19,424
I thought, "Oh, that's
good. Someone has seen me.

737
00:46:19,425 --> 00:46:22,605
I'm going to be saved.
I'm safe. They'll go away."

738
00:46:34,505 --> 00:46:38,144
And they didn't stop, so
I slowly drove towards them

739
00:46:38,145 --> 00:46:43,085
with my headlights on high beam,
and once again, they didn't stop.

740
00:46:44,905 --> 00:46:48,664
I drove past. No change
in their behaviour.

741
00:46:48,665 --> 00:46:51,464
And then I did a U-turn
over the median strip

742
00:46:51,465 --> 00:46:55,304
and I pulled up behind
the assailant's car

743
00:46:55,305 --> 00:46:57,904
and got some pad and paper,

744
00:46:57,905 --> 00:47:01,304
and I wrote down the
registration number of their car.

745
00:47:01,593 --> 00:47:06,365
I drove off rapidly, thinking,
"What can I do? Call triple zero."

746
00:47:09,985 --> 00:47:13,544
Drove back as fast as I
could to see if I could find

747
00:47:13,545 --> 00:47:16,128
any evidence of what had happened.

748
00:47:16,153 --> 00:47:18,653
I was imagining that I would find...

749
00:47:18,678 --> 00:47:22,264
a guy beaten to a pulp
lying in the gutter.

750
00:47:22,265 --> 00:47:25,885
By the time I got back there,
there was no one around.

751
00:47:36,225 --> 00:47:39,504
I came to in St Vincent's
emergency department

752
00:47:39,505 --> 00:47:42,944
on a stretcher from an ambulance.

753
00:47:42,945 --> 00:47:44,664
I was sort of semiconscious.

754
00:47:44,665 --> 00:47:46,984
I knew I was in hospital, I was safe.

755
00:47:46,985 --> 00:47:50,384
'Cause I think I kept coming
and going out of consciousness.

756
00:47:50,385 --> 00:47:53,885
I remember there were doctors
there, there was nurses.

757
00:47:55,926 --> 00:48:00,918
I vaguely remember a policeman
in the emergency department.

758
00:48:02,025 --> 00:48:05,885
And I was really, really
bruised and battered badly.

759
00:48:07,465 --> 00:48:10,405
I was in hospital for six days.

760
00:48:14,225 --> 00:48:16,224
I was lucky to wake up in St Vincent's

761
00:48:16,225 --> 00:48:19,464
and not at the bottom
of a cliff at Tamarama,

762
00:48:19,465 --> 00:48:23,405
so I thought of myself
as one of the lucky ones.

763
00:48:24,585 --> 00:48:26,704
I never saw the police again.

764
00:48:26,705 --> 00:48:29,704
I vaguely remember a policeman
being in the emergency department,

765
00:48:29,705 --> 00:48:33,024
but they didn't come
back to see me after that.

766
00:48:33,025 --> 00:48:35,618
Some weeks later,

767
00:48:35,899 --> 00:48:39,464
Paul gets a call from Fred Miller,

768
00:48:39,465 --> 00:48:43,824
who had just been appointed as the
first police gay liaison officer,

769
00:48:43,825 --> 00:48:48,584
who informed him that the
numberplate of the car he had reported

770
00:48:48,585 --> 00:48:51,725
was in fact an unmarked police car.

771
00:48:53,265 --> 00:48:54,984
I received a phone call telling me

772
00:48:54,985 --> 00:48:58,984
that the registration number
of the car I had given them

773
00:48:58,985 --> 00:49:01,965
was the registration number
of an unmarked police car.

774
00:49:03,225 --> 00:49:05,984
I was incredibly angry.

775
00:49:05,985 --> 00:49:09,224
I was absolutely shocked, fearful,

776
00:49:09,225 --> 00:49:12,384
as I was also aware of
stories of intimidation

777
00:49:12,385 --> 00:49:15,965
where police had been in the firing
line over a situation like that.

778
00:49:18,593 --> 00:49:19,624
[Whack!]

779
00:49:19,726 --> 00:49:24,664
So Paul was called in
to what he describes

780
00:49:24,665 --> 00:49:27,824
as a very high level meeting
at College Street headquarters.

781
00:49:28,754 --> 00:49:33,660
I was fearful of what an interview
like that might look like.

782
00:49:34,785 --> 00:49:37,704
So we met in the lobby
and Fred accompanied me

783
00:49:37,705 --> 00:49:40,864
up to a very high level
in the police centre.

784
00:49:40,865 --> 00:49:44,744
And we were ushered
into a very large suite.

785
00:49:44,745 --> 00:49:47,704
My feeling was that they were
very senior police officers

786
00:49:47,705 --> 00:49:50,024
because they had gold
braid and epaulets,

787
00:49:50,025 --> 00:49:53,664
and the scale of the office was
such that I could only imagine

788
00:49:53,665 --> 00:49:56,704
a very, very senior police officer
would have an office like that.

789
00:49:57,384 --> 00:49:59,164
Coppers are pragmatic.

790
00:49:59,189 --> 00:50:02,584
Catching you with a registration
number is pretty compelling.

791
00:50:02,585 --> 00:50:05,624
It wouldn't have taken
them long, about 30 seconds,

792
00:50:05,625 --> 00:50:08,264
to find out who was
in the car that night.

793
00:50:08,265 --> 00:50:10,584
There's no question. No question at all.

794
00:50:10,585 --> 00:50:13,584
New South Wales Police
love documentation.

795
00:50:13,585 --> 00:50:16,184
Back in those days,
every car had a diary,

796
00:50:16,185 --> 00:50:18,196
and you wrote it in where
you'd been, what you'd done...

797
00:50:18,197 --> 00:50:19,680
time, date, place.

798
00:50:20,545 --> 00:50:24,064
The police asked me to recite the story,

799
00:50:24,065 --> 00:50:28,224
and when I got to the part about
seeing the guys with planks of wood

800
00:50:28,225 --> 00:50:31,064
hitting the guy on the ground,

801
00:50:31,065 --> 00:50:33,864
the policeman interrupted me and said,

802
00:50:33,865 --> 00:50:38,264
"Can you just visualise in your
mind's eye what you saw that night?"

803
00:50:38,265 --> 00:50:40,504
And he said, "Can I show you something?"

804
00:50:40,505 --> 00:50:44,264
And he came back with a police
baton and held it in front of me.

805
00:50:44,265 --> 00:50:49,209
And I immediately realised that I
had seen police batons being used.

806
00:50:50,545 --> 00:50:56,264
They told me that the police car
and the officers involved that night

807
00:50:56,265 --> 00:50:59,264
belonged to a trouble-shooting squad.

808
00:50:59,265 --> 00:51:04,184
At the time, there were these
unofficial groups of police.

809
00:51:04,185 --> 00:51:08,104
They would go out in plain
clothes, unmarked cars,

810
00:51:08,105 --> 00:51:10,224
and they were known
as the hoodlum patrols.

811
00:51:10,225 --> 00:51:12,424
And the idea is that
they would, you know,

812
00:51:12,425 --> 00:51:15,064
clean up the streets of hoodlums.

813
00:51:15,065 --> 00:51:18,904
Three separate officers
have come to me to tell me

814
00:51:18,905 --> 00:51:22,125
that the hoodlum patrols were
known for poofter-bashing.

815
00:51:23,545 --> 00:51:25,864
It was really smartly handled.

816
00:51:25,865 --> 00:51:28,184
They've come in, they've won
their trust and confidence.

817
00:51:28,185 --> 00:51:30,824
These guys have met
some very senior coppers.

818
00:51:30,825 --> 00:51:34,064
Lots of gold braid,
lovely view of the harbour,

819
00:51:34,065 --> 00:51:36,304
and they've thought, quite reasonably,

820
00:51:36,305 --> 00:51:38,704
that this matter is being looked after

821
00:51:38,705 --> 00:51:41,464
and the coppers responsible
will be dealt with.

822
00:51:42,457 --> 00:51:43,964
But they weren't.

823
00:51:50,794 --> 00:51:53,304
[Woman] July 15, 1998.

824
00:51:53,305 --> 00:51:56,347
Dear Sir, we have been
advised by the Coroners' office

825
00:51:56,372 --> 00:51:57,824
to contact your department.

826
00:51:57,825 --> 00:52:01,184
As it is now nine years
since Ross disappeared,

827
00:52:01,185 --> 00:52:04,664
we feel it is time for a coroner's
inquest to close the case.

828
00:52:04,665 --> 00:52:07,424
We know that there is
no way he's still alive,

829
00:52:07,425 --> 00:52:09,584
and the family feel
it should be official

830
00:52:09,585 --> 00:52:12,224
so we can put the matter to rest.

831
00:52:12,225 --> 00:52:16,104
Missing Persons Branch,
NSW Police Headquarters.

832
00:52:16,105 --> 00:52:18,144
Please find enclosed a copy of my letter

833
00:52:18,145 --> 00:52:19,824
sent to your department in July.

834
00:52:19,825 --> 00:52:23,344
As I have not yet had a reply,
I am hoping that it was received

835
00:52:23,345 --> 00:52:24,944
and some action will be taken soon...

836
00:52:24,945 --> 00:52:28,944
Dear Sir/Madam, please find
following a copy of a letter

837
00:52:28,945 --> 00:52:31,024
sent to your department
in July this year...

838
00:52:31,025 --> 00:52:33,256
Dear Sirs, we apparently have to wait

839
00:52:33,257 --> 00:52:35,025
for some action from your department

840
00:52:35,025 --> 00:52:36,504
for a coroner's inquest...

841
00:52:36,505 --> 00:52:38,664
I am enclosing copies of
earlier correspondence.

842
00:52:38,665 --> 00:52:41,344
I would like to know why there
has been no action on my request...

843
00:52:41,345 --> 00:52:43,544
I understood that a person
was presumed legally dead

844
00:52:43,545 --> 00:52:45,024
after seven years...

845
00:52:45,025 --> 00:52:47,984
Please do something as
10 years is far too long.

846
00:52:47,985 --> 00:52:49,864
26 April, 2000.

847
00:52:49,865 --> 00:52:53,144
It is 11 years this July
since my son disappeared.

848
00:52:53,145 --> 00:52:56,344
I realise to the police that
he is just another statistic,

849
00:52:56,345 --> 00:52:59,184
but he was a very
important part of our lives,

850
00:52:59,185 --> 00:53:01,464
and we want to put the matter to rest.

851
00:53:01,465 --> 00:53:04,104
An early reply is anticipated.

852
00:53:04,105 --> 00:53:07,645
Yours sincerely, Mrs Kay Warren.

853
00:53:09,225 --> 00:53:12,064
What struck me was,
attached to her letter

854
00:53:12,065 --> 00:53:15,304
was all these other letters
that she'd provided previously

855
00:53:15,305 --> 00:53:17,864
asking for the matter to be closed.

856
00:53:17,865 --> 00:53:20,184
And it just struck a chord
that you've got a parent,

857
00:53:20,185 --> 00:53:22,184
they just want some answers

858
00:53:22,185 --> 00:53:24,784
and they've been writing
and writing for years.

859
00:53:24,785 --> 00:53:27,064
I think that motivated
me to have a look at it

860
00:53:27,065 --> 00:53:31,224
and see if I could, you
know, give Kay some answers.

861
00:53:31,225 --> 00:53:33,704
With the Ross Warren
case, I went back to basics

862
00:53:33,705 --> 00:53:37,365
and I just treated it almost
as a fresh investigation.

863
00:53:38,145 --> 00:53:41,824
We were told that the matter
had been reported to the coroner,

864
00:53:41,825 --> 00:53:45,984
that a brief of evidence had been
given to the Missing Persons Unit.

865
00:53:45,985 --> 00:53:47,464
We went to all those places.

866
00:53:47,465 --> 00:53:50,085
There was no such handover of documents.

867
00:53:52,025 --> 00:53:54,824
There was no record of Missing Persons

868
00:53:54,825 --> 00:53:58,904
having any record of him being missing.

869
00:53:58,905 --> 00:54:02,504
Everything the detective who was
in charge of the matter said he did

870
00:54:02,505 --> 00:54:05,504
could not be verified, even to the point

871
00:54:05,505 --> 00:54:09,784
where he said he called out
PolAir and the Water Police,

872
00:54:09,785 --> 00:54:11,845
there were no records of that.

873
00:54:14,105 --> 00:54:17,064
Once I started to have a
look at the Ross Warren case,

874
00:54:17,065 --> 00:54:19,984
I spoke with an ex-workmate
of mine, Steve McCann,

875
00:54:19,985 --> 00:54:23,184
and he pointed me in the direction
of the death of John Russell.

876
00:54:23,185 --> 00:54:25,826
So, Ross Warren and John Russell

877
00:54:25,851 --> 00:54:29,384
both met their demise at Marks Park.

878
00:54:29,385 --> 00:54:32,264
So, Ross Warren has gone missing,

879
00:54:32,265 --> 00:54:35,285
John Russell was found deceased
at the bottom of a cliff.

880
00:54:36,225 --> 00:54:39,624
There were some interesting
things about the John Russell case

881
00:54:39,625 --> 00:54:43,104
that didn't look typical of a suicide.

882
00:54:43,105 --> 00:54:47,049
The positioning of his body going
off the cliff I found unusual,

883
00:54:47,074 --> 00:54:50,144
and I later got an opinion
from a forensic pathologist.

884
00:54:50,145 --> 00:54:53,264
The position that he was found
was his head was facing the cliff

885
00:54:53,265 --> 00:54:55,605
and his feet were away from the cliff.

886
00:54:57,065 --> 00:54:59,082
I'd be concerned that there'd been

887
00:54:59,083 --> 00:55:00,860
some intervention by some other people

888
00:55:00,865 --> 00:55:03,891
to make him twist and turn in that way.

889
00:55:03,916 --> 00:55:07,569
Plus the fact that he was found
a fair way out from the cliff

890
00:55:07,594 --> 00:55:11,824
would also make me concerned that
there'd been some pushing element,

891
00:55:11,825 --> 00:55:14,172
so he'd got some velocity up,

892
00:55:14,197 --> 00:55:16,784
to go out the distance that
he did, away from the cliff.

893
00:55:16,785 --> 00:55:21,624
There was the fact that there were
some hairs that were in his hands.

894
00:55:21,625 --> 00:55:24,224
When I first saw that there was hair

895
00:55:24,225 --> 00:55:28,304
stuck to the back of
John Russell's hand, I...

896
00:55:28,305 --> 00:55:30,264
I was excited. I
thought, "You know what?

897
00:55:30,265 --> 00:55:33,464
I'm gonna dig, I'm gonna dig
hard, I'm gonna try and find this."

898
00:55:33,465 --> 00:55:34,944
So whose hairs were they?

899
00:55:34,945 --> 00:55:36,784
They didn't look to be his,

900
00:55:36,785 --> 00:55:40,264
and to me raised the
distinct possibility

901
00:55:40,265 --> 00:55:42,984
that he was involved in a
scuffle at the top of the cliff,

902
00:55:43,011 --> 00:55:45,381
grasped in some way, he managed to grab

903
00:55:45,382 --> 00:55:46,682
some hairs out of somebody's head

904
00:55:47,271 --> 00:55:48,704
and was thrown over the cliff.

905
00:55:48,705 --> 00:55:51,224
If he had hair in his
hand, where is the hair?

906
00:55:51,225 --> 00:55:53,138
That disappeared.

907
00:55:53,849 --> 00:55:57,165
So once that disappeared...

908
00:55:58,145 --> 00:56:01,864
there was just no way they
could identify anybody else.

909
00:56:01,865 --> 00:56:05,584
Evidence was lost, and did anybody care?

910
00:56:05,585 --> 00:56:09,304
The clothing might have
contained some valuable evidence.

911
00:56:09,305 --> 00:56:11,064
Um...

912
00:56:11,065 --> 00:56:13,344
You don't know until you look.

913
00:56:13,345 --> 00:56:15,224
I said, "Well, what about the clothes?"

914
00:56:15,225 --> 00:56:17,904
Because the stuff was
returned in the box to Dad.

915
00:56:17,905 --> 00:56:21,264
We had no idea at that
time it had all been washed.

916
00:56:21,265 --> 00:56:26,944
By washing it, they got rid
of any stuff in the clothing

917
00:56:26,945 --> 00:56:30,704
that could possibly have
identified who did it.

918
00:56:30,705 --> 00:56:34,904
Unfortunately, that initial
investigation was quite deficient.

919
00:56:34,905 --> 00:56:37,384
They've got his clothes,
they've got hair samples.

920
00:56:37,385 --> 00:56:38,904
What do they do with it?

921
00:56:38,951 --> 00:56:42,040
Nothing, apart from whack it in with
a bit of Omo and hand it all back.

922
00:56:42,065 --> 00:56:44,165
Then they lose the hair sample.

923
00:56:45,724 --> 00:56:49,125
They were old generation
coppers, most of them.

924
00:56:49,865 --> 00:56:52,464
So to say they're homophobic

925
00:56:52,465 --> 00:56:54,344
would just be stating
the bleeding obvious,

926
00:56:54,345 --> 00:56:57,245
because that's the way people were.

927
00:57:08,841 --> 00:57:10,960
There was no shortage of suspects.

928
00:57:10,985 --> 00:57:13,989
We had multiple gangs that
were operating around Bondi

929
00:57:14,014 --> 00:57:15,665
in the late '80s and early '90s,

930
00:57:15,666 --> 00:57:18,366
and the gangs didn't
appear to be territorial.

931
00:57:18,345 --> 00:57:22,944
You know, it'd be okay for a gang
out of area to come in and bash gays.

932
00:57:22,945 --> 00:57:26,224
So we had three juveniles

933
00:57:26,225 --> 00:57:30,064
who were convicted of
killing a Thai national

934
00:57:30,065 --> 00:57:32,304
by the name of Kritchikorn
Rattanajurathaporn,

935
00:57:32,305 --> 00:57:35,384
July 1990, at Marks Park.

936
00:57:35,385 --> 00:57:39,024
He's a gay man. It's a gay beat.
They're armed, they've got weapons.

937
00:57:39,025 --> 00:57:41,245
And they just start swinging into them.

938
00:57:42,825 --> 00:57:44,864
There was a gang of eight

939
00:57:44,865 --> 00:57:49,664
that were charged with the
death of a gay man in Alexandria.

940
00:57:49,665 --> 00:57:53,344
We know from covert
surveillance that was done

941
00:57:53,345 --> 00:57:56,173
they would also come over to Marks Park

942
00:57:56,198 --> 00:57:59,349
and target gay men.

943
00:58:04,785 --> 00:58:07,944
[Young man 1] I threw a
fag off the cliff at Bondi.

944
00:58:07,945 --> 00:58:10,845
We were always goin' out bashin' fags.

945
00:58:11,825 --> 00:58:14,904
[Young man 2] We were walking,
jump up and look in the bushes,

946
00:58:14,905 --> 00:58:16,824
just see 'em going for it.

947
00:58:16,825 --> 00:58:21,064
Oh, you dirty man! And
they would just keep going.

948
00:58:21,065 --> 00:58:23,424
I went, "Whoa!" Screamed at them.

949
00:58:23,425 --> 00:58:27,334
They just have been that involved
in it they blocked out all the noise.

950
00:58:27,756 --> 00:58:29,762
Dirty fuckin' maggot.

951
00:58:29,787 --> 00:58:32,664
He should have gone and went off
the cliff that night, but he didn't.

952
00:58:32,961 --> 00:58:36,461
We went down and put his
cigarette butt out in his head.

953
00:58:37,846 --> 00:58:40,264
Steve Page came to see me and said,

954
00:58:40,265 --> 00:58:42,944
"Look, I'm really concerned
that there's a pattern here,

955
00:58:42,945 --> 00:58:46,144
and for all we know, some of
these kids could know each other,

956
00:58:46,145 --> 00:58:48,904
or, you know, are they
all part of the one gang

957
00:58:48,905 --> 00:58:51,664
or are there different gangs
who kind of know each other

958
00:58:51,665 --> 00:58:53,664
and have a bit of overlap or whatever?"

959
00:58:54,492 --> 00:58:59,464
So he was quite bravely
pulling out old cases

960
00:58:59,465 --> 00:59:03,904
where he thought that
police had missed the issue

961
00:59:03,905 --> 00:59:05,584
of what something was really about,

962
00:59:05,585 --> 00:59:08,824
and therefore, you know, called
it a suicide or, you know,

963
00:59:08,825 --> 00:59:12,645
an accidental death when in
fact it was far from that.

964
00:59:13,713 --> 00:59:18,624
We needed to look at David
McMahon's encounter with these people

965
00:59:18,625 --> 00:59:21,304
to try and work out
whether the same people

966
00:59:21,305 --> 00:59:22,824
that committed offences against him

967
00:59:22,825 --> 00:59:26,664
were responsible for these other ones.

968
00:59:26,665 --> 00:59:30,504
David McMahon, he's
dragged along the walkway

969
00:59:30,505 --> 00:59:33,704
till positioned vertically above
where John Russell's met his death.

970
00:59:33,705 --> 00:59:36,384
And offenders have said to
him words to the effect of,

971
00:59:36,385 --> 00:59:39,104
"We'll throw him off where
we threw off the other one."

972
00:59:39,105 --> 00:59:40,784
It really... The penny dropped.

973
00:59:40,785 --> 00:59:44,464
I think the similarities
between the David McMahon assault

974
00:59:44,465 --> 00:59:47,024
and the death of John Russell,

975
00:59:47,025 --> 00:59:49,805
I think the standouts
are the Bondi boys.

976
00:59:50,745 --> 00:59:55,384
David worked in a
restaurant down at Bondi.

977
00:59:55,385 --> 00:59:57,024
He was a Bondi local.

978
00:59:57,025 --> 00:59:59,984
These were local kids that he
would probably see every second day.

979
00:59:59,985 --> 01:00:01,704
He would have known them well.

980
01:00:01,705 --> 01:00:05,344
He was adamant that it was the
Bondi boys that grabbed him,

981
01:00:05,345 --> 01:00:07,144
that dragged him along that path,

982
01:00:07,145 --> 01:00:09,285
and they tried to throw
him off that cliff.

983
01:00:11,185 --> 01:00:15,624
That picture resonates in my head,

984
01:00:15,625 --> 01:00:17,664
and that's how I know it was him.

985
01:00:17,665 --> 01:00:21,144
It was him that hit me the most.

986
01:00:21,145 --> 01:00:24,064
He was going to throw me off a cliff.

987
01:00:24,065 --> 01:00:27,064
I think Steve was right on the money

988
01:00:27,065 --> 01:00:32,009
as far as identifying who
was responsible, absolutely.

989
01:00:32,305 --> 01:00:34,784
He couldn't have got any closer.

990
01:00:34,785 --> 01:00:38,864
But in terms of being able
to find objective evidence

991
01:00:38,865 --> 01:00:42,664
that was going to be
able to support that

992
01:00:42,665 --> 01:00:45,144
in the criminal justice system,

993
01:00:45,145 --> 01:00:48,765
I think we got close,
but not close enough.

994
01:00:56,432 --> 01:00:57,856
The Deputy Coroner has slammed

995
01:00:57,857 --> 01:01:00,957
NSW Police for not
properly investigating

996
01:01:00,975 --> 01:01:04,184
the deaths of three gay
men in Sydney in the 1980s,

997
01:01:04,225 --> 01:01:07,624
describing their lack of action
as shameful and inadequate.

998
01:01:07,625 --> 01:01:10,304
She said to describe
it as an investigation

999
01:01:10,305 --> 01:01:13,704
would be to give it a label
it simply doesn't deserve.

1000
01:01:13,705 --> 01:01:17,304
[Reporter] 15 years after their
deaths on the cliffs of South Bondi,

1001
01:01:17,305 --> 01:01:19,744
justice at last for Russell

1002
01:01:19,745 --> 01:01:23,264
and WIN Television presenter
Warren, whose body was never found.

1003
01:01:23,265 --> 01:01:25,704
Deputy State Coroner Jackie Milledge

1004
01:01:25,705 --> 01:01:27,824
praised Detective Sergeant Steven Page

1005
01:01:27,825 --> 01:01:31,824
for exposing what she called
the appalling, disgraceful

1006
01:01:31,825 --> 01:01:35,584
and lacklustre conduct of
the initial investigations.

1007
01:01:35,585 --> 01:01:38,314
If we managed it a lot better back then,

1008
01:01:38,339 --> 01:01:40,190
we wouldn't have been giving
evidence before a coroner,

1009
01:01:40,214 --> 01:01:41,455
it would've been before a jury.

1010
01:01:41,526 --> 01:01:46,504
It was important for the
families and for us, all of us,

1011
01:01:46,505 --> 01:01:51,144
to know that these
deaths weren't accidental.

1012
01:01:51,145 --> 01:01:54,504
That these deaths weren't
as a result of suicide.

1013
01:01:54,505 --> 01:01:57,064
There was nothing to suggest suicide.

1014
01:01:57,065 --> 01:02:00,624
There wasn't a scintilla of
evidence in either one of these

1015
01:02:00,625 --> 01:02:03,624
to suggest that these men
had taken their own lives.

1016
01:02:04,077 --> 01:02:06,664
But it was important for us to say,

1017
01:02:06,689 --> 01:02:09,808
"These are unsolved homicides."

1018
01:02:10,323 --> 01:02:13,058
- And they remain open.
- I hope this isn't the end.

1019
01:02:13,083 --> 01:02:16,304
I hope someone picks
it up and comes forward,

1020
01:02:16,305 --> 01:02:18,664
gives us what we're after,

1021
01:02:18,665 --> 01:02:20,784
and we put the offenders
before the courts.

1022
01:02:20,785 --> 01:02:22,945
It's clearly a huge disappointment

1023
01:02:22,946 --> 01:02:25,296
to Steve Page and the others involved

1024
01:02:25,625 --> 01:02:28,344
that they haven't got...

1025
01:02:28,345 --> 01:02:31,144
That no one's been charged
with those particular crimes

1026
01:02:31,145 --> 01:02:32,864
and no one's been convicted.

1027
01:02:32,865 --> 01:02:36,984
And that's why those guys keep
rolling up to tell this story,

1028
01:02:36,985 --> 01:02:41,264
because they're hoping that
one day someone who knows...

1029
01:02:41,265 --> 01:02:42,944
And people do know.

1030
01:02:42,945 --> 01:02:45,144
Many people out there know
who killed these people,

1031
01:02:45,145 --> 01:02:46,904
and the more they tell this story,

1032
01:02:46,905 --> 01:02:49,704
someone is going to get guilty enough,

1033
01:02:49,705 --> 01:02:54,264
is just going to find a bit of,
you know, soul and tell the truth.

1034
01:02:54,265 --> 01:02:56,885
The whole inquest was all about denial.

1035
01:02:57,625 --> 01:03:01,104
Nobody goes in there and puts
their hand up and just says,

1036
01:03:01,105 --> 01:03:03,504
"Well, right, nail me again for murder."

1037
01:03:03,505 --> 01:03:06,184
They were all doing
their very level best

1038
01:03:06,185 --> 01:03:09,784
to keep their cards as close as
they possibly could to their chests,

1039
01:03:09,785 --> 01:03:14,504
and, you know, protect themselves.

1040
01:03:14,505 --> 01:03:19,424
One thing that I learnt from going
back and reinterviewing the killers,

1041
01:03:19,425 --> 01:03:21,784
the three that were
involved in the murder

1042
01:03:21,785 --> 01:03:24,624
of Kritchikorn
Rattanajurathaporn in Bondi

1043
01:03:24,625 --> 01:03:27,304
and Richard Johnson at Alexandria,

1044
01:03:27,305 --> 01:03:29,144
there was a wide variety of motives,

1045
01:03:29,145 --> 01:03:31,805
and there also a wide
variety of remorse.

1046
01:03:32,545 --> 01:03:34,544
You know, some of them moved on...

1047
01:03:34,545 --> 01:03:37,304
they got jobs, they got
families, they had kids.

1048
01:03:37,305 --> 01:03:39,064
Others...

1049
01:03:39,065 --> 01:03:40,864
others not so much.

1050
01:03:40,865 --> 01:03:44,104
You know, they had...
almost had no soul.

1051
01:03:44,105 --> 01:03:46,744
They had no remorse,

1052
01:03:46,745 --> 01:03:50,104
and if you look 'em in the
eyes, there's just nothing there.

1053
01:03:50,105 --> 01:03:53,584
You just know that they're evil
and they're going to stay evil.

1054
01:03:53,585 --> 01:03:57,064
[Rock music plays]

1055
01:03:57,065 --> 01:03:59,024
[Young man 1] It
fuckin' scares me, mate,

1056
01:03:59,025 --> 01:04:02,504
'cause, you know, the next one, if
we get done for another one, man,

1057
01:04:02,505 --> 01:04:03,984
end up with life.

1058
01:04:03,985 --> 01:04:06,384
[Young man 2] Yeah, I know. Fuck.

1059
01:04:06,385 --> 01:04:09,184
All those unsolved murders out there.

1060
01:04:09,185 --> 01:04:13,304
Yeah, this other one, that was in 1989.

1061
01:04:13,305 --> 01:04:15,845
- What, our one?
- Ours was in 1990.

1062
01:04:16,585 --> 01:04:19,064
Yeah, but he crawled
home and died in a coma.

1063
01:04:19,065 --> 01:04:21,264
That other bloke, that
was in the fuckin' paper.

1064
01:04:21,265 --> 01:04:24,104
- Yeah. How'd he die?
- He's home. He just...

1065
01:04:24,105 --> 01:04:26,285
- Bled to death.
- Yeah.

1066
01:04:27,025 --> 01:04:28,864
They reckon somewhere along the line

1067
01:04:28,865 --> 01:04:31,184
someone stabbed him with a screwdriver.

1068
01:04:31,185 --> 01:04:32,784
Fuck, they're fuckin' idiots.

1069
01:04:32,785 --> 01:04:35,544
And they put all this shit on us.

1070
01:04:35,545 --> 01:04:37,365
We're in enough shit.

1071
01:04:56,785 --> 01:05:00,424
When I finished with Taradale, I
was happy with what we achieved.

1072
01:05:00,425 --> 01:05:03,824
I thought we demonstrated what
good looks like for gay hate crime.

1073
01:05:03,825 --> 01:05:06,144
Unfortunately, that
wasn't to be the case.

1074
01:05:06,145 --> 01:05:08,504
The death of Scott Johnson
came out of nowhere.

1075
01:05:08,505 --> 01:05:13,544
And in many respects, we're back
to where we were right at the start,

1076
01:05:13,545 --> 01:05:18,264
where there's less than complete
investigations of gay hate crime.

1077
01:05:18,265 --> 01:05:21,304
So, Scott was my younger brother.

1078
01:05:21,305 --> 01:05:23,624
He was two and a half years younger

1079
01:05:23,625 --> 01:05:28,064
than I am, and my closest friend.

1080
01:05:28,065 --> 01:05:32,424
He was the smart one
in the family, by a lot.

1081
01:05:32,425 --> 01:05:36,624
He was a real prodigy in mathematics.

1082
01:05:36,625 --> 01:05:40,424
We liked to hike together, we
liked to read Plato together.

1083
01:05:40,425 --> 01:05:42,504
We were quite nerdly.

1084
01:05:42,505 --> 01:05:44,605
We would computer program together.

1085
01:05:45,785 --> 01:05:48,024
He was a very shy guy.

1086
01:05:48,025 --> 01:05:51,189
Even with me, he had trouble
talking about something like

1087
01:05:51,214 --> 01:05:53,038
this relationship that he had.

1088
01:05:53,063 --> 01:05:55,160
So he was kind of
stuttering and stammering

1089
01:05:55,185 --> 01:05:58,824
and finally I said, "Is she pregnant?"

1090
01:05:58,825 --> 01:06:00,384
[Chuckles]

1091
01:06:00,385 --> 01:06:03,984
And he said, "She's a he."

1092
01:06:03,985 --> 01:06:05,944
It floored me.

1093
01:06:05,945 --> 01:06:08,664
Somebody that I knew
as well as I knew Scott,

1094
01:06:08,665 --> 01:06:11,864
and I wouldn't have
guessed that he was gay.

1095
01:06:11,871 --> 01:06:15,371
So we spent pretty much the rest
of the summer talking about it.

1096
01:06:18,778 --> 01:06:20,749
I was in California

1097
01:06:20,774 --> 01:06:25,076
and I got a message on my answering
machine from Scott's partner

1098
01:06:25,101 --> 01:06:27,704
that said, "It's urgent that you call."

1099
01:06:27,705 --> 01:06:30,584
I called his partner,
and he said Scott's body

1100
01:06:30,585 --> 01:06:33,464
had been found at the bottom of a cliff.

1101
01:06:33,465 --> 01:06:38,005
And... my life fell apart.

1102
01:06:39,545 --> 01:06:43,464
When I came the first time to Manly

1103
01:06:43,465 --> 01:06:47,624
and spoke to the constable that
recovered my brother's body,

1104
01:06:48,273 --> 01:06:51,531
he was intransigent

1105
01:06:51,556 --> 01:06:53,904
about doing an investigation.

1106
01:06:53,905 --> 01:06:56,704
I felt he had already made up his mind

1107
01:06:56,705 --> 01:07:00,765
that my brother went up there,
took off his clothes and jumped.

1108
01:07:01,945 --> 01:07:06,843
What I didn't know is why he
would be up on these cliffs naked.

1109
01:07:07,065 --> 01:07:09,725
His body was found naked.

1110
01:07:10,945 --> 01:07:14,864
The coroner decided what the
investigator told them it was,

1111
01:07:14,865 --> 01:07:17,085
which was a suicide.

1112
01:07:18,705 --> 01:07:23,504
It's hard to describe what it's like

1113
01:07:23,505 --> 01:07:26,664
not knowing what happened
to your loved one.

1114
01:07:26,665 --> 01:07:28,624
I didn't accept suicide.

1115
01:07:28,625 --> 01:07:31,144
It was just a question mark.

1116
01:07:31,145 --> 01:07:33,944
And I eventually had three kids.

1117
01:07:33,945 --> 01:07:36,685
They all wondered what happened
to their brilliant uncle.

1118
01:07:38,145 --> 01:07:40,405
Their brill...

1119
01:07:41,785 --> 01:07:43,864
Their brilliant gay uncle.

1120
01:07:43,865 --> 01:07:46,045
Two of my daughters are gay.

1121
01:07:46,985 --> 01:07:49,492
It has always been
very important for them

1122
01:07:49,493 --> 01:07:51,463
to know what happened to Scott,

1123
01:07:51,945 --> 01:07:54,544
but I couldn't tell them.

1124
01:07:54,545 --> 01:07:59,536
He was found at the bottom
of a cliff naked and dead.

1125
01:08:12,385 --> 01:08:15,904
And when I received this news,

1126
01:08:16,373 --> 01:08:18,811
I crawled up in a ball

1127
01:08:18,836 --> 01:08:22,185
and I cried all day.

1128
01:08:22,385 --> 01:08:25,984
Similar to the Bondi area,
there was multiple gangs

1129
01:08:25,985 --> 01:08:28,864
operating around Manly
and the Northern Beaches

1130
01:08:28,865 --> 01:08:30,784
that were involved in gay hate crime.

1131
01:08:30,785 --> 01:08:33,264
So when I learned about
the Bondi killings,

1132
01:08:33,265 --> 01:08:37,744
the first question... was the
area where Scott died a gay beat?

1133
01:08:37,745 --> 01:08:40,024
And I didn't know
whether it was a gay beat,

1134
01:08:40,025 --> 01:08:44,784
so I ended up hiring an
investigative journalist, Dan Glick.

1135
01:08:44,785 --> 01:08:48,424
Your first job is to find out
if this place was a beat or not,

1136
01:08:48,425 --> 01:08:50,183
and your second job is to find out

1137
01:08:50,208 --> 01:08:54,024
if there were any other incidents
of violence in the Northern Beaches.

1138
01:08:54,025 --> 01:08:57,365
So the Northern Beaches are
separated by the Harbour Bridge.

1139
01:08:58,705 --> 01:09:01,005
Find out more about what happened.

1140
01:09:01,825 --> 01:09:04,704
Because he was convinced
that there hadn't been

1141
01:09:04,705 --> 01:09:08,445
any kind of an investigation
into his brother's death.

1142
01:09:11,385 --> 01:09:13,544
You know, be calling him every day

1143
01:09:13,545 --> 01:09:16,264
saying, "This is,
like, astounding stuff."

1144
01:09:16,265 --> 01:09:18,704
Like, the first guy I
talked to said it was a beat.

1145
01:09:18,705 --> 01:09:21,264
"You wouldn't believe it,
this guy got stabbed up there.

1146
01:09:21,265 --> 01:09:24,504
And I just talked to this guy
who described how the beat works.

1147
01:09:24,505 --> 01:09:27,944
These guys got arrested for
40-something counts of assault,

1148
01:09:27,945 --> 01:09:31,904
and this beach was three, four
miles away from where Scott died."

1149
01:09:31,905 --> 01:09:35,285
So it wasn't hard to establish
that it was a gay beat.

1150
01:09:36,025 --> 01:09:39,984
Since then we have learned that
it was a very popular gay beat.

1151
01:09:40,047 --> 01:09:42,914
We've talked to many men

1152
01:09:42,939 --> 01:09:45,760
who used the beat in the '80s

1153
01:09:45,785 --> 01:09:50,024
who said that people knew about
this beat around the world.

1154
01:09:50,025 --> 01:09:54,824
It was a famous, dramatic beat
which, on a sunny Saturday afternoon,

1155
01:09:54,825 --> 01:09:58,184
would be alive with 20 or 30 men,

1156
01:09:58,185 --> 01:10:00,864
some of whom would be
naked, courting each other.

1157
01:10:00,865 --> 01:10:03,765
And you might sunbake.

1158
01:10:04,625 --> 01:10:08,184
It was extraordinary to think
that the police didn't know

1159
01:10:08,185 --> 01:10:09,744
that this was taking place

1160
01:10:09,745 --> 01:10:12,485
just a mile and a half
from the police station.

1161
01:10:13,225 --> 01:10:15,024
Everyone knew about it.

1162
01:10:15,025 --> 01:10:17,944
The remarkable thing about
the Scott Johnson death

1163
01:10:17,945 --> 01:10:22,544
is that this denial at North
Head, particularly Blue Fish Point,

1164
01:10:22,545 --> 01:10:25,464
where the incident
happened, wasn't a gay beat.

1165
01:10:25,465 --> 01:10:28,064
What a load of bullshit!

1166
01:10:28,065 --> 01:10:30,864
Part of the daily routine of a policeman

1167
01:10:30,865 --> 01:10:32,904
is to get in the car and drive around.

1168
01:10:32,905 --> 01:10:36,104
Policemen are like anyone
else in the community.

1169
01:10:36,105 --> 01:10:38,744
They like a place with a nice view.

1170
01:10:38,745 --> 01:10:40,904
Manly has plenty of nice views.

1171
01:10:40,905 --> 01:10:44,104
North Head, you might go
there once or twice in a shift,

1172
01:10:44,105 --> 01:10:46,904
and you'd drive round and
you'd see cars there at night.

1173
01:10:46,905 --> 01:10:50,137
And provided nothing
terribly obvious was going on,

1174
01:10:50,162 --> 01:10:52,104
you'd just let them go to
it. It was a lovers' lane.

1175
01:10:52,105 --> 01:10:53,105
Gay men met there.

1176
01:10:53,625 --> 01:10:55,845
Everyone knew it was a gay beat.

1177
01:10:57,438 --> 01:11:02,424
[Dan] We got a tip from a man
who was part of a team of bashers,

1178
01:11:02,425 --> 01:11:06,064
and he described himself as the lure

1179
01:11:06,065 --> 01:11:09,144
who would approach a gay
man and kind of wink and nod

1180
01:11:09,145 --> 01:11:12,224
and take him off in the bushes
where his mates were waiting for him,

1181
01:11:12,225 --> 01:11:14,624
and they'd bash and
they'd steal their money.

1182
01:11:14,625 --> 01:11:17,325
Like Bondi, they failed
to look at local incidents.

1183
01:11:18,065 --> 01:11:20,544
And there have been incidents
up and down the Northern Beaches

1184
01:11:20,545 --> 01:11:23,427
involving assaults on gay men for years.

1185
01:11:36,745 --> 01:11:40,064
We made an appointment with the
head of the unsolved homicide unit,

1186
01:11:40,065 --> 01:11:44,184
and he sat down and said,
"Right, so what happens now

1187
01:11:44,185 --> 01:11:47,784
is that I've got a stack
of 700 unsolved homicides,

1188
01:11:47,785 --> 01:11:51,024
and this one goes in the bottom.

1189
01:11:51,025 --> 01:11:54,064
And in three to five years,
we'll take a look at it."

1190
01:11:54,065 --> 01:11:56,264
And obviously we were quite appalled.

1191
01:11:56,265 --> 01:11:58,664
And we said, "Yeah, but
you don't understand.

1192
01:11:58,665 --> 01:12:01,064
This never has been investigated,

1193
01:12:01,065 --> 01:12:05,744
so maybe you guys
could take a look at it."

1194
01:12:05,745 --> 01:12:08,384
Six months later, he got back to us

1195
01:12:08,385 --> 01:12:11,664
and said that they had determined

1196
01:12:11,665 --> 01:12:16,664
that there was a zero solvability
index on my brother's case,

1197
01:12:16,665 --> 01:12:19,624
that it couldn't be solved, and so
they weren't going to work on it.

1198
01:12:19,625 --> 01:12:22,504
And furthermore, it wasn't a gay beat.

1199
01:12:22,505 --> 01:12:25,664
So we were back where we started.

1200
01:12:25,665 --> 01:12:30,504
Even after an open finding, even
after all the research we had done.

1201
01:12:30,505 --> 01:12:33,904
We had spent seven
years working on this,

1202
01:12:33,929 --> 01:12:38,928
and still we got the stonewall
from the New South Wales Police.

1203
01:12:54,225 --> 01:12:59,744
We were met by that team with
hostility from the beginning.

1204
01:12:59,745 --> 01:13:03,464
They were indignant that they
were forced to work on this case.

1205
01:13:03,465 --> 01:13:08,403
They reluctantly went
through the materials

1206
01:13:08,428 --> 01:13:10,624
that we had amassed.

1207
01:13:10,625 --> 01:13:14,224
We had 50 or 60 persons of
interest that could be talked to,

1208
01:13:14,404 --> 01:13:19,344
and they systematically
went through the list

1209
01:13:19,345 --> 01:13:21,864
and eliminated all of them.

1210
01:13:21,865 --> 01:13:24,544
So we've got one person of interest

1211
01:13:24,545 --> 01:13:29,304
who's involved in the bashing
of men at toilet blocks

1212
01:13:29,305 --> 01:13:31,064
which we know to be gay beats.

1213
01:13:31,065 --> 01:13:33,413
The guy's got a tattoo of a grim reaper,

1214
01:13:33,438 --> 01:13:35,140
and the alarm bells are sounding for me,

1215
01:13:35,165 --> 01:13:35,983
but apparently they haven't sounded

1216
01:13:35,984 --> 01:13:38,684
for the investigators in that matter,

1217
01:13:38,685 --> 01:13:41,944
and they don't appear to have
given him, you know, a second look.

1218
01:13:41,945 --> 01:13:45,664
Rather than go back and investigate
it again and get it right,

1219
01:13:45,665 --> 01:13:48,864
they thought, "No, we'll
just put a lid on it now."

1220
01:13:48,865 --> 01:13:51,624
And the New South Wales Police
will never admit being wrong,

1221
01:13:51,625 --> 01:13:53,784
but they will go to elaborate lengths

1222
01:13:53,785 --> 01:13:56,544
to make sure they can
say they were right,

1223
01:13:56,545 --> 01:13:58,624
and that's what happened in this case.

1224
01:13:58,625 --> 01:14:03,584
More effort has gone
towards chasing a, you know,

1225
01:14:03,585 --> 01:14:08,104
the theory of suicide as opposed
to pursuing the theory of foul play.

1226
01:14:08,105 --> 01:14:10,944
Do you accept now that
the initial investigation

1227
01:14:10,945 --> 01:14:15,889
into the death of Scott
Johnson back in 1988 was flawed?

1228
01:14:16,625 --> 01:14:18,144
Not at all.

1229
01:14:18,145 --> 01:14:19,797
It was to the standard of the day.

1230
01:14:19,798 --> 01:14:22,500
It was accepted by the coroner then,

1231
01:14:22,505 --> 01:14:25,224
and there's still
evidence and information

1232
01:14:25,249 --> 01:14:26,960
that Scott may have suicided.

1233
01:14:26,985 --> 01:14:27,875
I haven't found anything

1234
01:14:27,876 --> 01:14:31,045
that completely eliminates
that as a possibility.

1235
01:14:31,505 --> 01:14:36,505
It's been crazy how
adversarial it has been,

1236
01:14:36,825 --> 01:14:41,704
because all you have is
a man who lost his brother

1237
01:14:41,705 --> 01:14:45,664
under, at best,
mysterious circumstances,

1238
01:14:45,665 --> 01:14:48,264
and at worst, nefarious circumstances,

1239
01:14:48,265 --> 01:14:51,285
and he's just trying to
find out what happened.

1240
01:14:57,345 --> 01:15:01,864
[Steve] The things that
delighted me in my life

1241
01:15:01,865 --> 01:15:05,264
delighted me because I could
tell my brother about them

1242
01:15:05,265 --> 01:15:07,744
or share them with my brother.

1243
01:15:07,745 --> 01:15:09,304
I miss him.

1244
01:15:09,305 --> 01:15:13,584
Um, I want to know what happened to him,

1245
01:15:13,609 --> 01:15:15,460
and if there's a way...

1246
01:15:15,485 --> 01:15:20,080
to find the person
responsible for his death,

1247
01:15:20,105 --> 01:15:24,944
then I want... I want that
person brought to justice.

1248
01:15:24,945 --> 01:15:28,544
The Johnson case was
a perfect opportunity

1249
01:15:28,545 --> 01:15:31,904
for the New South Wales
Police to make amends

1250
01:15:31,905 --> 01:15:35,544
with a generation of the gay community
that have never forgiven them.

1251
01:15:35,545 --> 01:15:39,845
And here is a perfect chance
to say, "Yeah, we got it wrong."

1252
01:15:44,745 --> 01:15:46,393
Rick Feneley was writing
a series of articles

1253
01:15:46,394 --> 01:15:47,694
in the 'Sydney Morning Herald'

1254
01:15:48,152 --> 01:15:51,064
about a number of gay
assaults and gay murders

1255
01:15:51,065 --> 01:15:53,264
that had happened all
along the eastern seaboard.

1256
01:15:53,265 --> 01:15:57,685
I wrote to Rick, described what
I had witnessed that evening.

1257
01:15:59,745 --> 01:16:03,904
I think I published
the Paul Simes account

1258
01:16:03,905 --> 01:16:07,504
of what he'd witnessed a
week after our first report.

1259
01:16:07,505 --> 01:16:10,224
One Saturday morning, I was
reading the 'Sydney Morning Herald',

1260
01:16:10,225 --> 01:16:14,704
and an article by Rick Feneley about
how a gentleman called Paul Simes

1261
01:16:14,705 --> 01:16:18,264
witnessed a bashing in
South Dowling Street in 1989,

1262
01:16:18,265 --> 01:16:20,184
and I went, "That was me."

1263
01:16:20,185 --> 01:16:24,744
That morning, I get a call from
a man called Alan Rosendale,

1264
01:16:24,745 --> 01:16:27,184
who says, "Oh, my God, it's me.

1265
01:16:27,185 --> 01:16:30,704
That assault described
in your story is me."

1266
01:16:30,705 --> 01:16:34,944
When I found out that I'd been bashed
by four plain-clothes policemen,

1267
01:16:34,945 --> 01:16:38,005
I just got so angry. [Laughs]

1268
01:16:38,905 --> 01:16:40,584
And so I...

1269
01:16:40,585 --> 01:16:42,405
Yeah, just anger.

1270
01:16:43,745 --> 01:16:45,464
And it all made sense.

1271
01:16:45,465 --> 01:16:48,104
That's why the police didn't
come to take a statement from me.

1272
01:16:48,105 --> 01:16:50,424
That's why I never, ever heard
from the police ever again,

1273
01:16:50,425 --> 01:16:54,405
because, lo and behold, they
were the ones that bashed me.

1274
01:16:55,185 --> 01:16:57,384
Was I trusting of the police?

1275
01:16:58,345 --> 01:16:59,658
I think...

1276
01:17:01,394 --> 01:17:05,220
in most things, I would
rely on the police.

1277
01:17:05,245 --> 01:17:07,744
You grow up thinking the
police are there to protect you,

1278
01:17:07,745 --> 01:17:10,464
and that's what I would have been
hoping for on South Dowling Street.

1279
01:17:10,465 --> 01:17:11,972
"I hope the police come."

1280
01:17:11,997 --> 01:17:14,965
But I didn't know at the
time that the police had come.

1281
01:17:22,425 --> 01:17:24,544
That Monday afternoon, I was contacted

1282
01:17:24,545 --> 01:17:28,525
from the New South Wales Police
Force to come in and make a statement.

1283
01:17:30,145 --> 01:17:33,304
Separate interviews on separate
days by different people.

1284
01:17:33,305 --> 01:17:36,944
The detective joined us, and the
first thing she said to me was,

1285
01:17:36,945 --> 01:17:40,384
"There's nothing to indicate that
the two incidents were connected."

1286
01:17:40,385 --> 01:17:41,775
And I thought,

1287
01:17:41,800 --> 01:17:45,744
"Well, that's a pretty negative
attitude to have straight off."

1288
01:17:46,080 --> 01:17:50,984
And both of us noted with surprise
that the detectives had said,

1289
01:17:50,985 --> 01:17:53,784
"You must understand there
is no evidence to suggest

1290
01:17:53,785 --> 01:17:56,544
that there is anything to
connect these two incidents."

1291
01:17:56,545 --> 01:18:01,224
It's possible that
exactly the same crime,

1292
01:18:01,225 --> 01:18:03,567
you know, happened twice in exactly

1293
01:18:03,568 --> 01:18:04,968
the same location on different days.

1294
01:18:05,105 --> 01:18:06,584
It's possible.

1295
01:18:06,585 --> 01:18:10,104
But the details are
so remarkably similar,

1296
01:18:10,105 --> 01:18:13,944
I just think it's beyond, you
know, beyond reckoning, really.

1297
01:18:13,945 --> 01:18:16,304
It did seem to me that
they'd made up their mind

1298
01:18:16,305 --> 01:18:18,264
before they ever interviewed us

1299
01:18:18,265 --> 01:18:20,704
that these were two separate incidents.

1300
01:18:20,705 --> 01:18:23,864
That investigation came
back with next to nothing.

1301
01:18:23,865 --> 01:18:25,864
I mean, it told them nothing.

1302
01:18:25,865 --> 01:18:29,205
But what was most alarming to me...

1303
01:18:30,545 --> 01:18:33,363
the police response made no mention

1304
01:18:33,388 --> 01:18:38,304
of the fact that Paul has
been called in by senior police

1305
01:18:38,305 --> 01:18:41,784
who told him the assailants were police.

1306
01:18:41,785 --> 01:18:44,130
So somehow the police,
all these years later,

1307
01:18:44,185 --> 01:18:48,784
seemed completely
uninterested in exploring

1308
01:18:48,785 --> 01:18:51,584
or finding out who
these assailants were,

1309
01:18:51,585 --> 01:18:54,009
any record of that high level meeting.

1310
01:18:54,204 --> 01:18:56,304
It seems that either...

1311
01:18:56,329 --> 01:19:01,323
a record of that meeting
with Paul Simes was expunged,

1312
01:19:01,714 --> 01:19:05,000
or it was never committed
to paper in the first place.

1313
01:19:05,324 --> 01:19:06,723
But this strikes me as being something

1314
01:19:06,724 --> 01:19:10,024
that was handled so surreptitiously

1315
01:19:10,750 --> 01:19:13,286
that the coppers thought, "We're
not going to put an entry anywhere."

1316
01:19:13,310 --> 01:19:16,104
Because they're
experienced investigators.

1317
01:19:16,105 --> 01:19:19,748
They know that anything they
write down is subject to subpoena,

1318
01:19:19,773 --> 01:19:21,485
they know that they may
not be able to block it.

1319
01:19:21,486 --> 01:19:22,586
"So if we don't write it down,

1320
01:19:22,658 --> 01:19:24,333
we're not gonna get caught by it."

1321
01:19:29,705 --> 01:19:31,664
Totally unsatisfied.

1322
01:19:32,188 --> 01:19:34,320
I just keep getting more and more angry

1323
01:19:34,321 --> 01:19:36,321
and frustrated that they can't...

1324
01:19:38,125 --> 01:19:40,704
They don't want to. They don't
want to investigate themselves.

1325
01:19:40,705 --> 01:19:43,685
Even though it was 25 years
ago, they don't want to.

1326
01:19:56,620 --> 01:19:59,459
It's unfair just to sort of say,

1327
01:19:59,460 --> 01:20:02,859
"Oh, it was the
homophobic police force,"

1328
01:20:02,861 --> 01:20:05,380
and somehow absolve ourselves.

1329
01:20:05,381 --> 01:20:10,180
I mean, the reason the police
force didn't care enough

1330
01:20:10,181 --> 01:20:13,102
was because society didn't
care enough, you know?

1331
01:20:13,127 --> 01:20:15,220
And so if we all cared enough,

1332
01:20:15,221 --> 01:20:18,241
the police force would have been
compelled to investigate better.

1333
01:20:20,821 --> 01:20:23,465
My brother was never
accepting of me, but...

1334
01:20:23,863 --> 01:20:26,871
now, over the last year,

1335
01:20:26,896 --> 01:20:30,420
I went out with them
after my grandmother died.

1336
01:20:30,421 --> 01:20:33,358
We went to a pub up
on the Central Coast,

1337
01:20:33,383 --> 01:20:36,860
and my brother introduces me
to... "This is my gay brother."

1338
01:20:36,861 --> 01:20:41,845
[Laughs] Which you never
thought he would ever say. But...

1339
01:20:43,916 --> 01:20:46,183
if he'd lose the gay bit and
say, "This is my brother,"

1340
01:20:46,208 --> 01:20:49,916
but, um... it's progress.

1341
01:20:50,801 --> 01:20:52,650
And he does even drink
from the same glass

1342
01:20:52,651 --> 01:20:54,415
that I've actually drunk from now.

1343
01:20:59,741 --> 01:21:03,020
Whoever did it, or those who did it,

1344
01:21:03,021 --> 01:21:04,776
will probably have to go through life

1345
01:21:04,777 --> 01:21:06,337
thinking over the back of their shoulder

1346
01:21:07,641 --> 01:21:09,300
what they did...

1347
01:21:09,301 --> 01:21:12,020
and how would they feel

1348
01:21:12,045 --> 01:21:16,300
if I was standing there
dangling one of their children,

1349
01:21:16,301 --> 01:21:19,465
or their brother or sister
over a cliff and saying,

1350
01:21:19,490 --> 01:21:22,700
"Right, it's all over,"
and just open my hand?

1351
01:21:23,004 --> 01:21:27,460
Because when they did what they
did, that's exactly what they did.

1352
01:21:27,461 --> 01:21:31,912
They changed the course of my
history, my family's history,

1353
01:21:31,937 --> 01:21:35,841
my father's history, forever.

1354
01:21:37,021 --> 01:21:38,556
For what?

1355
01:21:38,581 --> 01:21:41,340
For what did they get? What?

1356
01:21:41,341 --> 01:21:43,017
He would not have had $25.

1357
01:21:43,042 --> 01:21:46,368
Well, he died with his cigarettes
and his money in his smoke packet,

1358
01:21:46,400 --> 01:21:47,176
which was found on the ground,

1359
01:21:47,177 --> 01:21:49,424
so they didn't even steal
his fuckin' cigarettes,

1360
01:21:50,114 --> 01:21:51,214
you know?

1361
01:21:51,239 --> 01:21:54,903
Why the fucking hell do you
throw someone over a cliff?

1362
01:21:55,497 --> 01:21:57,336
For what?

1363
01:22:06,704 --> 01:22:09,244
[Man] 8 March, 2016.

1364
01:22:10,384 --> 01:22:13,903
I am writing this letter from prison.

1365
01:22:13,904 --> 01:22:17,063
In 1990, I murdered a gay man

1366
01:22:17,064 --> 01:22:19,644
and seriously assaulted his companion.

1367
01:22:20,984 --> 01:22:25,124
I was convicted of these
crimes along with two other men.

1368
01:22:26,144 --> 01:22:28,503
The night of the crime at Marks Park

1369
01:22:28,504 --> 01:22:32,503
was one of dread,
fear, anger, confusion.

1370
01:22:32,504 --> 01:22:37,223
On the way to Bondi that
night, I was fearful, confused,

1371
01:22:37,224 --> 01:22:41,063
yet all of this was
overshadowed by false pride,

1372
01:22:41,064 --> 01:22:45,223
teenage bravado and a
desire to make others feel

1373
01:22:45,224 --> 01:22:48,244
as miserable and lonely
as I did as a kid.

1374
01:22:50,024 --> 01:22:52,823
It did not matter if
they were gay or not.

1375
01:22:52,824 --> 01:22:55,823
Gay men were simply an easy conduit.

1376
01:22:55,824 --> 01:22:59,103
There was no exhilaration.

1377
01:22:59,104 --> 01:23:01,263
The most accurate way to describe

1378
01:23:01,264 --> 01:23:05,444
what went through me emotionally
and physically was release.

1379
01:23:06,344 --> 01:23:08,383
When I drank and took drugs,

1380
01:23:08,384 --> 01:23:12,103
it opened the spillway, just like a dam.

1381
01:23:12,104 --> 01:23:14,743
I had no emotional intelligence at all,

1382
01:23:14,744 --> 01:23:17,804
so that was my mechanism
for a long time.

1383
01:23:20,184 --> 01:23:23,783
In hindsight, I now see that gay
people at that point in my youth

1384
01:23:23,784 --> 01:23:27,743
were shown to be an easy target
for an angry, maladjusted young boy.

1385
01:23:27,744 --> 01:23:32,204
Gay men were much maligned
in the 1970s and '80s.

1386
01:23:41,104 --> 01:23:42,963
My opinion of gay men now

1387
01:23:42,988 --> 01:23:47,063
is one of compassion,
support and friendship.

1388
01:23:48,025 --> 01:23:50,964
I believe that gay men
should be allowed to marry.

1389
01:23:52,544 --> 01:23:56,204
I believe they do the nation more
justice than the rest of us do.

1390
01:24:01,224 --> 01:24:06,143
Yes, I have gay friends, and
one of my closest mates is gay.

1391
01:24:06,144 --> 01:24:07,823
He's a good bloke.

1392
01:24:07,824 --> 01:24:09,783
He knows my past

1393
01:24:09,784 --> 01:24:14,775
and cannot identify the man I am
now with the person I was then.

1394
01:24:28,304 --> 01:24:32,063
If a young bloke told me he wanted
to subject gay men to violence,

1395
01:24:32,064 --> 01:24:34,303
I wouldn't say anything.

1396
01:24:34,304 --> 01:24:36,604
I'd ask him why.

1397
01:24:37,704 --> 01:24:40,823
That would be my starting point
in dispelling the misguided

1398
01:24:40,824 --> 01:24:44,503
and ill-conceived views
and beliefs he holds.

1399
01:24:45,402 --> 01:24:50,183
Without experience and knowledge,
one cannot develop wisdom,

1400
01:24:50,184 --> 01:24:55,004
and my goal in that scenario would
be to impart that upon the young man.

1401
01:24:57,464 --> 01:24:59,844
What can I say to the family?

1402
01:25:02,304 --> 01:25:06,183
I would say that their
sons, brothers, etc

1403
01:25:06,184 --> 01:25:09,004
had every right to be there that night.

1404
01:25:13,504 --> 01:25:16,623
That my actions that
night were abhorrent.

1405
01:25:16,624 --> 01:25:20,004
No human deserves to
be treated that way.

1406
01:25:27,144 --> 01:25:30,204
I'm sorry I took your
son's life that night.

1407
01:25:34,704 --> 01:25:38,063
If I wasn't there, then
he would not have died.

1408
01:25:38,064 --> 01:25:43,463
I denied him the opportunity
to a full and happy life.

1409
01:25:43,464 --> 01:25:48,044
I caused immeasurable pain
and loss in your family.

1410
01:25:53,264 --> 01:25:55,543
For this, I am sorry.

1411
01:25:55,544 --> 01:25:58,804
[Wistful music]

1412
01:26:13,651 --> 01:26:18,651
Synced and corrected by Aaronnmb
www.addic7ed.com