Mathematician Scott Johnson died from gay hate attack: coroner


READ MORE

Almost three decades after Scott Johnson’s body was found at the base of a Sydney cliff the NSW state coroner has found he died as a result of a gay hate attack.


Spear fishermen found the 27-year-old American mathematician’s naked body near Blue Fish Pint at Manly’s North Head in December 1988.


Since then there have been three inquests into his death.


Coroner Michael Barnes on Thursday said: “Mr Johnson fell from the cliff top as a result of actual or threatened violence by unidentified persons who attacked him because they perceived him to be homosexual”.


Mr Barnes handed down his findings following the third inquest at the Coroner’s Court in Glebe in Sydney.





The first inquest in 1989 found Mr Johnson died by suicide. A subsequent inquest in 2012 returned an open finding.


Mr Barnes found it likely more than one person set upon the “young and strong and fit” Mr Johnson while he was at the known gay beat.


“Homicide is more likely than either of the other two scenarios – accident or suicide,” he said.


The coroner said while the mathematician died as a result of a gay hate attack there was insufficient evidence to identify the perpetrators.


Mr Barnes praised the commitment of Mr Johnson’s family who continued to push for the circumstances of his death to be examined.


“Their belief that not all relevant information had been put before the previous inquests has been vindicated,” he said.


The coroner also criticised the initial police investigation as inadequate.


“Regrettably, those responsible for the initial investigation quickly jumped to conclusions without thoroughly and impartially examining all the facts,” he said.


By the time numerous mistakes were recognised it was too late to properly test the evidence to find the truth, he added.


Mr Barnes made no recommendations concerning the police, saying he was satisfied police procedures have improved in the intervening decades.


He said the unsolved case will remain open but he declined to make any recommendations for further investigation.






Article source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/sbsnews-topstories/~3/brf5jZyi6sw/refugee-advocates-tried-get-help-man-found-dead-manus-island

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

World Cup Central: Dhoni, Akhtar, Botham in All Blacks all-time cricket XV

READ MORE Facebook Twitter Facebook Messenger Pinterest Email print World Cup fever has crossed platforms. There was Harry Kane sneaking into India’s training sessions to meet Virat Kohli. And now there’s the All Blacks picking a XV made up of past and present cricketers. With the @cricketworldcup underway in England, we’ve taken a look at all the best players from past and present to select the ultimate Cricket XV! SQUAD NOTES https://t.co/B3rnj5OBuJ #CWC19 pic.twitter.com/KuUtPU77PT — All Blacks (@AllBlacks) June 2, 2019 And they’ve got some pretty cool reasons for picking some pretty cool players. Curtly Ambrose : If anyone wants to argue with this selection then take it up with Sir Curtly himself. We dare you. MS Dhoni : The Richie McCaw of Cricket. Enough said. Dwayne Leverock : Famous for his one-handed catch at the 2003 World Cup, the 130kg Bermudian would surely make just as big a splash on the rugby field. Jofra Archer runs in to bowl  Get...
Read more

Banned Bancroft's journey of self-discovery

Image
READ MORE © Getty Images Spanish lessons, yoga and a host of community work have all been part of the path taken by Cameron Bancroft since the Newlands ball-tampering scandal. The Australia batsman has been looking to seek the sort of perspective and self-knowledge that will prevent him from following the kind of instructions issued to him by David Warner in the Cape Town dressing room. Bancroft spoke in Perth on Saturday ahead of his return to cricket via Twenty20 and 50-over appearances in the Northern Territory, where he will also endeavour to work closely in developing local talent. It’s the next step on the path away from Newlands as Bancroft serves a nine-month ban from the game imposed by Cricket Australia under its code of conduct. Perspective on life was greatly needed as Bancroft, Warner and the former captain Steven Smith pondered what evolved in South Africa, and Bancroft said he had spent plenty of time devoting himself broadening his own knowledge and also to...
Read more

Drones to become the new naval mine hunters under Morrison pledge

Image
READ MORE Advanced navies worldwide are increasingly turning to drones to do mine hunting and clearing work at sea. Marcus Hellyer, a former Defence Department official and now a senior analyst at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, said that using autonomous and unmanned sea vehicles allowed the crewed ship to stay at the edge of a minefield, keeping naval personnel safer. The Morrison government has promised if re-elected to fast-track the building of two new mine hunting naval ships. Credit: Nine Newspapers “Common sense has prevailed,” he said of the decision. “Rather than keeping going down the path where you have old technology being extended at great cost, this will introduce new technology more quickly and that’s a good thing. “The current path does keep the human at the centre of the minefield, but the new approach lets them stay outside the minefield and let autonomous vehicles go in and do the dangerous work.” Article source: https:/...
Read more