Man pleads guilty to manslaughter of gay man Scott Johnson in 1988

An Australian man has pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of the gay American man, Scott Johnson, in Sydney in 1988.

On Thursday (23 February) Scott White, 52, pleaded not guilty to Johnson’s murder and prosecutors agreed to accept the plea.

Scott Johnson was found dead at the bottom of a North Head cliff in 1988. He was 27.

According to the Associated Press via NPR, Police Deputy Chief Inspector Peter Yeomans said on Thursday it had been “a very emotional day for everyone,” including Johnson’s family.

“It just comes to an end a very, very long saga in their lives, some 34 years this has been going on for, that they’ve fought for justice, and finally (it’s) come to fruition today.”

Steve Johnson, the older brother of Scott Johnson, said: “I’m incredibly thankful.”

Police had worked through an appeal to find more evidence. This has been reported as an intercepted phone call where White admitted striking Scott Johnson to a relative.

Scott Johnson, a mathematician, had moved to Sydney in the late ’80s to be with his partner. He was close to completing his PhD when his naked body was found at the bottom of a 60-metre cliff at North head on 10 December 1988.

His family has long campaigned for the death to be investigated as a homophobic hate crime. It was initially believed to have been a suicide. 

After three inquests, it was ruled in 2017 that Scott Johnson had been the victim of an anti-gay attack. A $2 million reward for information proceeded White’s arrest in 2020.

In January 2022 White unexpectedly pleaded guilty to murder at a pre-trial hearing. White’s lawyers attempted to have the admission withdrawn arguing White was not of sound mind.

This was rejected and White was convicted of murder. In May, he was jailed for 12 years and 7 months. A judge ruled there was not enough evidence to determine that the murder was a homophobic hate crime.

The BBC reported in May that White told police he and Johnson had met at a bar in December 1988 when he was 18.

He also said the two men had gone to North Head cliffs, a popular gay cruising spot, where they got into a fight and Johnson fell.

Last November judges ruled White should have been able to reverse his guilty plea over questions about White’s culpability for murder. This, they argued, could have been raised in a trial.

Subsequently, White’s conviction was overruled.

As reported by NPR, White is due to be sentenced again in June.