After 3yr Probe Australia Find 27 Men Were Killed Because They were Gay

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Police in Sydney have admitted that an “ugly”  wave of gay-hate violence led to the murder or suspected murder of 27 men between 1976 and 2000, including some who were thrown off cliffs or slain in parks that were well-known gay beats. 

A three-year investigation into 88 suspicious deaths exposed a dark episode in Sydney’s history, in which the police and judiciary were accused of failing to properly report or investigate the bashing and killing of gay men, whose deaths were sometimes recorded as suicides. 

The horrific violence towards homosexuals peaked during the “moral panic” around the HIV epidemic in the 1980s and 1990s, when up to 20 assaults were occurring daily. Admitting they can “learn from the past”, police in New South Wales investigated 88 deaths and concluded that eight of the men were murdered by homophobic killers and 19 were suspected of links to gay hatred.

The motives for a further 25 killings remain unknown. 

Of the remaining deaths, 34 cases had no evidence of gay-hate bias  and two were removed from the investigation, one due to a lack of records and one because it occurred outside the state of the New South Wales.

Police said they will consider issuing a formal apology to the victims and their families. Some of the killers responsible are believed to be alive and at large. 

“We accept that there were mistakes made,” said Assistant Commissioner Tony Crandell. 

“We accept that we can learn from the past and we can do better. We believe that the community expectation of police today and always is to conduct thorough investigations when it comes to the death of somebody.”

He added: “It’s an ugly part of our history.”

Many of the assaults and deaths occurred at well-known gay beats such as popular beaches and parks, mainly targeting gay men and transgender women. Some of the murder victims were chased or thrown off coastal cliffs. 

Alan Rosendale was attacked in Sydney in 1989

Recalling being pursued  down a busy Sydney street after being spotted at an inner-city gay beat in 1989, Alan Rosendale said he heard someone shout “there’s one, let’s get him” before a group of men began chasing him. He tripped and was caught by the men: his next memory was waking in hospital.

“I had a broken nose, broken teeth, they bashed me around the head a lot,’ he told Gay Star News.

Mr Rosendale said police made numerous errors in their report, including incorrectly recording his name and birthdate and claiming he was attacked by “skinheads”.

“I was punched and kicked to the ground in an area frequented by homosexuals was all the [police] report said,” he said.

“We all knew they were murders, but they were being reported as suicide. I just thought it would never happen to me."  

From telegraph.co.uk