Man arrested over death of Raymond Keam at Randwick in 1987

An elderly man has been extradited from Victoria after being arrested over the death of a man in Sydney’s east in what police are investigating as a potential gay hate crime.

A Victorian man will appear in court on Thursday over the death of Raymond Keam whose body was found in a park in Randwick 34 years ago.

The 75-year-old was arrested in Victoria on Wednesday and extradited to NSW.

He is due to face Albury Local Court on Thursday morning.

Raymond Keam was bashed to death at Alison Park in Randwick in January 1987.

The man appeared in Melbourne Magistrates Court on Wednesday when his extradition to NSW was granted.

He was taken to Woodonga Police Station by Victorian police and handed over to NSW Police.

Mr Keam’s body was found in at the northern end of Alison Park at Randwick in Sydney’s east on January 13, 1987.

A member of the public made the grim discovery while walking through the parklands.

In June this year police announced a $1 million reward for information leading to an arrest over Mr Keam’s death.

A post-mortem examination later revealed Mr Keam died from severe head injuries likely due to being struck by a person or people, a coronial inquest determined.

The homicide squad revisited the cold case in 2019 and relaunched an investigated with detectives attached to Strike Force Augenaut.

Mr Keam, who was 44 when he was killed, had two children and was a martial arts expert with a black belt.

Raymond Keam’s children Dane and Stephanie Keam ask for information to help solve his murder. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Jeremy Piper

One theory police have investigated is that Mr Keam was the victim of a spate of gay hate crimes in the area around that time.

Earlier reports suggest his pockets had been emptied and the glove box and boot of his car had been ransacked.

In the late ’80s the Alison Park public toilets were a well-known gay beat where men were often victim of serious assaults or robberies.