‘Disgraceful’ forensic failures exposed as Special Commission investigates deaths of three gay men in Sydney

The death of a much-loved barman in Sydney’s eastern suburbs was almost certainly a gay hate crime, an inquest has been told.

A mountain of evidence suggests that the death of a gay man first thought to have fallen off a cliff in Sydney more than thirty years ago was in fact killed by anti-gay attackers, an inquest has heard.

John Russell was 31 when his body was found at the base of the cliffs at Marks Park, in between Tamarama and Bondi, in November 1989.

John Russell was probably murdered in Sydney in 1989, but his death was never treated as suspicious and initial investigators committed significant forensic errors, an inquest has heard. Picture: Supplied.

Mr Russell’s death and those of two other, Gilles Mattaini and Ross Warren, are the subject of a current inquiry into suspected LGBTIQ+ hate crimes.

Mr Mattaini, 26, and Mr Warren, 25, were both openly gay men who died in suspicious circumstances in the same area.

The area around Bondi and Tamarama beaches was known as a popular gay beat but also became the target of so-called “poofter bashings” in the 1980s.

On Wednesday Peter Gray SC said it was “highly probable” Mr Russell’s death was a gay hate crime.

Mr Gray said this conclusion was supported by a number of facts, including the “abundance” of gay hate crimes in the Bondi and Tamarama area at the time, and possibly foreign hairs found on Mr Russell’s left hand after his death, but which were lost by early detectives.

He said there was an assault on another man one month later in the exact same location by as many as twelve men.

Mr Gray said Mr Russell was likely in the area to use the beat, as it was not on his way home from the Bondi pub he had been drinking at earlier that night.

He said the position of Mr Russell’s body, whose head and upper body were facing the cliff face, did not indicate that he fell accidentally.

Mr Gray said the clothes Mr Russell was wearing at the time will be subjected to further testing by the Forensic and Analytical Science Service (FASS), who he said will report on their findings soon.

He was withering in his assessment of NSW Police’s handling of the death’s, in particular a strike force established in 2015 that overturned a 2005 coronial finding that Mr Russell and Mr Warren were most likely met their deaths at the hands of gay hate assailants.

The strike force, SF Neiwand, made a deliberate choice not pursue people of interest to the deaths, such as gang members, a submission to the inquiry stated.

“Instead it directed its considerable efforts and resources, over some two years, to attempting to build a case for contradicting and overturning those (earlier) findings,” the submission read.

Mr Gray said on Wednesday the findings of SF Neiwand were “completely without foundation.”

Earlier on Wednesday, he said hairs found on Mr Russell’s hand at the base of his cliff were lost by the first investigators involved in the case.

The inquest also heard that the original Officer in Charge from the Bondi Police Station did not treat the death as suspicious, while Mr Russell’s jeans, shoes, cigarettes and cigarette lighters were never subjected to any forensic analysis.

It was one of multiple forensic errors made by early detectives, which the inquest heard also included the probable washing of the clothes Mr Russell was wearing at the time of his death by police.

Mr Russell was a barman at the Bronte Bowling Club and lived with his brother, Peter Russell, at their home in Bondi.

On the evening on November 22, a Wednesday, he had been drinking with a friend at the Bondi Hotel, which he left at 11pm.

His body was found the next morning with multiple injuries, including fractures to his skull.

The hairs on John Russell’s hands (pictured) were “bagged” by investigators, an inquest has heard, but were lost and never forensically tested. Picture: Supplied.

Earlier on Wednesday morning an emotional Peter Russell paid tribute to his “loving, caring brother and friend.”

He said his brother was planning to move to the Hunter Valley at the time of his death to live next to the pair’s father after receiving an inheritance.

The inquest into the deaths of Mr Russell, Mr Mattaini and Mr Warren is expected to run for two days.

Originally published as ‘Disgraceful’ forensic failures exposed as Special Commission investigates deaths of three gay men in Sydney