By Lucy Cormack
An extensive review of 88 suspicious deaths in Sydney between 1976 and 2000 has revealed almost a third were the result of crimes involving suspected or confirmed gay-hate bias.
Up to 10 criminal investigators have spent three years reviewing the deaths, which had been highlighted by researchers as having potential gay-hate bias motivation, or a connection with the LGBTIQ community.
Known as Strike Force Parrabell, the investigation's report, to be made public on Wednesday, has found evidence of gay-hate bias or suspected bias in 27 cases while 23 of the deaths also remain unsolved.
Two of the 88 deaths were removed from the investigation - one because it took place outside of NSW and the other had no records to review.
John Russell's body was found at the base of a cliff at Tamarama.
“It’s an ugly part of our history,” said Assistant Commissioner Tony Crandell, the police's spokesman for Sexuality, Gender Diversity, and Intersex.
"It needs to be acknowledged and we need to do everything we can to make sure no one is ever again fearful for their life because of who they are."
Among the unsolved is the death of John Russell, whose life was cut short in 1989 when he was discovered at the base of a cliff below Marks Park, a known gay beat below the Bondi to Tamarama coastal walk.
Mr Russell, 31, was in the midst of planning to travel around Australia when he was found lying on rocks below the cliff with extensive injuries.
A coronial inquest in 2005, the second into his death, would find his injuries were the result of being "thrown from the cliff onto rocks, by a person or persons unknown."
So too is that of Ross Warren, a 25-year-old up-and-coming newsreader who worked for the WIN regional television network.
He was last seen driving along Oxford Street, Darlinghurst on July 22, 1989, before his keys were found on a rock also at the base of a cliff off Tamarama's Marks Park; his car later located nearby.
Ross Warren was an up-and-coming TV newsreader before his death in 1989.
Mr Warren's body has never been found.
The death of young mathematician Scott Johnson, whose 1988 death was also determined to be the result of a gay hate crime during an extraordinary third coronial inquest in November last year.
That finding was reaffirmed by Strike Force Parrabell.
Strike Force Parrabell was launched following a submission to the Australian Institute of Criminology in 2013, which identified potential gay-hate motivations in 88 suspicious deaths across NSW.
In the wake of the submission and subsequent media reports, police identified an urgent need to uncover evidence of homosexual bias among the 88 deaths, as well as address allegations of deliberate police inaction, police participation in gay bashings and police brutality.
“We undertook this review knowing we can’t change the past, but we can shape our future," Assistant Commissioner Crandell said.
Scott Johnson's death was determined to have been the result of a gay hate crime.
“Our work was scrutinised by academic experts [at Flinders University], and the results show we didn’t always agree, but what is clear is that there were certainly people murdered because of their sexuality during this time."
Investigators classified eight cases as gay-hate bias-related crimes, and a further 19 suspected as gay-hate bias-related crimes; five of which remain unsolved.
Cyril Olsen, 61, was found floating face-down in Rushcutters Bay.
In most of the 23 unsolved deaths, such as that of 61-year-old Cyril Olsen who was found floating face down in Rushcutters Bay in August 1992, investigators said they had insufficient information to establish if it was, or wasn't a bias crime.
Among those confirmed to be gay-hate killings, by both Parrabell and the independent university review team, was the murder of Patrick O'Neill at the hands of an 18-year-old male prostitute.
Mr O'Neill was found dead in his unit on Bayswater Road Kings Cross in 1985.
The 68-year-old had been stabbed numerous times to his chest and throat, before he was covered in newspapers and clothing and set alight.
Raymond Keam was found dead in Alison Park, Randwick in January 1987.
Damon Randall Walsh, then 18, had left the Kings Cross apartment after engaging in consensual sex with Mr O'Neill, only to return with a pair of scissors he would use to inflict the vicious attack.
In subsequent police interviews Walsh made repeated derogatory comments about homosexuals, while also acknowledging confusion over his own sexuality.
He was convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to 12 years in jail.
Other deaths reviewed include Richard Johnson, who was found near the toilet block of Alexandria Park January 1990 and Raymond Keam, 44, who was found in Alison Park, Randwick in January 1987.
Strike Force Parrabell found 34 cases with no evidence of gay-hate bias crime, with four still yet to be solved.
Insufficient information meant the 25 remaining cases could not be determined as either gay-hate related or not, 14 of which are still unsolved.
Of the 63 solved cases, in which a dominant motivation could be determined, nine were classified as gay-hate crimes, six were classified as motivated by paedophile-bias, 32 were found to be motivated by robbery, while 14 cases attracted other motivations.
Flinders University’s Professor Willem de Lint said there was no easy way to truly determine if bias played a role in criminal acts.
“While it is important to document bias, it is our view that the over-reporting and recording of bias can produce unfortunate consequences,” Professor de Lint said.
“Over-reporting and recording is fuelled by a confirmation bias, where there is a tendency to search for evidence in accordance with a perception that the phenomenon is more widespread than records would indicate."
Neither Strike Force Parrabell or the Flinders University researchers found evidence of institutional anti-gay police bias in their reviews.
Concerns were raised for a small number of investigations for being less than thorough, with Assistant Commissioner Crandell conceding that, "if you fail to have a through investigation in even one death, it affects them all."
The report made twelve recommendations, including the need for revised bias crime indicator assessment tools; ongoing ethical and cultural training to specifically include LGBTIQ experiences and continued improvements to electronic case file archiving.
All twelve will be implemented by NSW Police Commissioner Mick Fuller.
Last month HIV prevention group ACON released its own report into "gay and transgender prejudice killings in NSW in the late 20th century," which recommended a formal apology by NSW Police to the LGBTI community for "the inadequate or slow responses to violence throughout this period".
It is understood Assistant Commissioner Crandell intends to brief Commissioner Fuller about the prospect of an apology.
Homicide Squad Commander, Detective Superintendent Scott Cook, said all unsolved Parrabell cases will be assessed under the unit’s new framework.
“Our goal is more answers for more families, and importantly, we want justice for more victims," he said.
An earlier version of this story inccorectly stated Ross Warren was a newsreader for the NBN regional television network.