Australian admits to 1988 killing of US gay man, leading to ‘emotional moment’ for victim’s family
- Scott White’s admission comes three months after his conviction for murder overturned by appeal court; victim’s brother had offered a vast sum for information
- Johnson’s family fought for years to overturn initial finding that the mathematician, 27, had taken his own life; he died after falling from a Sydney clifftop
Scott White’s admission in the New South Wales state Supreme Court comes three months after he had his conviction for murdering Scott Johnson overturned by an appeal court.
The family of the Los Angeles-born Johnson had fought for years to overturn an initial finding that the 27-year-old mathematician had taken his own life in 1988.
Johnson’s Boston-based older brother Steve Johnson told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation that Thursday’s proceedings “might be the most emotional moment yet”. The sibling had watched the Sydney court hearing online from the United States.
“The police work that continued during the appeal and after the appeal to get that one last piece of evidence that brought him to the table … so that we could negotiate this, I’m incredibly thankful,” Johnson said.