Show Notes
When the body of Scott Johnson was found at the bottom of a cliff in North Head, Sydney, with his clothes folded neatly at the top of the cliff with a pen resting on top, the police easily ruled it a suicide. That was the direction in which the evidence was pointing, and there was no need to investigate any further. Scott’s brother, Steve, could never accept that Scott would kill himself. Scott was almost finished his PhD. He had moved to Australia from America only two years prior to live with his partner. But he was also an out gay man in the 1980s, a time when homophobic violence was rampant, particularly in Sydney. Steve was determined to investigate his brother’s death, properly and thoroughly, and with the help of a dedicated journalist, the eventual backing of the NSW police, a couple of million dollars, two coronial inquests, and almost 32 years of waiting, a man named Scott Phillip White was finally arrested for the murder of Scott Johnson, on May 12, 2020. EPISODE NOTES: Scott Johnson was sadly one of the many gay men who were overlooked or discounted by the NSW Police in the late 1980s. It was well known that gangs of young men would rove around “gay beats” – areas where gay men would frequent for hook ups – in search of victims to bash. Many men were beaten, many were killed, but homophobia and the AIDS panic were at fever pitch. Many of gay men just felt like the police weren’t interested in protecting them. Over the years, many inquests, investigations, and reviews have been held into the murders of gay men in Sydney. In 2005, it was found that two other young men who had died after ‘falling’ of a cliff top were victims of a gay hate crime. Scott Johnson’s former partner forwarded the story to Steve Johnson, questioning whether or not that could have been what happened to Scott, too. Neither man ever really believe Scott had killed himself. Steve pushed for a new investigation, put literally millions of dollars and years of his own life into finding out the truth about what happened to his brother. Finally, in 2020, there has been an arrest – an arrest which has prompted investigations in to four other potential gay hate crimes from around the same era. Justice has come late for Scott Johnson, and for his family and friends. But hopefully, finally, there will be some closure in this case, and the right thing will finally be done by all the victims of hate crimes who have gone without a voice for so long. You can watch the episode of Australian Story about Scott and Steve Johnson here https://www.abc.net.au/austory/on-the-precipice/9170140?fbclid=IwAR2VBUsu7dznI--ylDQ1-i8uC-TvJN02hm0aAzxFiTwcJvaQYQY3Txn2ur0 (if you’re in Australia). A longform article about the case can be found here https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/the-moment-that-inspired-steve-johnson-to-find-his-brother-s-killer-20200512-p54sbr.html?fbclid=IwAR1VKHJdQbIbeE38WnwmHqY5ZS5uYR6wy7ogrhW0gVn_o2b0Bjfh56wteHA A timeline of Scott’s life can be found here https://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-12-16/scott-johnson-saga-from-the-80s-to-now/8120902?nw=0&fbclid=IwAR1CVhzFlQW2Z-L6gKhkB9kkZaeMDKcBUoI2HtgokQGMMQ-WLgmjk0UAMWs Information about the arrest can be found here Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/murder-in-the-land-of-oz. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/murder-in-the-land-of-oz. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
More from Murder in the Land of Oz
As the final installment of our First Nation's themed season, we are talking about January 26th. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/murder-in-the-land-of-oz. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/murder-in-the-land-of-oz. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
We are back after a (what turned into a much bigger than intended) break!
Whoops we covered another cult. Coming for ya, Jo Thornely. Chantelle McDougall, her six-year-old daughter Leela, her partner Simon Kadwill, and their housemate Tony Popic went missing in July of 2007. Simon was the leader of an internet-based doomsday cult, who believed that through death, a chosen few would ascend to a new plane of reality and usher in the new Aquarian age of existence. So you know, normal stuff. They told friends and family they were moving to Brazil, but their was no activity on their passports. Their disappearance left police stumped. Had they committed group suicide, or had they gone even further into isolation and completely segregated themselves from society? Our main sources this week were the coronial inquest completed in 2017. You know we love an inquest document! https://www.coronerscourt.wa.gov.au/_files/Felton,%20G;%20McDougall,%20C%20J%20and%20L;%20Popic,%20A%20K%20%20finding.pdf News articles about the case can be found here https://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-12-06/cult-leader-simon-kadwell-inquest-begins-into-missing-family/9205656 and here https://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/real-life/news-life/cult-leader-simon-kadwell-inquest-hears-police-failed-to-investigate-report-of-dead-flesh-smell/news-story/b828be6ad139699e509c94ce62bc5292 The website for Simon’s “work” can be accessed via the Wayback Machine here https://web.archive.org/web/20071103141354/http://www.thenewcall.org/book_sdp.htm Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/murder-in-the-land-of-oz. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/murder-in-the-land-of-oz. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Okay, yes, every show and their dog (or podcast cat) have covered this case. But we just had to jump on the bandwagon. You may be familiar with the murder of Dee Dee Blanchard from the documentary Mommy Dead and Dearest, or the hit TV show now on Hulu The Act, or just generally from having an internet connection at any point in time over the past four years. The internet is obsessed with this case, and for good reason – the horrific murder of Dee Dee Blanchard shocked the world, not because of the brutality of the crime – but because of the scale of the abuse that Dee Dee afflicted on Gypsy, her daughter, who she had raised to believe was sick with a whole medical textbook of illnesses. Once Dee Dee was dead, the truth came out – nothing was wrong with Gypsy. She was a victim of Munchausen by Proxy, and was horribly abused by the person who was meant to care for her most. EPISODE NOTES: Friends and neighbours looked at Dee Dee and Gypsy Rose Blanchard as a perfect mother-daughter pair. Dee Dee was dedicated to her sick daughter, and Gypsy was in turn loving and devoted to her mother. When Dee Dee was murdered in 2015, people were horrified. Who was going to take care of poor Gypsy now? But as the truth came out, and Gypsy – along with her boyfriend, Nicholas Godejohn – was charged with her death, people were horrified to discover that Dee Dee was not what she seemed – and neither was Gypsy. Gypsy had every disease under the sun, from cancer to muscular dystrophy. She was confined to a wheelchair, had tubes all over her body, and had no hair and barely any teeth. She never properly attended school and was in and out of hospital constantly. But none of her ailments were real. Dee Dee was forcing Gypsy to be sick, lying to her about her real age, and physically and mentally abusing her to keep up the sickness routine, so that Dee Dee could keep reaping the benefits of having a sick child. While Gypsy and Nicholas Godejohn were both ultimately convicted of Dee Dee’s murder, many people believe that Gypsy acted in self-defence, and did what she had to do to escape from one of the most horrific situations of abuse conceivable. Read Michelle Dean's incredible longform article on the case here https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/michelledean/dee-dee-wanted-her-daughter-to-be-sick-gypsy-wanted-her-mom More info about the case can be found here https://www.yourtango.com/2019322839/who-nick-godejohn-new-details-gypsy-roses-boyfriend-man-murdered-dee-dee-blanchard?fbclid=IwAR0c95is1g2caWJ1wSQX9CobuA8rK30l_Z5BDjfW4AAdf-CpbE2IlcVH7kA Information about the case and also Munchausen by Proxy can be found here https://www.yourtango.com/2019322870/what-munchausen-syndrome-by-proxy-story-gypsy-rose-blanchard?fbclid=IwAR28fu87X_aWdA9iOnfoLHevQ_bfIyiMeabBSbHo-T2YajOWh8ey3vd7YKI For some info on Hulu's stunning new show The Act (this is not a sponsored episode but also – sponsor us, Hulu?) head here https://www.marieclaire.com.au/the-act-tv?fbclid=IwAR2Ohe3PFiupYeS2rfTO3Ux9LoluGAiYbzWQMNMiQJz8RCg5iwvChcyUMHM