A Sydney court has found 77-year-old Bruce Early guilty of the 1987 murder of Raymond Keam (pictured).
Kean, who was 43 at the time of his death, was found in Alison Park in Randwick in January of 1987. Police allege his murder was a gay-hate crime based on a false perception of his sexual orientation.
In the Supreme Court a person – who cannot be named for legal reasons – read a statement to the court describing the convicted killer as a “soulless monster”.
“Early is a troubled person who not only murdered (Mr Keam) and got away with it for many years but he also destroyed the lives of many other gay men for no reason,” they told the court.
“The soulless monster that murdered him was still out there living his life while (Mr Keam) was buried in the ground.
“Because of you and your desire to ‘clean up’ Alison Park, you stripped the world of a loving father, partner, friend and mentor.”
During the hearing Justice Dina Yehia indicted that she would find that Early’s actions were motivated by a hatred or prejudice against homosexuals, and this would be an agravating factor in her sentencing.
The trial heard that Early was the ringleader of a gang who beat up men who they believed to be homosexual at Alison Park, which was known to be a gay beat.
Early will be sentenced on 20th October. His lawyer said Early expects to die in jail.
OIP Staff
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