Scott White, the man arrested over the 1988 death of American mathematician Scott Johnson, has pleaded guilty to manslaughter.
White was previously tried in court on murder charges. Initially he pleaded not guilty to the charges but during the trial confessed he was responsible for the mathematician’s death. Soon after his legal team attempted to withdraw his confession, but the judge refused to accept the withdrawal.
The 52-year-old was sentenced to 12 years in jail, but his conviction was quashed when the appeal’s court found the judge in his trial had applied the wrong legal test when assessing if he should be allowed to withdraw his plea. White maintained he was innocent.
On Thursday White returned to court, this time he pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of manslaughter.
“You understand by pleading guilty to manslaughter you’re accepting legal responsibility for his death but not for murdering him, you understand that?” the judge asked.
“Yeah I do,” White replied according to ABC News.
Johnson’s naked body was found at the base of cliff in Manly in 1988. His death was initially ruled a suicide despite the area being known as a gay beat where assaults against gay men regularly occurred.
White has told police that he met Johnson at a pub and the two travelled to secluded cliff top location together. At the time he eighteen and homeless. Prior to his arrest White had told two witnesses that being gay was his “biggest secret”. During his trial Judge Helen Wilson said there was not enough evidence to conclude that the death was a hate crime.
Johnson’s family fought for decades to have his death re-examined and after two additional coronial inquests it was reclassified, leading to the arrest of Scott Alan White. Police became aware of White’s involvement in the death following a tip-off from his ex-wife.
Speaking from the USA Scott Johnson’s brother Steve said it was an emotional moment hearing that the man responsible for his brother’s death was finally accepting responsibility.
“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,” he said.
White will be sentenced in June.
OIP Staff
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