Image copyright Reuters Image caption Police say confirmed and suspected gay hate led to the deaths of 27 men in Sydney in previous decades

The killings of 27 men in Australia between 1976 and 2000 were most likely homophobic hate crimes, police say.

A New South Wales police taskforce has spent three years reviewing 86 cases in Australia's most populous state.

It was prompted by a report from the Australian Institute of Criminology that questioned whether police had investigated some cases sufficiently.

On Wednesday, police acknowledged that they had previously played a part in "marginalising" the LGBT community.

"[New South Wales Police] acknowledges without qualification both its and society's acceptance of gay bashings and shocking violence directed at gay men, and the LGBT community between 1976 and 2000," it said in a statement.

It added: "There were certainly people murdered because of their sexuality during this time."

'Brutal' violence

The review, launched in 2015, focused on the suspicious deaths of people with connections to the LGBT community.

It found that hate crimes were either confirmed or suspected in 27 deaths, and that further investigation was needed in another 25 cases. Hate crimes were ruled out in 34 deaths.

The report said the level of violence directed towards gay men during the period was "extreme and often brutal".

In some cases, men were found dead in parks and at the bottom of cliffs near known gay beats in Sydney.

"Anti-gay sentiment is very, very difficult to identify from archived files," said Assistant Commissioner Tony Crandell on Wednesday.

However, he said society and police had effectively given attackers a "licence" to target gay people. Homosexuality was only decriminalised in New South Wales in 1984.

Earlier this year, police formally apologised for violence directed towards participants in Sydney's first Mardi Gras in 1978. </s> A review of 88 suspicious deaths has revealed 27 men were likely murdered simply for being gay during a violent and dark period of Sydney's history.

The unsolved homicide unit is now examining 23 cases with fears homophobic killers may still walk the streets.

From the 1970s gay men were found slain in parks, homes or washed onto sharp rocks below Sydney's secluded gay beats.

The city's budding LGBTIQ community was being targeted while much of the community looked away.

The violence reached a bloody crescendo in the late 1980s and early 1990s fuelled by a "moral panic" triggered by the HIV epidemic.

Up to 20 assaults took place each day but unsympathetic elements of the police and judiciary meant most attacks were never reported or investigated.

NSW Police on Wednesday released findings from a three-year review of 88 high-profile cases from 1976 to 2000.

Strike Force Parrabell's goal was to "do all that is possible" to heal the rift that grew between police and the LGBTIQ community in those decades.

A team of police investigators and independent academics from Flinders University looked at whether attackers had shown evidence of gay-hate motivation.

They reached different conclusions in some cases but agreed eight deaths were the result of gay hate.

All eight have been solved - the killers were charged and convicted.

A further 19 deaths are suspected gay hate crimes and five of those remain unsolved.

Among them was 25-year-old newsreader Ross Warren whose keys were found at the base of a cliff at a Tamarama gay beat in 1989.

His body was never found but homophobic youths were known to be launching attacks on gay men in the area to assert masculinity or as gang initiation.

The deputy state coroner, in 2005, ruled Mr Warren was a homicide victim.

Scott Johnson, who was found dead on the rocks below North Head's gay beat in 1988, is also a suspected victim.

His death, like many others, was ruled a suicide by an early inquest.

But Parrabell, like the latest coronial ruling in 2017, saw enough evidence to rule homophobic attackers may have thrown or chased him off the cliff.

Only 34 cases had no evidence of bias while the remaining 25 had insufficient evidence for classification - but could not be ruled out.

The churches, state and medical world classified homosexuality as a sin, crime and disease respectively during much of this period.

NSW Police, on Wednesday, acknowledged it had been no better - but wanted to move forward.

It's important NSW Police acknowledge its part in history," Assistant Commissioner Tony Crandell told reporters in Sydney on Tuesday.

"If you fail to have a thorough investigation in even one death it affects them all."

Parrabell made a series of recommendations but stopped short of adopting all those proposed by LGBTIQ group ACON - including an apology from police.

AAP understands police leadership will consider an apology. </s> LGBTI advocacy groups have responded to the New South Wales Police Force’s Strike Force Parrabell Report into historical anti-gay hate crimes, calling for improved oversight of police and a formal apology for how the crimes were handled.

The police have released the final report, which reviewed 88 deaths between 1976 and 2000, focusing on whether or not there was homophobic bias.

The report determined that 27 cases had evidence or suspected evidence of bias crime—including five that remain unsolved—and a further 25 were found to have insufficient information to make a determination.

LGBTI health organisation ACON has responded to the report, calling the figures “alarming”.

“The Strike Force Parrabell Report confirms a substantial number of these crimes were motivated by anti-gay bias,” said ACON CEO Nicolas Parkhill.

“It also states that there was a high proportion of cases where there was insufficient evidence to absolutely determine bias.

“These findings are alarming and speak to the extraordinarily high level of violent crimes that were directed to members of our community during this time, often going accounted for.”

Parkhill acknowledged the work by police in reviewing the cases, and said that returning unsolved cases to active investigation would be welcomed.

“Victims of these crimes, as well as their surviving loved ones and family members, deserve truth, justice and closure,” he said.

The report contains 12 recommendations, including new initiatives such as the establishment of an LGBTI conference for police, implementation of a revised system for early identification of bias crimes, and an expanded LGBTIQ Liaison Officer (GLLO) program.

“The GLLO program has had significant benefits for the LGBTI community and we support the recommendation for the program’s expansion,” Parkhill said.

“But before we expand it, we would like to see a review, involving LGBTI community members and organisation, to enhance its effectiveness.”

Following the release last month of ACON’s own report into historical homophobic and transphobic murders, Parkhill questioned whether the police report’s recommendations go far enough.

“While we support Strike Force Parrabell Report’s recommendation for a revised system that can assist frontline operational officers to better identify and record bias crimes, we believe this needs to be coupled with a strengthening of Bias Crimes Unit’s capacity to more fully respond to the needs of LGBTI community members,” said Parkhill.

Among the other recommendations outlined in ACON’s report was an independent inquiry into the actions of the various arms of the criminal justice system, to fully understand the impediments to justice during this period in history.

ACON is also seeking a formal apology by the police to the LGBTI community for inadequate responses to violence throughout the period covered in the report.

“We would welcome an apology from the New South Wales Police Force to the LGBTI community,” said Parkhill.

“This would send a positive sign to any same-sex attracted couple who are still too frightened to hold hands in many places around the state for fear of violence.

“Importantly, it will go a long way in healing the grief and trauma experienced by victims, families and other members of our communities.”

The New South Wales Gay and Lesbian Rights Lobby (NSWGLRL) has echoed the call for an apology and an inquiry into police oversight.

“[As well as] an apology from Commissioner [Mick] Fuller for those affected by historical bias-based crimes in New South Wales, we ask for a commitment from government to ensure the efficacy and appropriate oversight as highlighted in recent requirements of vilification legislations, for the ongoing safety of our LGBTI communities,” said a NSWGLRL spokesperson.

“It is also paramount that New South Wales Police continue to focus on improving its culture and conduct towards LGBTI individuals.” </s> “The NSW Police Force acknowledges without qualification both its and society’s acceptance of gay bashings and shocking violence directed towards gay men, and the LGBTI community between 1976 and 2000.”

In its briefing to the media ahead of the release of Strike Force Parrabell’s report today, this statement perhaps is the clearest sign yet that the NSW Police Force have taken an important step forwards.

Strike Force Parrabell involved years of additional investigative work by police and ACON is grateful for that investment. However, we are obliged to continue to ask questions and seek justice for those who died, and for those whose experiences are not included in Parrabell because they survived their injuries.

Of Parrabell’s 86 reviewable cases, 34 were determined to have "no evidence of bias". That means more than 50 cases were either confirmed homophobic hate crimes, or were unable to be confirmed as such due to investigative limitations, paperwork archiving or missing details. Reading the details of these cases, and understanding the effect of laws and the fear created by HIV and AIDS at the time, it is highly conceivable that these violent, brutal acts were motivated by gay hatred. </s> "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 NBN 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. 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.

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. </s> June 27, 2018. NSW Police Assistant Commissioner Tony Crandell in Sydney discusses the findings of a review of 86 possible gay-hate deaths. Mr Crandell said 23 cases are now back with the unsolved homicide unit but a lack of new evidence has hampered the investigation. "There are people who have committed awful crimes in the past living with us in the community," Mr Crandell said. (AAP Video/Luke Costin)

AN AUSTRALIAN neo-Nazi group that hates foreigners, despises homosexuals and worships Adolf Hitler is spreading its poisonous messages across the country.

Almost every major Australian city has been targeted.

In Sydney, swastikas have been erected.

In Adelaide, synagogues have been vandalised with celebrations of Hitler’s birthday.

In Brisbane, locals have been warned to keep an eye out for “the Hitlers you’ve been waiting for”.

In Canberra, posters for the group brag about “21st century Hitler Youth”.

Even regional centres like Bathurst in the New South Wales central west are not immune to hate speech. Locals there are confronted with posters reading “white revolution is the only solution”.

This week, the group struck again in Melbourne where posters were quickly pulled down from power poles around the city.

They read: “Gays are a walking disease … what are you doing about AIDS?” and “Happy AIDS Month.”

The group behind the messages call themselves Antipodean Resistance and have been on the radar of police for some time.

Online they declare that Australia is “terminally ill”, “weak and crumbling under the weight of progressive degeneracy”. They say they are “filling a long empty void”.

“We have had enough. We refuse to keep sitting by and watching our people falter. We will be at the forefront of Australian National Socialist activism, filling a long empty void. We will bring the final victory of White Australia through rallies, demonstrations, and postering. We will lay the groundwork for our own unity via social events and group activities.

“We accept no degeneracy within our ranks. Being White is not enough. Every individual involved with Antipodean Resistance must dedicate himself to a higher standard of behaviour.

“We oppose substance abuse, homosexuality, and all other rotten, irresponsible distractions laid before us by Jews and globalist elites. We aim to build a society by Nature’s iron laws: those of National Socialism.”

In pictures on social media, the group holds WWII-era Nazi flags but members cover their faces for protection.

Each month they share progress reports. In May, the group wrote that “cops are not the friends of nationalists”.

“They are direct agents of the state which is responsible for everything ruining this country and killing our people,:" the Antipodean Resistance stated.

But their rants are not reflective of a wider prejudice. In an editorial for the Bathurst-based newspaper the Western Advocate, editors wrote that the content of the group’s messages was “disturbing” but they “have no place in modern, mainstream Australian society”.

“Australia is not a place where political extremes have prospered and our nation is all the better for it,” an editorial stated earlier this year.

“This is a country that overwhelmingly believes in the fair go and compassion for others. Australia is a mature democracy where the sensible majority has held the balance of power for more than a century since federation, though the political stripes of those in government might change every few years.

“Extremists will always struggle to gain a stronghold in a nation where there is more good than bad, and where the people have a natural radar for bullsh*t.”

The group was also deprived of one of its social media channels when Twitter suspended its account in January.

Australia’s Anti-Defamation Commission chairman Dr Dvir Abramovich said it was “about time” the group was silenced.

“In 2017, Antipodean Resistance used its Twitter account to post photos of their vandalism, their distribution of swastika posters and violent stickers at universities and in public places across the nation, as well as radicalisation camps in Victoria,” Dr Abramovich said.

“We know that they are actively recruiting members through the web, and that they are being monitored by ASIO.

“Twitter, and other giant media companies must make it abundantly clear that AR and other white-supremacist groups have no role in our society, and those agents of hate, who traffic in incitement and vilification, will not be allowed to use these popular platforms to recruit, intimidate and promote their sickening agenda.”

Dr Abramovich condemned the posters discovered in Melbourne this week. He told the Star Observer the “virulent strain of homophobia” was “polluting and violating our streets”.

“There should be no room in Victoria for such contempt and hatred by a neo-Nazi group which is determined to vilify our diverse and vibrant LGBTIQ community, and send a message of fear and intimidation,” he said.

“These kinds of deplorable attacks will certainly shake many to the core and warrant priority response from the police and government.

“It is also a grim reminder that unchecked bigotry and incitement can ultimately lead to violence.

“Unfortunately, over the last few years we have seen a surge in racist rhetoric and white-supremacist activity across our nation, and we call on all good people to stand together and to say that we can turn back this dangerous tide.” </s> Seven people were found dead in a suspected murder-suicide near Margaret River in Western Australia on Friday. Australian police confirmed the use of guns in what could be the country's worst mass shooting in 22 years.

The bodies of seven people, including 4 autistic children, were found near or at a farm property in Osmington near the South-western tip of Australia, confirmed Western Australia State Police Commissioner Chris Dawson. He also said firearms were recovered from the scene and there appeared to be gunshot wounds.

Police are still unclear whether there was more than one shooter involved in the incident. However, as of the moment, they are not looking for any suspects.

“They all resided in the same property. The bodies of two adults were found outside a building on the property and the rest were found inside. Police have no information to raise concerns about wider public safety. Police were led to the property by a phone call before dawn," Dawson told CBS news.

"Male person connected to the property had phoned police just after 5:00 a.m. (3 p.m. EDT), and officers arrived at the scene shortly afterwards," he added, reported ABC.net.

The property was owned by Cynda Miles and her husband Peter. Their daughter, Katrina Miles, home-schooled her four autistic children in the property. Her body was found alongside those of her three sons and one daughter. The other two bodies are yet to be identified.

Only a month ago, Katrina had written on her Facebook page that her "ex" did not stop stalking her, according to the Australian.

"This is a much-loved family, a big part of the Margaret River community. Our thoughts and prayers go out to everyone that will be affected by this tragedy, including those first responders," State MP for Vasse Libby Mettam told ABC.net.

"This devastating tragedy will no doubt have a lasting impact on the families concerned, the whole community and in particular, the local communities in our South West,” Dawson said.

Detectives from the Homicide Squad and Forensic Crime Scene Unit reached the scene as part of the investigation and the area has been blocked off.

This could be the worst mass shooting attack in Australia since 1996 when a lone gunman killed 35 in Tasmania. The incident prompted the nation to introduce stringent gun controls. The law was widely accepted and also praised by former U.S. President Barack Obama.

"We have been lucky that all forms of gun-related deaths have reduced dramatically since we took that step of having less guns," Greensmith, a PhD scholar in mass shootings at Edith Cowan University, told ABC.net.

The commissioner has urged anyone with any information about the horrific incident to contact the police immediately. </s> Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption The BBC's Daniel Sandford reports on the crimes of Stephen Port, "a serial rapist who became a serial killer"

A serial killer has been found guilty of murdering four young men by poisoning them with lethal doses of a date rape drug.

Stephen Port, 41, lured his victims to his London flat and secretly gave them GHB, the Old Bailey heard.

Scotland Yard believes there could be more victims and is reviewing 58 deaths in London spanning four years involving the drug.

Port, who denied 29 charges, will be sentenced on Friday.

The chef was also found guilty of 10 offences of administering a substance with intent, four rapes and four sexual assaults.

Image copyright Stephen Port/Met Police Image caption Port presented a very different version of himself online (left) where he claimed he'd been in the navy and graduated from Oxford University

Between August 2014 and September 2015, Port murdered Gabriel Kovari, 22, from Lewisham, Daniel Whitworth, 21, from Gravesend, Kent, and Jack Taylor, 25, from Dagenham, east London.

The jury also found him guilty of murdering Anthony Walgate, 23, from Dagenham, in June 2014 by a majority verdict.

Port met his victims on dating websites, including Grindr, and coaxed them to his home in Barking for sex before giving them fatal doses of drugs.

Their bodies were all found dumped in or near a graveyard within 500m of his house.

How did police miss killer Stephen Port?

The Metropolitan Police admitted it missed "potential opportunities" in investigating the deaths and has urged any other victims to come forward.

The force's own LGBT independent advisory group and journalists from the website Pink News had raised concerns about a serial killer being at large but were told the deaths were unconnected.

The Independent Police Complaints Commission is currently investigating how the force handled the initial investigation into the deaths.

Seven officers have been served with gross misconduct notices advising them their conduct is under investigation. Another 10 have been served with misconduct notices.

Cdr Stuart Cundy, from the Met, said he was personally writing to the victims' families "to express our sincere condolences".

Image copyright PA Image caption Port murdered the men at his flat in Barking, east London, before dumping their bodies in and around a nearby graveyard

Port was found not guilty of three rapes relating to two living complainants.

The trial had heard he had an insatiable appetite for boyish-looking, smaller men, who he referred to as "Twinks".

Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption In a police interview in 2015, Port tried to implicate Daniel Whitworth in the death of Gabriel Kovari

The Old Bailey was also told he trawled the internet for pornography involving impassive young men being "raped" by older men.

Home videos were played to the jury of 10 women and two men which appeared to show Port allegedly enacting his drug-rape obsession.

At court: Danny Shaw - BBC Home Affairs Correspondent

As the 12 jurors took their seats, there was an almost palpable sense of tension.

Every day since Monday of last week, when the jury's deliberations began, relatives of Port's victims have gathered waiting for the outcome of this harrowing case.

At 10:35, the jury forewoman was asked whether they'd reached unanimous verdicts on each of the counts and, if so, what that verdict was.

When the first reply of "guilty" came back Port just sighed.

But to his right, there were sobs, tears and hugs among the parents and siblings of those who were murdered.

The murders

Image copyright Met Police Image caption Anthony Walgate (left) and Gabriel Kovari were Port's first victims

Anthony Walgate occasionally worked as a male escort and met Port when he offered the 23-year-old student £800 for an overnight date.

Mr Walgate had told a friend about the date "in case I get killed" but was found dead outside Port's flat on 19 June 2014.

Port later admitted he had "panicked" over the death and was jailed for perverting the course of justice, but he continued to claim Mr Walgate died from taking his own drugs.

Image copyright Met Police Image caption Daniel Whitworth (L) was murdered a year before Jack Taylor (R) died

Gabriel Kovari was staying with Port as a temporary flatmate when he was killed in August 2014.

Port called his sister to confess he had his body in his bed then dragged the 22-year-old to a nearby graveyard.

He then constructed a web of deceit to divert suspicion, telling his neighbour that Mr Kovari had died of an infection in Spain.

Port also invented a Facebook identity via which he told the Slovakian's boyfriend Mr Kovari had gone to a sex party with a man named "Dan".

Image copyright Met Police Image caption The suicide note, written by Port, sought to absolve him of any part in Mr Whitworth's death

The same dog walker who found Mr Kovari's body also found Daniel Whitworth dead in the same spot in the churchyard and "lying in the exact same position" three weeks later.

A fake suicide note was found in his hand which purported to be a confession by Mr Whitworth for Mr Kovari's death.

It was later found to have been written by Port but at the time of Mr Whitworth's death police had treated his demise "at face value".

Image copyright PA Image caption Mr Kovari and Mr Whitworth's bodies were found in the graveyard of St Margaret's Church

Jack Taylor died on 13 September 2015, hours after meeting with Port. The pair had earlier shared a conversation on Grindr.

Following his murder, Port disposed of Mr Taylor's mobile phone and deleted their communication on the dating app.

His body was found by a refuse collector with a needle and syringe in his pocket.

Image copyright AFP/NIKLAS HALLE'N Image caption Jack Taylor's family gave their reaction to Port's conviction at the Old Bailey

Speaking outside court following the verdicts, Daniel Whitworth's family said they were still "bereft at the loss of a such a clever, talented and much-loved boy".

His step-mother, Mandy Pearson, said the guilty verdict "has marked the end of a large part of our battle" but the family "have yet to concentrate on other areas of accountability".

"The fight goes on until all our questions are answered," she said.

Jack Taylor's family said they felt he would still be alive if the police "had done their job".

"The police should be held accountable for Jack's death. We do understand it's not them who took Jack's life but Stephen Port would have been stopped," they said.

Image copyright AFP/ NIKLAS HALLE'N Image caption Mr Whitworth's family made only passing reference to the initial police probe of his death

Police believe there are many other victims and have urged people to come forward.

As Port used a variety of social networks and dating apps to meet men, the Met has released a list of his account details in a bid to aid any other possible victims. </s> SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — More than 40 years after a serial killer dubbed the “Doodler” terrorized San Francisco’s gay community, police released a sketch Wednesday of what the man might look like today and announced…

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — More than 40 years after a serial killer dubbed the “Doodler” terrorized San Francisco’s gay community, police released a sketch Wednesday of what the man might look like today and announced a $100,000 reward for details leading to his capture.

Police believe the killer stabbed at least five men to death from early 1974 to late 1975.

He became known as the “Doodler” after a victim who survived an attack told police the man was doodling while they talked at a late-night diner and said he was a cartoonist.

At a news conference, police released a pair of images that showed a 1975 sketch of the man and an “age-progression” showing what he might look like now.

“In the 1970s, this was gripping the gay community and San Francisco,” police Commander Greg McEachern told the news conference, saying authorities were releasing the new sketch in hopes of bringing justice to victims of the “horrendous homicides.”

It’s one of several cold cases, particularly serial crimes, being re-examined after the capture last year of the notorious “Golden State Killer” through DNA analysis, McEachern said. Police have submitted DNA samples from some of the 1970s crime scenes in the Doodler case and were waiting for results from a lab.

Police described the killer as an African-American male, about 5 feet, 11 inches tall with a lanky build who was likely in his early 20s during the attacks.

At the time, a witness was able to give investigators a description of the attacker, leading to a man being detained in 1976 but never charged.

McEachern said police have interviewed the man since returning to the case and he remains a person of interest. His name was not released and authorities declined to say if he resembled the man in the sketches.

The killer targeted white men he met at after-hours gay clubs and restaurants in San Francisco. He usually sketched them before having sex and stabbing them.

The bodies of four men were found along the beach. Another stabbing victim was found in Golden Gate Park.

“Even now, the story gives me chills,” said prominent gay activist Cleve Jones, who recalls how the string of killings terrified the gay community. “Imagine, you’re out at a club having a drink, and someone hands you a sketch they’ve done of you. I can’t think of a more disarming ploy to gain someone’s trust.”

An Associated Press story from 1977 quotes police as saying the suspect at the time could not be charged because three survivors, including a “well-known entertainer” and a diplomat were reluctant to “come out of the closet” to testify against him.

AP interviewed gay rights advocate Harvey Milk at the time about the victims’ refusal to testify.

“I can understand their position,” Milk said. “I respect the pressure society has put on them.”

The interview with AP came just over a year before Milk, the first openly gay man elected to public office in the U.S., was assassinated.

Police on Wednesday also announced a reward of $100,000 for information leading to the arrest of the killer and released audio of an anonymous call made to police on Jan. 27, 1974, reporting a body found near Ocean Beach in San Francisco.

Responding officers discovered the body of 50-year-old Gerald Cavanaugh, the first of the killer’s five known victims.

Police are seeking information on the identity of the caller, who declined to give his name.

“I believe there might be a dead person,” the caller said. “But I didn’t want to get too close to him because you never know what could happen.”

Copyright © 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.
Police in New South Wales, Australia, reclassify 27 murders from 1976 to 2000 as possible homophobic hate crimes following a review prompted by an Australian Institute of Criminology report that suggested crimes against LGBT victims had been insufficiently investigated.