“For 30 years, my brother’s death was a mystery,” the speakers crackled in the gym on Jan. 15. Steve Johnson, a co-founder of Sage Hill School, as well as a tech entrepreneur and gay rights advocate, shared with the student body the story of uncovering the truth behind his brother Scott Johnson’s death at age 27.
In 1988, Scott was found dead at the bottom of a cliff in Sydney, Australia. Authorities dismissed his case as a suicide and failed to notify his family back in the United States. Steve learned of Scott’s death from his brother’s boyfriend and immediately flew to Australia, marking the beginning of a decades-long fight for justice on behalf of hundreds in Sydney’s LGBTQIA+ community.
“Of course, my life fell apart at that point. Scott was my closest friend,” Steve said, his voice trembling.
Scott was a Ph.D. candidate who had just completed the final step of his mathematical dissertation the morning before his death. He was young and full of potential. Despite apparent signs that there was more to the story of Scott’s demise, investigators refused to reopen the case.
“I was 29 years old, lived 10,000 miles away, had no money, and [my wife] just had a baby,” Steve said.
After returning to the United States, Steve went on to become an entrepreneur and raise three children. But questions about his brother’s suspicious death lingered. After three separate cases of gay men found dead under similar circumstances, which were later deemed gay hate crimes, Steve hired his own investigative team. Six years later, a second inquest was launched, reopening Scott’s case.
A coroner eventually ruled Scott’s death a homicide. A new commissioner appointed a fresh investigative team, which secretly recorded the killer’s confession to murder. Scott’s killer pleaded guilty to manslaughter and is now serving a nine-year sentence. Steve’s tireless efforts to expose the truth behind the homophobic hate crimes that plagued the Australian gay community in the ‘80s and ‘90s played a key role in the 2017 national referendum that legalized gay marriage in Australia.
Reforms within the Sydney police force are underway. The Australian government launched a special commission, forcing police officers under oath to explain how they had suppressed LGBTQIA+ hate crimes for over three decades. As a result, 25 detectives are now revisiting 200 deaths from the same period that are suspected homophobic hate crimes.
“Tell the truth; credibility is everything. Treat everyone with dignity because they will help you. Don’t give up; things change. Don’t be cynical; most people are good”
Steve continues to advocate through his book “A Thousand Miles from Care” and a Hulu documentary on Scott’s case and LGBTQIA+ hate crimes.
