Watch FIFA World Cup 2026™

LIVE, FREE and EXCLUSIVE starting June 12 2026

Reward offered to resolve gay men's deaths

Three $100,000 rewards have been offered for information on the suspected murders of three gay men in the 1980s.

File
(Dave Thompson/PA) Source: Press Association

NSW Police have announced three $100,000 rewards for information on the disappearance of two gay men and the death of another in Sydney's east during the 1980s.

The body of John Russell, 31, was found at the bottom of a cliff top at Marks Park in Tamarama on November 24, 1989.

The barman who worked in the eastern suburbs was last seen alive drinking with friends at a hotel in Bondi the previous day.

Ross Warren, 24, a news presenter from Wollongong, also disappeared the same year.

He was last seen driving along Oxford Street, Darlinghurst, on July 22, 1989 after socialising with friends.

News that makes sense

Your trusted source for staying up-to-date with the world around you. Get free daily news updates and analysis, straight to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

His keys were found two days later on rocks below the cliff top at Marks Park and his car was located nearby. His body has never been found but a coronial inquest found he was deceased.

Police are also seeking information on 27-year-old French national Giles Mattaini, who was last seen by a neighbour walking on the coast track at Tamarama on September 15, 1985.

He was not reported missing until 2002, with the NSW coroner later finding he was also deceased.

Police say the Homicide Squad's Unsolved Homicide Team have been reviewing the three incidents in recent years, based on the coroner's findings that they were possibly the result of gay hate-related crimes.

The rewards of up to $100,000 each are for information which leads to the arrest and conviction of the person or people responsible for the deaths of the three men.

"We will follow up each and every piece of information that is provided to us," Homicide Squad Commander, Detective Superintendent Michael Willing said in a statement on Tuesday.

Speaking on behalf of the families of Mr Warren and Mr Russell, Peter Rolfe from the Survivors After Murder support group said they had been "haunted by the deaths of Ross, John and Giles".

"We would implore you to take advantage of the rewards being offered, so that not only may our haunting be resolved but in some small way, your haunting may also be relieved," he said.


2 min read

Published

Updated

Source: AAP


Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News straight to your inbox

Sign up now for daily news from Australia and around the world. You can also subscribe to Insight's weekly newsletter for in-depth features and first-person stories.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Follow SBS News

Download our apps

Listen to our podcasts

Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service

Stream now

Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world