Sydney man admits pushing gay American off a cliff in 1988

By ROD McGUIRK
Associated Press

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — A man told police he killed American mathematician Scott Johnson in 1988 by pushing the 27-year-old off a Sydney cliff in what prosecutors describe as a gay hate crime. Scott White, 51, appeared in the New South Wales state Supreme Court on Monday for a sentencing hearing after he pleaded guilty in January to the murder of the Los Angeles-born Canberra resident. Johnson’s death at the base of a North Head cliff was initially dismissed by police as suicide. White will be sentenced by Justice Helen Wilson on Tuesday. He faces a potential sentence of life in prison.