Scott White, 51, appeared in New South Wales Supreme Court for a conviction hearing after pleading guilty in January to the murder of 27-year-old Scott Johnson in Sydney. The victim was a native of Los Angeles, who was working for a doctorate in mathematics at the National University of Australia and was living in Canberra at the time. Prosecutor Brett Hatfield said the exact details of the murder were unknown and that White’s accounts differed. White had met Johnson at a suburban bar in Manley and Johnson had stripped naked to the top of the cliff before he died, Hatfield said. He said the gravity of the murder was significantly increased because he was motivated by the victim’s sexuality. Johnson’s death from the fall was initially dismissed by Sydney police as suicide. White faces up to life in prison when he is sentenced by Judge Helen Wilson on Tuesday. Scott Johnson was assassinated on a popular gay dating site in 1988 by Scott White, who initially claimed to have tried to prevent the man’s death. BULLETIN / NEW SOUTH WALES POLICE / AFP via Getty ImagesScott White following his arrest for the murder of Scott Johnson in 1988. NSW Police “I pushed a guy. “He went over the edge,” White said in a recorded police interview in 2020 that was played in court on Monday. White said in the interview that he lied when he had earlier told police he had tried to grab Johnson and prevent his fatal fall. A medical examiner ruled in 2017 that Johnson “fell from the top of a cliff as a result of real or threatened violence by strangers who attacked him because they perceived him as gay.” Police are investigating a cape in Sydney on May 12, 2020, following an arrest in connection with the death of a man in 1988. Image by AAP / Dan Himbrechts The medical examiner also found that homophobic male gangs were roaming Sydney looking for gay men to attack or rob, resulting in about 80 deaths. A medical examiner had ruled in 1989 that Johnson, who was openly gay, had committed suicide, while a second medical examiner in 2012 could not explain how he died. Steve Johnson’s brother, who lives in Boston, spent years seeking justice for Scott and offered his own ransom of more than $ 700,000 for information leading to his arrest. Steve Johnson (right) arrives with his family to watch the conviction of his brother’s confessed murderer in Sydney Supreme Court.AP Photo / Rick Rycroft White was indicted in May 2020 and police say the reward is likely to be collected. White’s ex-wife, Ellen White, told the court that her then-husband “boasted” to their children that he had beaten gay men on the rocks of North Head – a popular gay meeting place. Helen White said she read a newspaper in 2008 about Johnson’s death and asked her husband if he was responsible. According to Helen White, her then husband “boasted” to their children that they had beaten gay men on the rocks of North Head.EPA / NSW POLICE “It’s not my fault,” Scott White reportedly replied. “The dumb [expletive] he ran off the cliff. “ “I said, ‘If you chased him,’” Helen White told the court. She said her husband did not answer. After questioning, Helen White denied knowing she was rewarded for information about Johnson’s murder when she reported her ex-husband to police in 2019. She said she only learned about the money when the victim’s brother doubled the amount in 2020. Steve Johnson said in a statement to the victim: “With a vicious push, Mr. White took Scott and disappeared. Steve Johnson was seen with his family during the trial. AP Photo / Rick Rycroft “This man [Scott Johnson] “who once told me that he could never hurt anyone, even in self-defense he died terrified,” the brother added. Steve Johnson said he welcomed White’s guilty plea. “If he had surrendered after his violent action, I would have had a little more sympathy. “If he had grabbed Scott’s hand and pulled him to safety, I would owe him eternal gratitude,” the brother said as he choked on tears. White’s lawyer, Belinda Rigg, said her client was gay and worried his homophobic brother would find out. The victim, Scott Johnson, was a Los Angeles native who was working for a doctorate in mathematics at the National University of Australia and was living in Canberra at the time. BULLETIN / NEW SOUTH WALES POLICE / AFP via Getty Images In January, White repeatedly shouted in court during a preliminary investigation that he was guilty, having previously denied the crime. His lawyers will appeal to the Criminal Court of Appeal and hope he will be acquitted at trial. With Post cables