Stanley Bruce Early arrested over murder of Raymond Keam in Randwick 1987
A Melbourne man has been charged with murder in connection with an alleged gay hate attack in Sydney in 1987.
A 75-year-old Melbourne man has made no application for bail following his extradition to NSW on charges of murder in the killing of Raymond Keam, who was allegedly battered to death during a wave of gay hate crimes in Sydney.
Mr Keam's body, then 43 years old, was discovered in grass at Alison Park in Randwick, Sydney's eastern suburbs, in January 1987. He was a black belt in martial arts and a father of four.
The state government and NSW Police announced a $1 million reward for information on his death in June, more than 34 years after he died.
“As part of ongoing investigations, detectives from the strike team secured an arrest warrant for a 75-year-old male who is thought to be traveling interstate,” police stated on Thursday.
Stanley Bruce Early was apprehended by investigators from Victoria Police's homicide squad at a home in Clayton, in Melbourne's south-east, at approximately 10.40 a.m. on Wednesday. He was arrested on an outstanding interstate murder warrant.
Investigators affiliated to Strike Force Augenaut successfully requested the man's extradition in Melbourne Magistrate's Court following a formal review of the unresolved case in 2019.
Mr Early was arrested and charged with murder at the Albury police station.
He was not in court on Thursday when his matter was first discussed in Albury Local Court, and no application for bail was made.
Mr Early has been remanded in custody until October 13, when he is scheduled to appear in Sydney's Central Local Court via video connection.
Correctional Services NSW tests new custodial detainees for COVID-19 and manages them in quarantine for 14 days before releasing them into the facility's general population.
Mr Keam's death is reported to be one of a series of gay hate crimes committed throughout Sydney, from the inner city to the Bondi-Tamarama cliff tops.
He died of significant head injuries, according to an autopsy, and a 1988 coronial inquest determined he died as a result of being struck by an unknown person or persons.
His death was one of 88 between 1976 and 2000 that police investigated as part of Strike Force Parrabell for possible gay-hate bias and allegations of purposeful police inaction.
In June, Mr Keam's partner and adult children appeared in front of the media, anxious for information regarding his death.
“Raymond was a brilliant, powerful, intelligent, and generous man who will never be replaced,” said his partner Diane Smart.
Dane Keam stated that he grew up without a father figure, and his anguish was heightened by insensitive media headlines and television programmes about Sydney gay hate crimes that included references to his father.
“This was painful for me as a gay man,” he remarked. “Not only what happened to my father, but to all the other males in that area at the time.”