Fridae

Sydney police have linked the disappearance and murders of six gay men to gay-hate gangs between 1987 and 1991, according to The [Sydney] Daily Telegraph.

The Telegraph revealed for the first time yesterday that the members of three gangs - the Bondi Boys, the Part Time Killers and one without a name - and two other groups, based in Tamarama and Alexandria, are expected to be called to give evidence at a coronial inquiry.

This comes after an exhaustive, two-year investigation during which dozens of people were interviewed and more than 400 statements taken. Last week, police presented their findings to Deputy State Coroner Jacqueline Milledge.

The case was reopened last year at the request of the families of two victims, Ross Warren and John Russell who became missing within four months of each other in 1989.

Detective Sergeant Stephen Page, who headed the investigation, told the Telegraph that there were similarities "in a spree of murders," which had originally been dismissed as suicides and one-off attacks.

"We've found that there were gangs involved in gay bashings and similarities in a spree of murders," said Page.

Police now believe the gangs involved in the eastern suburbs beatings were known to other gangs who visited Alexandria Park.

Gay-hate crimes were never recorded before 1998 and the police treated incidents as assaults. However, since the investigation acknowledging a correlation between the deaths and gay-hate gangs started, several other victims have come forward with their stories.

Warren's body has never been found although his personal belongings were discovered on a rock ledge at South Bondi a couple of days later. Warren was a 24-year-old news anchor at a Wollongong TV station at the time.

Russell, a 31-year-old bartender was found dead at the bottom of the same cliffs.

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The other unsolved cases include Raymond Keam, who was bashed to death at Alison Park in Randwick in 1987, and William Allen, bashed at Alexandria Park the year after.

The police have linked the two murders to the members of the three gangs, who stole money and assaulted gay men, to the murders of Kritchikorn Rattanajaturathaporn and Richard Johnson in 1990.

Three members of the Tamarama gang were convicted for the murder of Kritchikorn, a Thai national who fell to his death from a cliff on the Bondi-Tamarama walkway while a gang of eight were convicted for the death of Johnson who was bashed to death at a park at Alexandria Park.

Two other men, who were assaulted in Bondi where Russell and Warren went missing, are expected to give evidence at the coronal inquiry, early next year. One of them was dragged to the edge of a cliff and threatened after being asked if he was gay. Police have also questioned an unnamed top rugby league player over the murders.

Profiles of teen gangs

THE BONDI BOYS - also known as The Part Time Killers. Used a graffiti tag PTK
� Up to 30 members, aged 15 to 18
� Hung out in Bondi and on the Bondi-Tamarama walk at night, near Mark's Park

THE TAMARAMA GANG
� No gang title, three members aged 16 to 17
� Met on the Bondi-Tamarama walk at night

THE ALEXANDRIA GANG
� No gang title known to police, up to 15 members, aged 15 to 18
� Met in Alexandria Park