The Beat: A True Account of the Bondi Gay Murders by Fenn I.J

Author:Fenn, I.J. [Fenn, I.J.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: homicide, Ross Warren, John Russell, true crime stories, true crime, Australian true crime, homosexual murder, homosexual attack, The Beat, Bondi Gay Murders
ISBN: 9781743006467
Published: 2012-10-02T22:00:00+00:00

ii

Steve Page went back to the McMahon incident, went back to the identification of McMahon’s assailants. Okay, so McMahon had been less than fully cooperative, had wanted nothing to do with pursuing the matter. Ingleby had originally coaxed a certain participation from the injured man and Page decided to talk to the police senior sergeant.

After McMahon had been attacked, Ingleby said, after he’d almost been pushed over the cliff at Marks Park and had described his attackers – or at least two of them – as being similar to Sean Cushman and, maybe, Joey Phillips, a group of the Bondi Boys was seen on the Bondi beachfront. Ingleby contacted McMahon and they went together to view the group. Nervous and sweating – it was February, Ingleby said – McMahon looked out of the car window at the youths. They were unaware that they were being watched but McMahon was nonetheless anxious lest he be seen, recognised and perhaps targeted again in the future. He was unable to identify any of the group. Later that year, however, Ingleby had McMahon view photograph books at Bondi Police Station and he admitted that two of those whose pictures were included were ‘similar’ to two of his attackers. They were Daniel Forrer and Darren Carre.

Detective Sergeant Page re-read the original McMahon statement again. Even though he’d tentatively identified Forrer and Carre as possibly having been present during his assault, the descriptions he’d given of the main perpetrators convinced Page that they were Sean Cushman and Phillips. He contacted McMahon and arranged to meet him at Marks Park: they would conduct a video walk-around, he said.

At 2.15pm on a Friday David McMahon was introduced to the police video team at Mackenzies Point. The procedure was explained to him and the exercise began.

‘David was the victim of a serious assault in this area around 10.30pm on Thursday 21September 1989,’ Detective Dagg said. ‘I intend to ask you some questions about this serious assault. Do you understand that?’

A long time had passed between the assault and this strange outing, a long time of having tried to forget, of dealing with the emotional damage inflicted by the physical wounds. But McMahon still dreamt about it, still experienced the fear and nausea and turmoil he’d felt that night a dozen years ago. And now he was nervous again: resigned, determined, resolute. But nervous.

‘Yeah,’ he said. He understood. He understood he was going to have to relive the whole nightmare one more time.

‘Are you prepared to go through this electronic interview with us,’ Dagg asked, seeing the expression in McMahon’s eyes.

Deep breath. ‘Yes.’

Dagg asked if his original statement to Ingleby still held true. It did, McMahon said. And the subsequent identification of individuals in a second statement later the same evening? Yes, that still held true, too.

‘Okay, step by step. Can you tell me who approached you, what they did to you as they grabbed you. Just slowly, as best you can.’

Another deep breath. ‘They grabbed me by surprise. I was walking home, back to where I lived.

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