Gay hate inquiry to hear breakthrough in unsolved death
A 17-year-old boy, one of two teens shot near a city school after a brawl, is fighting for life. Photo: AAP
The violent killing of a man in his Sydney home will be scrutinised by a special inquiry into LGBTQI hate crimes.
Ernest Allen Head was found dead at his Summer Hill apartment in the city’s western suburbs in June, 1976.
The 48-year-old died in an attack suspected of being a gay hate crime.
New evidence in the case is set to be heard in hearings on Tuesday, including a possible significant breakthrough in the case.
Also to be heard are recommendations as to the finding on Mr Head’s death which should be made by the special inquiry’s commissioner, Supreme Court Justice John Sackar.
Now in its 17th hearing block, the broad-ranging inquiry was established following an internal police probe known as Parabell, that examined 88 deaths between 1976 and 2000 and determined 27 were gay hate crimes.
The inquiry has scrutinised the police response to the crimes, which were committed at a time when people in the police force and broader society often displayed an intense prejudice against the LGBTQI community.
– AAP
