The Beat: A True Account of the Bondi Gay Murders (17 page)

French: Like I say, like I done that shit in court against youse, the prosecutor came down and seen me. I thought I was going back to court for some shit … I could’ve been trialled for withholding evidence or some shit.

Howard: Withholding evidence?

French: No…

Howard: Contempt of court.

French: Yeah, that’s it.

The talk turns to sport, to how they’re going to play for clubs when they ‘get out’, about how good they all were before they were locked up. The players they knew, the players they’ve shared punishments with. How some of those players have been discharged and are on ‘the outside’ now.

Howard: Yeah, he was here. He’s up Mount Penang now. Couple of lads. Matthew Davis, do you know Matthew Davis? The bloke from Bondi? He killed that, threw that poofter off the cliff with them two other lads?

French: Yeah, I heard that. Y’know we were gonna get the crap for that?

Howard: Were we?

French: Yeah.

Howard: They got caught, didn’t they? Them two blokes dobbed ’em in.

French: They tried to put that one on us. That one, there’s been two at Bondi … They tried to put the other one, the year before at Alex’s [Alexandria Park] on us.

Howard: That’s the Allen one, eh?

French: Yeah.

Howard: Cops seen you ’bout that?

French: Yeah.

Howard: What’d they say?

French: Didn’t know anything about it or, y’know any of the boys know anything at all? Not me. If you know anything about it or if you’re a part of it, you plead immunity for it. Said, no, I didn’t know nothin’ about it. That was Ben, wasn’t it?

Howard: Ben? Think so … Who’d you hear it off?

French: I heard it a long time ago.

Howard: ’Cause I’ve heard it but I don’t know if it was true.

French: Yeah, I think that’s the one where Ben stabbed him … That’s the one. Oh, mate. They drove all the way down from Sydney. I said, nah. Got up and walked out. Sat there. That’s it.

Howard: That’s mad. Did you see the Hinch programme? Had a mad Hinch programme about it … They’ve had our one on there, a recent one … They have, they had my name on it, Alex’s name on it … they brought up the ones have been solved then the ones that haven’t been solved, the five other ones…

French: Ian Tonkies and…

Howard: Yeah. That was stupid that, putting that on us … I didn’t even have him for a teacher.

French: I didn’t even know where he lived.

Howard: I was on the outside when they come and questioned me. Had two lawyers with me at South Redfern Police Station … Name, address, phone number, age, date of birth, straight out … Christ, I’m goin’, wow, I gotta do this more often – ’cause I remember when I first got picked up I stayed in there for ages.

French: I was up at the station for hours, man. When first, when they brought Alex’s friend in to me … now I know what he was talkin’ about. Some friend … Chucked Alex’s statement in front of me. Fuck. Ring up the lawyer.

Howard: They came out and seen me. I told ’em to get fucked. I had a little fax from me lawyer saying, all he said, all you have to do is hand that to ’em and that explains everything. I didn’t even say anything. Fuck that.

French: I was set up. I was taken to Yasma to get interviewed for all those other ones as well.

Howard: Which ones?

French: The other five that haven’t been solved … Tonksies, two at Bondi, the one Allan murdered [sic] and another one.

Howard: Two at Bondi?

French: Yeah, on the walkway. There’s been two there.

Howard: I don’t know about that one. Spun me out. I thought, Fuck, they’re trying to just do, throwing everything at us.

French: I got interviewed for the lot of ’em, mate.

Howard: Did ya? We didn’t do anything, but … The one at Alexandria Park? … How much you know about that? I know a fair bit.

French: Yeah? I only know what I heard from some of the boys around, unreal.

Howard: The cops … they’re mainly after that Allen bloke, eh? ’Cause we, we done the same place.

French: … Man. I reckon there’s a few of those, few other ones that we gotta hide, too, man.

Howard: Yeah? You know which ones?

French: I reckon, well … at Bondi.

Howard: What happened?

French: Smashed a guy, mate. There was me, Woolem, Sharkhead, someone. Police have brought someone in with his skateboard … tossed him off a cliff … only small, about five, five or six foot … tossed him off. Oh, mate. Took his car keys, tossed right out on the point, tossed his keys.

Howard: You did?

French: Tossed ’em out into the ocean.

Howard: Did he get up and move away?

French: Oh, man. We left. Did you go … when we went out to do the bike store at Centennial?

Howard: No … I was going to but I had an arrangement … going for a smoke with one of my mates … what happened?

French: We got there. We got the shutter up. Oh, we heard sirens. Just flew straight past and didn’t come back or nothing and we took off and hid in Centennial Park for about 10 minutes. We went back around. We were gonna get the bikes then. There was me an’ Lumpy, I think Bentley and … passing the bikes out and one stuck. Coppers came from everywhere in the end and then Bentley hid in that funny little swamp in there, was hiding there for about four hours, man. Came out just all mud and wet, soaking, mate.

Howard: I’m gonna get heaps pissed when I get out of here, have the biggest party.

French: I think I’ll be partying for the next four years, mate. When I get out.

Howard: Oh, you have to do that probation, too … That’s what I’m gonna have to do as well. Coupla years. Alex had to do eight years probation.

French: Eight years, man.

Howard: Same as Ron Morgan.

French: That’s fuck.

Howard: Brad had to do three … got five years … with three probation.

French: That’s the hard part, eh?

Howard: Yeah, but he got manslaughter. The jury took about heaps, about 13 hours on me ’cause they didn’t know my intentions. But it didn’t matter. It’s over and forgotten with now. If ya done the crime, do the time. I hold no grudges. We all done the crime … But it spun me out when you … It doesn’t matter. I woulda done the same thing if I was gonna get a reduction in sentence.

French: I didn’t get a reduction.

Howard: Didn’t ya?

French: No, I pleaded. I already pleaded guilty and I was sentenced and done with. They came down and they said, you got a brief of evidence … ’cause you already give evidence for yourself in court, you can be called in for a Crown witness … That’s what they told me, mate. I didn’t know…

Later.

Howard: Brad’s spewin’ about fuckin’ Ronny Morgan.

French: Why?

Howard: ’Cause things Ronny Morgan writ in his statement. Fuck.

French: I said heaps of different shit in my statement, eh?

Howard: That doesn’t bother me. It’s water under the bridge now. I couldn’t believe it when you come up. Fuck. One of the boys.

French: I started spewin’, mate.

Howard: You was? I got a good case to go for the appeal, anyway.

French: I don’t reckon you’ll do as long as Morgan.

Howard: Oh, maybe seven, eight years.

French: I don’t reckon you’ll do that. What charges they got on you?

Howard: Murder.

French: You’re doin’ murder?

Howard: So, it’s somewhere between five years and 10 years, it is. Ten’s the maximum. Five’s the minimum. Just wait and see what happens … Not really worried. I will be on the night. Should have seen Alex, Alex’s face when the fuckin’ judge said 18 years … Alex thought he had to do 18 years. Brad’s not appealing. He’s happy with five years … I’ll be happy if I get five years as well.

French: That’s why I didn’t appeal, mate. ’Cause when I heard [the others’ sentences] I got four-and-a-half, sweet. See youse later … He fucked himself up, Morgan. He had the chance to plead, take a plea manslaughter, y’know?

Howard: He’s stupid.

French: The solicitor told him, plead guilty to manslaughter.

Howard: That’s what I wish my fuckin’ solicitor did, but fuckin’ no, plead ‘not guilty’. Go on, we’ll get you off this. Fuckin’ arsehole. What’s the name of your lawyer? I want your lawyer. Mine’s fucked. Spent over 45,000 on murder … Churchy’s alright. Churchy’s happy about eight years … Doesn’t seem too worried about it. Morgan’s still at Yasma. He’s a dickhead.

The conversation meandered through inconsequential inanities revolving around the length of sentences handed down to their accomplices, the comparative conditions of various penal institutions they had or hadn’t experienced and what they were going to do with their girlfriends when their time was up. Despite Dean Howard telling one of the police officers that he’d persuaded French to ‘name a couple of things’ there was nothing on any of the three tapes that could be used in court, nothing that could be even remotely construed as an admission of guilt in relation to the Warren, Russell, or indeed, any other outstanding cases.

Ten days later, on 15 July 1991, they tried again.

v

The tape begins with Detective Senior Constable Bignell introducing the exercise of the recording: he states time, day and date and explains that the listening device is now fitted to Dean Howard for the purpose of capturing a conversation between ‘yourself and…’

Howard: Adam French.

The recording begins.

Howard: Do you reckon you’ll go poofter bashin’ when you get out?

French: No, back right off, man.

Howard: Why?

French: Cause too much trouble, them fags. Got nothin’ to do with them now.

Howard: Doesn’t bother me, so I won’t be doin’ it. Just hope I, just hope one of them don’t come up and start chattin’ me up.