Channel 7’s “The Hunters: Bondi Hate Murders” confronts a grim period in Sydney’s history, re-examining a series of unsolved attacks and killings that targeted the city’s gay community. Spanning the 1970s, 80s, and 90s, these crimes, many of which occurred around the cliffs of Marks Park near Bondi Beach, left a scar on the community and a lingering sense of injustice.
Investigative journalist Adam Shand and detective Steve van Aperen team up to revisit these cold cases, seeking answers and accountability. The program focuses on the stories of victims like Ross Warren, a TV newsreader who disappeared in 1989, and John Russell, whose body was found at the base of the cliffs in 1989. Through meticulous investigation and interviews with survivors, a new identikit image of a potential suspect linked to multiple attacks emerges, offering a fresh lead in these decades-old mysteries.
“The Hunters” arrives on the heels of a Special Commission of Inquiry held in December 2023, which concluded that 14 of 23 unsolved cases were indeed murders, with an additional nine potential murders. The program airs immediately following the live performance of “Australian Idol” on Sunday, March 30th..
