The Cliff at North Head: The Scott Johnson Murder & The Newport Naval Sex Scandal of 1919

For this special Pride Month episode of Murder, Not Murdering, we examine two chilling stories connected by prejudice, power, and the long fight for justice.

First, Autumn tells the story of Scott Johnson, an American mathematician whose body was discovered at the base of a cliff near Sydney, Australia in 1988. Authorities quickly ruled his death a suicide, but his family refused to accept the conclusion. What followed was a decades-long quest for answers that uncovered a pattern of anti-gay violence, institutional failures, and a shocking truth. We also discuss the latest developments in the case through May 2026.

Then Erin takes us back to 1919 and one of the strangest scandals in U.S. history: the Newport Naval Sex Scandal. Under the direction of Navy officials during Franklin D. Roosevelt’s tenure as Assistant Secretary of the Navy, young sailors were ordered to go undercover and entrap suspected homosexual men. The investigation spiraled into a national controversy, congressional hearings, and accusations that the government had gone dangerously too far.

From a suspicious death on the cliffs of Sydney to a government-sanctioned moral panic in Newport, this episode explores how fear and discrimination have shaped lives, investigations, and history itself.

Some stories are about murder. Others are about the systems that allow injustice to flourish. This episode is both.

Det här avsnittet är hämtat från ett öppet RSS-flöde och publiceras inte av Podme. Det kan innehålla reklam.

Avsnitt(113)

Murder on the Dance Floor: Audrey Jacob Kills

Murder on the Dance Floor: Audrey Jacob KillsA night of dancing. A sudden confrontation. A deadly shot.In this episode of Murder, Not Murdering, we travel back to the Jazz Age for the sensational case...

11 Aug 29min

The Louisville Torture House of 1924

The Louisville Torture House of 1924 is a true crime story unlike any other.When businessman Richard Heaton is found dead, the man who pulled the trigger insists it was self-defense. But as investigat...

28 Juli 53min

Lorena Bobbitt: The Story You Thought You Knew

Everyone remembers the headline. Everyone remembers the joke. But very few people remember what actually happened.In 1993, the Lorena Bobbitt case became one of the biggest media spectacles in America...

21 Juli 52min

Pride Edition: Brandon Teena & Billy London – The Black Dahlia of West Hollywood

In this Pride Edition of Murder, Not Murdering, Erin and Autumn explore two of the most heartbreaking LGBTQIA+ true crime cases in American history.Autumn examines the life and murder of Brandon Teena...

30 Juni 1h 15min

The Survivor in The Woods: Rebecca Wight & Claudia Brenner and The Chameleon Killer: Andrew Cunanan

A weekend camping trip. A shocking act of hatred. A killer obsessed with reinvention.This week on Murder, Not Murdering, Erin tells the heartbreaking story of Rebecca Wight and Claudia Brenner, a coup...

23 Juni 1h 28min

The Murder of Paul Broussard & the Crime That Changed Houston and The Murder of Moriah Wilson

This week on Murder, Not Murdering, we’re covering two heartbreaking murders that captivated communities and sparked conversations far beyond the crimes themselves.Erin tells the story of Paul Broussa...

8 Juni 1h 1min

The Juliette Lake Murders & Sex, Scandal, and the Seaside Murder: The Rattenbury Murder

On this week's episode, Autumn's case involves the brutal killing of two college students at a quiet Georgia lake, with the perpetrator's identity and motive shrouded in mystery. The investigation eve...

1 Juni 1h 1min