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A 76-year-old man accused of murdering a father-of-four at a known gay beat in Sydney’s eastern suburbs 35 years ago has been granted bail on a $1 million surety.
Stanley Early was extradited from Victoria in August last year and charged with murdering Raymond Keam, 43, whose body was found at Alison Park in Randwick on January 13, 1987.
Raymond Keam was found with head injuries in Sydney’s east in 1987.
The park had a reputation for being a gay beat, the NSW Supreme Court heard on Friday. The Crown alleges Early was part of a group known as the “Alison Park Gang” and is alleged to have inflicted Keam’s injuries alone or with others.
At the time of Early’s arrest, police said Keam had identified as heterosexual and was allegedly killed based on a “perception” of his sexual orientation.
Justice Nicholas Chen, citing a tendency notice tendered by prosecutors at Early’s bail application on Friday, said the accused was alleged to have had a tendency to, “in very broad terms, assault … people who were homosexual who attended that park”.
“The Crown case is that the victim was assaulted, the evidence suggests struck a number of times to the side of his face, neck, back and mouth, and after that suffered injuries to the back of his head when he fell to the ground,” the judge said.
“It also appears that the victim suffered injuries to his chest consistent with the cause being the sole of a shoe.”
He said Early was then alleged to have “unexpectedly left” his then-residence at Randwick and travelled to Bundaberg in Queensland, allegedly making “certain admissions as to why he left”.
Defence barrister Jeffrey Clarke said there was no evidence of his client having contact with the deceased person. He argued the case against Early was “on the weak side of moderate” and not likely to get any stronger.
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