Scott White pleads not guilty to alleged gay hate murder of Scott Johnson in 1988

A man has pleaded not guilty to murdering Scott Johnson more than 32 years after his naked body was found at the bottom of cliffs near Manly, on Sydney’s northern beaches.

Scott White has spent more than eight months behind bars after detectives stormed his Lane Cove apartment and arrested him in May 2020.

At the time of Mr White’s arrest, Detective Chief Inspector Peter Yeomans said a key informant led police to their suspect.

He said without that person’s evidence, the case, which is one of Sydney’s most long-standing murder mysteries, “couldn’t have been solved”.

The plea has paved the way for a trial, which comes after three coronial inquests into the 27-year-old’s death.