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‘Soulless monster’: Sydney killer confronted in court

A man who murdered another at a gay beat in Sydney’s east in the 1980s has been described in a victim impact statement as a “soulless monster” who will not be forgiven but rather forgotten.

Stanley Bruce Early, 77, was found guilty by a NSW Supreme Court jury in June of the murder of Raymond Keam, 43, in Alison Park, Randwick, in January 1987.

Stanley Early faced trial in Sydney accused of murdering Raymond Keam in Alison Park, Randwick.

Stanley Early faced trial in Sydney accused of murdering Raymond Keam in Alison Park, Randwick.Credit: Facebook

Early was known at the time as Stanley Sutton with the nickname “Spider” and lived across the road. He roamed the park assaulting men who he believed were homosexual, would enter the toilet block with a baton and tell others to “get” men who came running out, his trial heard.

A victim impact statement was read at Early’s sentence hearing on Friday by a detective on behalf of a person close to Keam, who cannot be identified.

The author said Early was “a troubled person who not only murdered [Keam] and got away with it for many years, but he also destroyed the lives of many other gay men for no reason”.

“Because of you, and your desire to ‘clean up’ Alison Park, you stripped the world of a loving father, partner, friend, and mentor.”

Raymond Keam was found dead in Sydney’s east in 1987.

Raymond Keam was found dead in Sydney’s east in 1987.

They said Early “got to live free for 37 years” and, while Keam was “buried in the ground”, they had grappled with “knowing the soulless monster that murdered him was still out there living his life”.

“I hope that you spend the rest of your life in a cell ... miserable and broken, thinking about what you have done.”

They said Early’s lies had caught up with him, and he had lost.

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“Your game is up ... this is it for you,” the statement read. “From this day forward, I choose not to forgive you but to forget you and never think of you again as it’s what you deserve.”

Deputy senior public defender Troy Anderson, SC, said Early “seems to have lived a fairly isolated and sad life”, had reported depression and suicidal tendencies to a psychiatrist, and told his lawyers his preference was to return to Long Bay psychiatric hospital.

“Mr Early recognises that, because he’s now 77, he’s likely to die in jail,” he said.

Anderson said the parties appeared to agree that the judge would find Early had acted with an intention to cause grievous bodily harm to Keam, rather than to kill. He said it was unclear whether Early “delivered the fatal blows” himself or in a joint criminal enterprise.

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“It seems that the modus operandi of this gang was to obviously assault their victims ... but this is an instance where it went beyond what normally occurs,” he said.

Anderson submitted Early had very good prospects of rehabilitation despite a significant criminal history from the 1970s and 1980s, arguing he had been a person of good character since the 1990s and was gainfully employed in Melbourne, with his employer providing a reference.

Crown prosecutor Ken McKay, SC, said the judge should be guarded about those prospects.

McKay said the judge could draw an inference from the evidence of an inmate witness at trial that Early had incited people to bash Keam and “took part in the physical attack as well”, which was relevant to her consideration of the role he had played. He said Early had been 40 at the time.

Justice Dina Yehia said Keam died as a result of a “savage beating”, and indicated she would find Early’s motivation for murder was “a hatred of gay men, or those perceived to be homosexual”.

Keam’s de facto partner Diane Smart was among those in court for Friday’s hearing. Early sat in the dock wearing a suit and tie and had a walking stick.

Yehia said Early would be sentenced in line with sentencing practices from the late 1980s and early 1990s. She will sentence Early on October 20.

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