Never Let Him Go: Who killed Scott Johnson?

Never Let Him Go is a poignant new documentary series on Hulu, detailing a family’s quest for justice and the impact of police corruption on the LGBTQ+ community – here’s the shocking true story as we answer the question: who killed Scott Johnson?

In the opening sequence of Never Let Him Go, sombre music plays as we hear overlapping news reports detailing the death of Scott Johnson, a brilliant and talented young American mathematician whose naked body was found at the base of a cliff in Australia in 1988. 

Viewers are then introduced to Scott’s older brother, Steve Johnson, who, along with his sisters Terry and Becca, embarked on a decades-long search to find out what happened to their sibling. Although the then-27-year-old’s death was initially ruled as a suicide, they knew there was far more to this story.

Their relentless efforts to get to the truth are detailed in the Hulu docu-series, which feels like a cross between HBO’s Burden of Proof and Last Call. Amid the release, you might be wondering: was Scott Johnson’s killer ever found, and if so, who committed the murder? Warning: Some may find this content distressing.

Never Let Him Go: Who killed Scott Johnson?

After more than 30 years, a man named Scott White, formerly Scott Newman, was arrested for murdering Scott Johnson. White was given nine years in prison in June 2023, having already served part of his sentence from his 2020 arrest, after pleading guilty to manslaughter. 

One of the key outcomes of a 2016 inquest into the case was that the coroner changed the suicide ruling to a homicide resulting from a hate crime. Scott was a gay man, and on the day of his death in December 1988, he had gone to North Head in New South Wales to sunbathe. 

The area was a known “beat”, a term used to refer to a location frequented by gay men. North Head and nearby Manly became a hotspot for “gay bashing” attacks, particularly by skinheads during the 1980s. As is explored in Never Let Him Go, there’s a worryingly high number of unsolved hate crimes against gay men in these areas from this time period.

Steve and his family continued their efforts to find out what happened to Scott, while highlighting the discrimination facing the LGBTQ+ community at that time. What also transpired in the 2016 inquest was a shocking testimony that Manly gang members had established a relationship with two detectives in the area, signifying corruption and homophobia in the New South Wales police department.

Although the Johnsons found solace in the ruling that Scott’s death was a murder, in 2018, a new breakthrough arrived when authorities were able to offer a $1 million reward for anyone who could provide information leading to the perpetrator’s arrest. 

A woman named Helen White, who did not know about the reward, came forward with a letter saying she believed she knew the suspect. Helen had started dating White, who was known as Scott Newman at the time, when she was just 17 and he was 22, and he soon started physically abusing her. 

She explained that he would brag about gay bashing, and in 2008, she read an article about the death of Scott Johnson. When she asked him whether he was behind the killing, he said, “It’s not my fault if the dumb c-word ran off the cliff,” to which she replied, “Well, it is if you pushed him.”

It was at this point she knew she needed to end the marriage. On the final night, he attacked and threatened to kill Helen, but she was able to call the police and leave with their children safely. When she was free, she started thinking back to moments throughout their relationship, saying: “He really got off on humiliating people.”

Helen recalled an incident whereby White met a man at the pub and they went down to drink at a nearby beach. He attacked the man and told him to remove his clothing, and when the guy dropped his clothes, White told him: “No, fold them neatly.” This detail stuck out in her mind, as Scott Johnson’s clothes were also found at the scene folded neatly on the cliff’s edge. 

Motive for murder

Alongside Helen’s statements and White’s violent past, police found a motive: White had lived on the streets, and during the 1980s, a known dealer provided drugs and money to young people in the area. White would attend the dealer’s home to receive drugs in exchange for sex, which authorities argued could be why he developed a hatred towards homoesexual men. 

He would brag about assaulting gay men in and around Manly, including in North Head – where Scott’s body was found. But while they had plenty of evidence to identify him as a suspect, they didn’t have enough to warrant an arrest. So they concocted a ruse whereby two undercover officers visited his home and told him about a plan in order to bag the reward – which had recently been bumped up to $2 million – and split the money amongst themselves. 

“The trick that they used required that he teach them what he did,” explains Steve. “And what he told these two undercover officers – he had no idea he was talking to the police – ‘So, let me take you up there and show you.’” The police had set up cameras where Scott was murdered, and lo and behold, White led them right to that exact spot. 

The cameras captured his actions on March 19, 2020, and shortly after he was arrested. Although in December 2022 White pleaded guilty to the murder, and was sentenced to 12 years and seven months, he later withdrew his plea and the conviction was overturned. He then admitted to the lesser charge of manslaughter, and was sentenced to nine years, with the possibility of parole after six years. 

Although many don’t believe the sentencing is strict enough for a crime of this nature, the decision has finally brought justice and some level of peace for the Johnson family. Speaking to reporters after the conviction in June, Steve said: “I think our family’s got some peace and I would even say closure. The killer’s behind bars and he’s admitted to doing it. I feel like I’ve done right by Scott.”

Never Let Him Go is available to stream on Hulu now. You can check out more of our true crime coverage below: 

Scouts Honor | The Lucie Blackman Case | The Isabella Nardoni Case | Where is Natalia Grace? | Who are the Duggars? | Victim/Suspect explained | Missing Dead or Alive explained | True story behind The Playing Card Killer | True story behind Take Care of Maya | HBO’s Burden of Proof explained | How to watch David Fuller: Monster in the Morgue | How to watch the Hart family murders documentary | True story of The Deepest Breath | True story of Last Call