Police investigated the murder of a man suspected to have been killed because he was about to expose a paedophile ring operating in Lambeth.
A report published this week by the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) found staff with Lambeth Council failed children in care and foster homes repeatedly from the 1960s.
More than 705 children over the course of four decades suffered horrific cruelty and sexual abuse.
In 2015, Sky News reported how Bulic Forsythe, a manager in the housing department, may have discovered council property was being used to carry out abuse.
Among his responsibilities were premises management of some ten social services around the borough.
Mr Forsythe was murdered in February 1993. The 42-year-old was savagely beaten in his own home in Clapham before the flat was set ablaze.
His family has "long believed he was murdered" to prevent him from blowing the whistle on events at Lambeth, according to the Sky News report.
The IICSA report names Mr Forsythe and details a recent police review into his death.
It says: "The murder of Mr Forsythe remains unsolved. It was the subject of a recent review by the Metropolitan Police Service (Operation Redsnow), as a result of concerns that there was a connection between Mr Forsythe’s employment at Lambeth Council and his murder, but no evidence of such a connection was found.
"At the very least, the murder of Mr Forsythe is likely to have caused concern and fear on the part of staff and councillors."
We contacted the Metropolitan Police Service for further details on Operation Redsnow as we were unable to find any record published online.
The force is yet to respond.
We also found the Crimewatch report mentioned in the IICSA report. The program is still available on YouTube.
The program makes a number of claims, including that documentation was later found to be missing from his flat.
"It could be personal, or it could be connected with his work, do you know where it is," the Crimewatch host said. His silver Rolex watch was also found to be missing.
"Who would be so crazy to set fire to a building in the dead of night with families asleep," he added.
The program also spoke to a resident who lived near Mr Forsythe who said: "I was going over to the paper shop to buy a paper and I saw three men coming out of Foster Court around the front.
"There were carrying briefcases and some folders in their hands. Why I noticed them was because they looked official and I've never saw them here before."
Four hours later, at 1.55pm, the same resident noticed something unusual at the back of the flats.
He said: "I saw a white car parked there in the corner with two men sitting in it and they were gazing at me.
"They were well dressed and one of them had black hair and the other one had brownish hair.
"I've lived here for 18 years and I've never seen a car parked there before."
The damming IICSA report published today exposes horrors of Lambeth children’s homes going back decades.
Council staff “put vulnerable children in the path” of sex offenders, who infiltrated children’s homes and foster care, with “devastating, life-long consequences for their victims”, the damning report into decades of abuse has found.
Employees in the south London borough of Lambeth “treated children in care as if they were worthless” and appeared to demonstrate “a callous disregard for the vulnerable children they were paid to look after”, according to the findings of the independent inquiry.
Lambeth Council has re-stated its sincere and heartfelt apology to all victims and survivors of abuse and neglect while in Lambeth’s care. It welcomes all the recommendations from IICSA that will assist the council to continue to keep children safe now and in the future.
Leader of the council, Councillor Claire Holland said: “On behalf of all elected Members and staff, Lambeth Council wishes to re-state our sincere and heartfelt apology to all victims and survivors of abuse and neglect while in Lambeth’s care.
"The council was responsible for their care and protection but failed, with profound consequences. The council is deeply sorry for their experiences.
“As the IICSA Report sets out, the council of the past failed to protect many of its most vulnerable children. A disproportionate number of those children were from Black, Asian and Multi-Ethnic backgrounds.
"The extent and scale of the horrendous abuse, which took place over many decades, remains deeply shocking."
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here