A DNA breakthrough revealing a new suspect in the cold case killing of former AC/DC manager in Sydney has been made during the inquiry into LGBTIQ hate crimes.
Musician Crispin Dye was bashed in a suspected gay hate crime near Taylor Square in Darlinghurst on December 23, 1993.
The 41-year-old died in hospital two days later on Christmas Day.
Dye managed AC/DC in the 1980s and Rose Tattoo before releasing his own album a year before his death.
Thirty years after his murder, the Special Commission of Inquiry into LGBTIQ hate crimes examining killings between 1970 and 2010 sent Dye’s jeans and shirts for forensic testing.
The inquiry found NSW Police examined the clothing at the time but never sent it for forensic testing.
Inside one of the shirt’s pockets, the inquiry found a post-it note – containing a handwritten name and phone number on it – which was not formally recorded as an exhibit nor was it sent for forensic testing.
The inquiry also found a thick white piece of paper with a name on it in the clothing.
“It is clear that the NSW police force had not previously been aware of the existence of these papers,” the counsel assisting submission to the inquiry said.
“The Inquiry has found no reference to these items in any material produced by the NSWPF, and the NSWPF has conceded that it was not previously aware of these items.”
The inquiry also found a blood stain on Dye’s jean pocket which was matched with DNA found at a crime scene in Sydney’s west in 2002.
It revealed a new person of interest who was charged with bashing a tourist in Kings Cross in 1994.
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The suspect has since died.
But counsel assisting said it is not possible to draw any conclusion about what this suspect’s role, “if any”, played in Dye’s murder.
Counsel assisting in the inquiry called it “regrettable” Dye’s clothing hadn’t been forensically tested to find this link earlier.
“The failure of NSW Police to arrange for the testing of Mr Dye’s clothing at the time of the original investigation or any time thereafter is of particular concern,” counsel assisting Meg O’Brien said.
The inquiry also identified a Sydney woman who said she knew who the killer was but was never interviewed by police, she died in 2020.
Dye’s family has called the situation “very disappointing”.
“The police should have done their job, followed due diligence and that was very frustrating,” cousin Lisa said
Dye’s friend Richard Cobden said the flaws in the investigation are “heartbreaking”.
“He was the gentlest possible soul,” he said.
“It’s heart-breaking, really heartbreaking that there could have been some progress only three years ago.”
