Loss of key evidence in gay man's murder 'unacceptable'

Police investigating the murder of a gay Sydney man failed to preserve evidence that could have held the key to identifying his killer.

Gerald Cuthbert was 27 when he was stabbed 62 times in his friend's Paddington apartment in October 1981.

His murder is one of four cases being investigated by a royal commission-style probe launched at the urging of a NSW parliamentary inquiry into LGBTQI hate crimes from 1970 to 2010.

Had evidence found at the apartment not been avoidably lost in 1982, modern forensic techniques may have been able to identify Mr Cuthbert's killer, the inquiry chaired by Commissioner John Sackar heard on Wednesday.

Evidence, including cigarette butts and semen samples, was found alongside Mr Cuthbert's body and the items were subjected to blood-type testing during the initial investigation.

However the information derived from blood-type testing was limited at the time and more valuable forensic DNA tests have since been developed.

"If a DNA profile had been recovered from any of the exhibits in this case, it would have provided crucial investigative leads in relation to Mr Cuthbert's death and may well have held the key to identify Mr Cuthbert's killer," counsel assisting the inquiry Kathleen Heath said.

But instead, the systems for retaining, preserving and storing evidence failed and the exhibits could not be found by subsequent investigations.

"This is considered unacceptable by both contemporary and historic policing standards," Ms Heath said.

The inquiry follows a 2018 NSW Police report into its own handling of crimes against LGBTQI people.

Strike Force Parrabell, a three-year review of 88 deaths from 1976 to 2000, concluded 23 deaths remain unsolved, including Mr Cuthbert's.

Another unsolved case is that of intersex woman Samantha Raye, who was found dead in a cave by the water's edge in Sydney's east in 1989.

The commission heard that while there is no evidence Ms Raye was murdered, the tragic circumstances of her life could have driven her to suicide.

"Her poor mental health should not be treated as a result of her being transgender, but rather as a result of societal attitudes against transgender people that generated the hostility and abuse that she faced during her lifetime," Ms Heath said.

Born with both male and female genitalia, Ms Raye was persistently subjected to discrimination and abuse, the inquiry heard.

A newspaper article shortly after Ms Raye's death was quoted as saying "her father wanted her to be a boy so much that he beat it into her."

An earlier hearing into the murder of Sydney man John Hughes found police overlooked gay hate as a possible motive.

The "particularly brutal murder" was indicative of a societal acceptance of homophobia, particularly by institutions such as the police, Ms Heath told the inquiry in February.

Sydney's wave of anti-gay hate crime peaked during the AIDS epidemic of the 1980s. NSW decriminalised homosexual conduct in 1984.

The inquiry will resume on Thursday and will examine the deaths of Carl Stockton and Mark Stewart.

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