A new person of interest in relation to the death of Crispin Dye in Sydney has been identified almost 30 years after the suspected gay hate crime.

Mr Dye, 41, a former manager of the Australian rock band AC/DC, died on Christmas Day, 1993, two days after being found lying in the middle of a street in Darlinghurst with severe head injuries.

The musician had been out drinking with friends in bars along Oxford Street when he was attacked in the early hours of the morning.

Despite multiple NSW Police investigations and reviews, Mr Dye's bloodstained clothes were never subjected to forensic examination – until this year.

Testing ordered by the Special Commission of Inquiry into LGBTIQ hate crimes has matched DNA found on Mr Dye's jeans with DNA collected from another crime scene.

The profile belonged to a man suspected of a burglary at Glenwood, in Sydney's north-west, in 2002.

But the man, whom the inquiry has called "NP252", died late that year by suicide before charges could be finalised.

"The existence of NP252's DNA within a blood stain on Mr Dye's jeans is consistent with his having made physical contact with Mr Dye on the night he was assaulted," Counsel-assisting Meg O'Brien told the inquiry on Tuesday.

The inquiry heard that NP252 had a "substantial" criminal history.

"In December 1993, NP252 was arrested and charged in relation to the use of an iron bar in a fight in Mt Druitt," Ms O'Brien said.

Ms O'Brien said on January 4, 1994, while in the company of five other men, he assaulted a German tourist on William Street near Kings Cross.

"That assault occurred without any apparent provocation, and NP252 was arrested and charged," he said.

But Ms O'Brien submitted that it was not possible to draw any conclusions about what role, if any, NP252 played in Mr Dye's death.

"It's regrettable that in Mr Dye's case [forensic testing] was not taken at any time after December 1993 until 2023, by which time NP252 has now died and relevant records have been lost or destroyed," she said.

Hair strand yields unknown DNA profile

The forensic testing this year also resulted in the discovery of multiple hairs on Mr Dye's clothing.

"One hair from the top left shoulder of Mr Dye's denim shirt provided a partial DNA profile," Ms O'Brien said.

"This profile was uploaded to the national data base, but no matches were found."

Ms O'Brien said the inquiry should recommend that the NSW Police Force monitors DNA databases with the hope of identifying a match to the unknown profile from the hair.

The fresh examination also uncovered two pieces of paper folded inside the left pocket of Mr Dye's shirt.

One was a yellow Post-it note with the name "Garry Hook" and a phone number scrawled on it.

In March, Mr Hook gave evidence to the inquiry about his friendship with Mr Dye and the likely explanation for how the note was found in his pocket.

Mr Hook confirmed he was never contacted by police and said he was not aware the note existed until inquiry staff contacted him this year.

Ms O'Brien said it was extraordinary that police failed to find the pieces of paper, given the clothes had been examined by three officers separately on the day of the attack.

Subsequent police investigations in 1996 and 1999 also failed to uncover the evidence, as did the Unsolved Homicide Team, which reconsidered the case in 2005 and 2019.

"What's particularly troubling about ... the pieces of paper found … may have been a source of fingerprints or DNA, which in turn may have provided the police with information about Mr Dye's assailant or assailants."