NSW Gay Hate Inquiry Finds New Evidence In 1993 Murder Of Former AC/DC Manager

Forty-one-year-old Cairns resident Crispin Dye was found unconscious and lying on his stomach in the laneway behind Kinselas nightclub on Oxford Street in Sydney in the early hours of December 23, 1993. 

Dye, the former manager of rock bands AC/DC and Rose Tattoo, was visiting his mother in Sydney for Christmas and was out drinking with friends in and around Oxford Street to celebrate the release of his first solo album under the name Chris Kemp. 

He died two days later of his injuries in hospital on Christmas Day.  An autopsy found “multiple significant injuries, including fractures to the skull caused by a blunt instrument.”

New Twist In Cold Case

The case, which remained unsolved for three decades, took a fresh twist on Tuesday when a special commission inquiring into anti-LGBTQI hate crimes heard there was new evidence uncovered in the case. 

The special commission of inquiry, headed by Supreme Court Justice John Sackar, is looking into unsolved deaths of gay men and trans women in Sydney and NSW between 1970 and 2010. 

The commission heard that earlier this year, NSW Police provided Dye’s clothing, including his blood-stained jeans and a denim shirt to the inquiry. The inquiry was told that these items were never sent for forensic testing and the inquiry arranged the items to be tested, the ABC reported.

NSW Police Investigation Slammed

The police had failed to notice two pieces of paper folded in the top left pocket of Dye’s shirt. One had a handwritten name and a number, while the other was found to have a mark, that was subsequently confirmed to be a bloodstain. 

The inquiry was told on Tuesday that DNA testing found that the blood sample from the backpacker of the jeans matched Dye and an unknown male. The DNA obtained from the blood stain matched a profile obtained from another crime scene. 

The sensational discovery led to the hearing in Dye’s being adjourned. Justice Sackar slammed the NSW Police for their ‘shambolic” and “questionable” record keeping.