When police found 18-year-old Mark Stewart dead at the bottom of a cliff near a known gay beat on Sydney's northern beaches, they quickly ruled out foul play.
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But a special commission of inquiry into suspected gay hate crimes has heard NSW Police should have done more to investigate if Mr Stewart was murdered.
His death near Manly in 1976 is the last in a tranche of four cases being examined by the probe, which was launched at the urging of a NSW parliamentary inquiry into LGBTQI hate crimes from 1970 to 2010.
While it is unclear whether Mr Stewart fell to his death as a result of suicide, accident or homicide, counsel assisting the inquiry William de Mars told the hearing police should have done more to canvass the area for potential evidence or witnesses.
Mr de Mars criticised police for losing Mr Stewart's case file as well as a potentially telling note found on his body, which could have been the clue on whether he had met up with a potential romantic interest at a Kings Cross gay bar.
Officers appeared oblivious to the fact Mr Stewart may have been in the area because it was a known gay beat, even though police had been busting men for homosexual activities there, Commissioner John Sackar was told.
Gay hate assaults were a common occurrence in Manly during the 1970s but the police report found "no suspicious circumstances" surrounding the death.
"One might have hoped that potential offending motivated by gay hatred would have been a consideration in the minds of police officers," Mr de Mars said.
Earlier, the inquiry examined the case of Carl Stockton, a 52-year-old train driver who was found lying on an inner Sydney street in 1996, covered in blood and suffering severe head injuries.
Mr Stockton, who was openly gay, died five days later at St Vincent's Hospital.
Like Mr Stewart's case, there was not enough evidence to determine that Mr Stockton was targeted for his sexuality, even though he had previously been the victim of several gay hate attacks, counsel assisting the inquiry Christine Melis told the hearing.
Police did not follow up on tip-offs about a group of men in the area who were allegedly bashing patrons at Bar Cleveland, a pub frequented by gay men that Mr Stockton attended on the night he sustained his injuries.
It was common for victims of LGBTQI bias crimes not to report to police at the time due to "mistrust and fractious relations", Ms Melis said.
Homosexual conduct was decriminalised in NSW in 1984 but homophobic attitudes were still rife in the community during the 1980s and '90s, and anti-gay bashings were common.
The special commission is due to deliver its report to the NSW governor in June.
Australian Associated Press
