A university student's mysterious death after the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras in 1997 was likely due to an accidental fall from an inner-city cliff and not a homicidal assault, an inquiry has heard.
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The NSW special inquiry into gay hate crimes on Friday examined the case of Scott Miller, who was found dead in a fenced-off area of a Darling Harbour freight company on March 3, 1997 after attending Mardi Gras two days earlier.
After drinking with friends around The Rocks following the parade, Mr Miller, 21, was last seen walking alone down Watson Rd from Observatory Hill early on Sunday morning.
A coronial inquest found Mr Miller may have died from an assault and in 1998 police offered a $100,000 reward to anyone with information about the death.
Counsel assisting the special inquiry, Kathleen Heath, said the case was "particularly complex" due to various opinions on the manner and cause of Mr Miller's death.
"It is more probable than not that Mr Miller met his death after climbing the fence ... and accidentally falling to the wharf below," Ms Heath said on Friday.
Earlier assessments of Mr Miller's death had thrown up theories including a homicidal assault, a fall from a height or a combination of those two scenarios.
The inquiry was told Mr Miller was found with his wallet, credit cards and cash on him in the area, which was enclosed by a fence and security checkpoints.
"The reasons why Mr Miller climbed the fence at Munn Reserve are unknown and inevitably will remain so," Ms Heath said.
"That he became lost on his way to the casino is one plausible theory but essentially speculative."
On gay hate bias, Ms Heath said in written submissions there was no indication in the evidence that "LGBTIQ bias played a role" in the death of Mr Miller, who was heterosexual.
The barrister submitted that Mr Miller's cause of death be recorded as "multiple injuries sustained in an accidental fall from a height".
Mr Miller, who had moved from Orange to Sydney for university, was described as a devoted son, loving brother and a kind and generous young man.
In a statement read at the inquiry, Mr Miller's brother Shane said the tragic discovery was made on the same day the apprentice electrician was due to attend his first uni lecture.
"The potential lost and the happiness and experiences he would never get to share with his loved ones is impossible to describe and always in our thoughts," he said.
"He is greatly missed by his family and friends, who have continued to grieve and remember him over the last 26 years.
"We have come to accept that we will never know exactly what happened to Scott on the night of his death and remember him for being the fine, loving young man that he was."
The ninth block of hearings in the inquiry, which has been looking into suspected LGBTQI hate crime deaths in NSW between 1970 and 2010, concludes next week.
The commissioner, Supreme Court Justice John Sackar, is due to deliver a final report to the government in August.
Australian Associated Press
