John Russell was a young man about to set off on a journey around Australia when he farewelled friends at the Bondi Hotel as the summer of 1989 approached.
He was last seen alive on a day in late November, before his body was found the next morning at the bottom of the cliffs at Marks Park - a well-known gay beat.
His family have spoken of the grief at going over the details of his death as a landmark inquiry into suspected hate crimes against LGBTQI people from 1970 to 2010 closed on Tuesday.
"It's like reliving a nightmare over and over again, because you see the pictures, you get the same information," John's brother Peter Russell told AAP.
Three coronial inquiries have investigated the death, the first of which went for seven minutes.
The coroner decided in that space of time that John's death was a suicide, despite human hairs not matching the colour or length of his own being found in his hand.
The strands were taken for analysis but subsequently lost with no forensic analysis ever performed.
No one has ever been charged with John's killing, despite the inquiry concluding the 31-year-old was a victim of a gay hate crime.
Police handling of evidence in unsolved homicide cases was the subject of repeated criticism at the inquiry, which also highlighted the impact of investigators' biases on potential LGBQTI murders.
Mr Russell said police culture was not the same today as it was three decades ago, but issues persisted.
He said the fact that crucial evidence recovered from his brother's body was lost or laundered by police was damning.
"They had their chance and they washed it away," Mr Russell said.
"If that evidence had've been available during this inquiry for re-testing, who knows what would've happened?"
Senior counsel assisting the inquiry Peter Gray on Tuesday noted the advocacy of families such as the Russells, who attended public hearings and pushed for further investigations to ensure their loved ones were considered.
Mr Gray said he hoped the work of the inquiry was "in some small way" of help to those grieving.
Mr Russell is cautiously waiting on the final recommendations from the inquiry's commissioner, who is due to deliver his report on December 15.
"Everyone's got to be hopeful - you can only hope that it does make a difference," he said.
