The simple life of convicted killer James Finch, 45 years after Whiskey Au Go Go firebombing
IT’S been 45 years since the Whiskey Au Go Go firebombing in Brisbane and the man convicted of killing 15 people appears to be living a simple life in an English country town.
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IN a small, suburban home in the English county town of Essex, the man who was convicted of killing 15 people in what remains one of Australia’s worst massacres, appears to be leading a simple life.
It’s been 30 years since the world last saw James Finch.
Now 74, the man who set Brisbane’s Whiskey Au Go Go nightclub on fire is living out his remaining days down a quiet street that’s home to working class residents and retirees.
It would be easy to miss Finch’s house when driving past.
MORE: Convicted Whiskey Au Go Go killer denies confessing to police
It was dreary and characterless, with an unpainted wooden fence that ran along the front.
There was no garden or grass and the white paint on the outside of the house was wearing thin.
The front door had panels of opaque glass, making it impossible to see through while thin curtains hung from the windows.
Finch answered his door in socks and what looked like cotton pyjama bottoms and a bright yellow jacket.
His hair had receded and his face had wrinkled but his piercing blue eyes that were captured in his mug shot 45 years ago still stood out.
At times the conversation, which took place at his front door, was disjointed.
Finch’s sentences often stopped short and he steered off topic — but it was hard to tell whether this was due to the many thoughts running through his head or whether it was the mental illness he claimed he had.
He showed great interest when being told corrupt cop Roger Rogerson was serving life in prison for murder.
“The coppers done the confession,” he said several times.
He also spoke repeatedly about The Sun newspaper which he gave an interview to after being released from jail in 1988.
“The bloke in The Sun newspaper made his own story up, not me. He was supposed to give me $100,000.”
Finch later claimed he had no money at the time.
“I had nothing, you (know what I) mean and when you’ve got nothing …”
Despite his sadistic criminal history, his demeanour was not threatening.
Finch said he hadn’t been in any trouble since getting back to the UK and had kept fit despite an issue with his Achilles’ tendon on his right foot.
To prove this, he even brought out his set of dumbbells that he exercised with.
He was excited to talk about his two cats — Billy and Mr Doyle — who wandered in and out of the narrow hallway behind him.
“I used to have about seven cats, I used to take (rescue) them off the street.”
Finch said his life was “OK now” and that he gets “well looked after”.
It’s seemed like an uncomplicated existence for someone who served less than 15 years for a crime that killed 15 people.
The news of Finch’s life is sure to be both frustrating and enviable to those who lost loved ones in the 1973 blaze.
After all, those 15 victims were never given the choice to grow old.
Originally published as The simple life of convicted killer James Finch, 45 years after Whiskey Au Go Go firebombing