Whisky Au Go-Go nightclub tragedy: Man responsible for firebombing dies before he can give evidence at inquest

One of the men responsible for the horrific firebombing of a Brisbane nightclub, where 15 people were killed, has died before giving evidence at an inquest.

A coroner has been told one of the men convicted of murder over a shocking arson attack at a Brisbane nightclub has died before he could give evidence at a new inquest into the historic firebombing.

Heartbroken family members and survivors have demanded answers for years over the 1973 arson attack on the Whisky Au Go-Go nightclub in Fortitude Valley, which claimed the lives of 15 people.

Sonya Carroll, who lost her mother Decima to the Whiskey Au Go Go fire, leaves the Coroner's Court in Brisbane. An inquest into the 1973 firebombing of the nightclub, which killed 15 people, will be held in June. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Dan Peled

Two men, John Andrew Stuart and James Richard Finch, were convicted of murder that year.

Finch was released on parole in 1988 and deported to England.

During a pre-inquest conference on Thursday, Brisbane Coroners Court was told that Finch was due to give evidence at the inquest but had died earlier this year.

Stuart died in prison in 1979.

The Whiskey Au Go Go nightclub in Amelia Street, Fortitude Valley, where two large drums of super petrol were placed to set fire to the premises.

The inquest will examine whether Stuart or Finch were the only parties who contributed to the deaths and if anyone else was involved.

In 2017 then-Attorney-General Yvette D’Ath ordered the inquest be reopened after murderer Vincent O’Dempsey indicated he may have also been involved in the firebombing.

O’Dempsey was jailed that year with his co-accused Gary Dubois for the murders of Barbara McCulkin and her daughters, Vicki and Leanne, in 1974 – nearly a year after the arson attack.

During O’Dempsey’s sentencing, it was suggested Barbara McCulkin knew about his involvement in the Whisky Au Go-Go firebombing and she was murdered to silence any implications.

Convicted murderer Vincent O'Dempsey will give evidence at the inquest. During his murder trial in 1974, it was suggested he killed Barbara McCulkin and her two daughters concerned Ms McCulkin would implicate him in the arson attack.

On Thursday, Counsel assisting the coroner Stephen Keim said the 15 people died from carbon monoxide poisoning after two petrol drums were ignited on the ground floor foyer.

The drums did not explode but the nightclub’s airconditioning unit “acted as a chimney” to filter fumes up to the first level of the nightclub.

Stephen Keim SC leaves the Coroner's Court in Brisbane. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Dan Peled

Mr Keim told the court an investigation of where the culpability for the fire lay would be an important part of the inquest.

State Coroner Terry Ryan set the inquest down for ten days from June 14.

O’Dempsey himself will be a key witness at the inquest along with numerous police figures and former members of a Brisbane criminal group known as the “Clockwork Orange gang”.

Whiskey Au Go Go fire survivor Donna Phillips at the inquest. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Dan Peled

Donna Phillips, who worked at the Whisky Au Go Go on the night of the arson attack, said the inquest would provide some sense of psychological closure nearly half a century after the tragedy.

Outside of court, she told reporters she was “confident” the true story would come forward.

“It’s something that will always sit on your shoulder,” Ms Phillips said.

Sonya Carroll (left) was scathing when she learned of Finch’s death at the pre-inquest hearing on Thursday. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Dan Peled

Kim and Sonya Carroll, who were children when they lost their mother Decima to the fire, said the families involved deserve closure.

When asked about her thoughts on Finch’s passing, Sonya said “karma came around and bit him in the arse”.

“It would have been nice to get some answers from him but whether he told the truth or not is another thing,” she said.