The sister of a woman who was killed in a historic incendiary bomb in a Brisbane nightclub revealed her heartbreaking act while recovering her sister’s purse from the arson attack.
Heartbreaking statements from the victims’ families of the arson attack on the Whiskey Au Go-Go nightclub in Fortitude Valley were read out in court on the first day of a coronial investigation.
Fifteen people died of carbon monoxide poisoning in the early morning of March 8, 1973 than two people on the first floor of the nightclub Gas drums were set on fire.
It was one of the worst mass murders in modern Australian history until the Port Arthur massacre in 1996.
Two men, John Andrew Stuart and James Richard Finch, were found guilty of waitress Jennifer To have murdered Davie, the youngest victim of the fire.
But there have been questions for years about the alleged involvement of others in the incident and the whole under circumstances of tragic death.
A crowded gallery filled Brisbane Magistrates Court on Monday as the testimony of the victims’ families was read in court.
The sister of Wendy Leonne Drew â ???? who was 24 when she died? ???? said the pain of losing her sister was still raw even after more than 40 years.
« I remember vividly that before I took Wendy’s belongings to Mum, I scrubbed and scrubbed the handbag, that Wendy took to the nightclub, ”he said. read the woman’s statement.
â € œMy parents â € ¦ went to their graves, still unable to comprehend such a dire deed, and took their youngest daughter with them. ?
Ms. Drew’s sister said Wendy felt « safe »? lived in Brisbane looking for work, but a trip with a friend that evening changed everything.
Jennifer Denise Davie’s sister, a waitress at the club, said her sister’s death rocked the family and she rocked hers Deprived of chance of having nieces and nephews.
« She wanted to travel and live until she grew old to have children of her own » that was taken from her, â ???? read the woman’s statement.
« My sister’s death … was because of some greedy people who have not yet been brought to justice. » The investigation will investigate whether Stuart or Finch were the only parties that contributed to the deaths and whether anyone else was involved.
Coroner’s attorney Stephen Keim said some people broke windows to escape the fire instead of using the fire escape .
Photos of the smoldering club, the fuel barrel in the foyer and the fire escape stairs were shown during the opening.
David John Western’s sister said her brother went back into the building on the night of the fire to see his To help friends, and was « found trying to pull his friend out when he was overwhelmed by smoke ».
– He was not assigned to work (that night) but was called – ?? ¦ I woke up on the morning of March 8th d realized that he had not come home. ”Mr. Keim said there was evidence that might have known about the attack in advance and had warned acquaintances not to go to the club that evening In 2017, then-Attorney General Yvette Dâ ???? Ath ordered the investigation to be reopened after killer Vincent Oâ ???? Dempsey suggested he might also be involved in the incendiary bombs.
Oâ ???? Dempsey was jailed that year along with his co-defendant Gary Dubois for the horrific 1974 murders of Barbara McCulkin and her daughters Vicki and Leanne.
While Oâ ??? ? Dempsey? It was suggested that Barbara McCulkin knew of his involvement in the Whiskey Au Go-Go incendiary bomb and that she was murdered to silence all repercussions.
Said Mr Keim, the disgraced former NSW detective and convicted Killer Roger Rogerson may need to be called to testify.
The court was told that Rogerson believed Oâ ???? Dempsey was not involved in the attack on Whiskey Au Go-Go and his testimony was for the investigation would be beneficial.
Coroner Terry Ryan said it was up to the state law enforcement officers to organize his appearance.
The investigation has been shaken by recent setbacks after the investigation was revealed at a conference became that Finch, who was supposed to testify, died earlier this year.
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