Garry Dubois, Vincent O'Dempsey To Remain In Jail For Life After Losing Conviction

Leanne and Vicki McCulkin, whose bodies have never been found. Photo: AAP.

Alex Bruce-Smith

10 daily News Reporter

2018-12-21T00:04:10+00:00

Two men found guilty of the 1974 murders of the McCulkin family on Friday have lost their appeals against their convictions.

Garry Dubois and Vincent O'Dempsey, both in their 70s, will remain in jail for life over the deaths of Barbara McCulkin, 34, and her two daughters Vicki, 13, and Leanne, 11.

The disappearance of the McCulkin family became one of Queensland's most notorious and longest-running cold cases.

Barbara, Vicki and Leanne have not been seen since they disappeared from their Brisbane home in January 1974.

Their bodies have never been found.

Barbara McCulkin's body has never been found. Photo: AAP / Queensland Police.

Garry Dubois was found guilty of the rape and murder of Vicki and Leanne and the manslaughter of Barbara in 2016.

In a separate trial, his co-accused Vincent O'Dempsey was found guilty in 2017 of murdering all three.

Both men were sentenced to life in jail in 2017.

At the sentencing hearing, Justice Peter Applegarth told both men they were cold-blooded, heartless killers without consciences, who would likely die in jail.

He added that O’Dempsey was a “hardened killer” a child killer, and beyond redemption; he told Dubois he was a coward then and a callous old man now.

"You can have no expectation of early parole. If you maintain your silence over where the bodies are buried you could not reasonably expect to ever be granted parole,” he said.

An undated image of Garry Dubois. Photo: AAP

The three-week Dubois trial in 2016 heard that he was motivated to kill Barbara out of fear she would implicate him in a series of Brisbane nightclub firebombings. Crown Prosecutor David Meredith told the court that Dubois, key witness Peter Hall, and two others were paid to burn down the Torino nightclub, less than two weeks before the Whiskey Au Go Go nightclub blaze. Dubois feared if police found out about his involvement in the Torino fire they would suspect him in the Whiskey Au Go Go one, Meredith told the court.