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Notorious Australian Child Rapist And Murderer Garry Dubois Found Dead In His Prison Cell

Notorious Australian Child Rapist And Murderer Garry Dubois Found Dead In His Prison Cell

Garry Dubois was found dead just before he was due to be a key witness for an inquest into a Queensland arson attack.

Stewart Perrie

Stewart Perrie

Notorious child rapist and murderer Garry Dubois has been found dead in his prison cell.

The Australian was responsible for killing the McCulkin family in Brisbane in the 1970s.

He was found guilty of raping and murdering Leanne, 11, and Vicki, 13, as well as the manslaughter their mother Barbara McCulkin, 34.

Dubois and his pal Vincent O'Dempsey were accused of taking the three women from their Highgate Hill home on or about 16 January 1974. The family was dragged into bushland and savaged killed.

Dubois and O'Dempsey appealed their life sentences back in 2016, however their legal challenge was dismissed in 2018 after being found guilty.

Prison officials confirmed Dubois was found unresponsive inside his cell at Maryborough Correctional Centre early this morning.

Department of Corrective Services

"Officers and QAS made attempts to resuscitate the man, however he was declared dead at about 5:20am," QCS said in a statement.

"QCS will assist Queensland Police in preparing a report for the coroner. Our thanks go to the responding officers, who are being provided assistance and support."

His death is a major blow to investigators as Dubois was due to give evidence at an inquest into a Brisbane arson attack back in 1973 where 15 people were killed.

During Dubois' murder trial, the court heard how he was motivated to kill the McCulkin matriarch over fears she would implicate him in the arson attack.

The Whiskey Au Go Go was firebombed in the early hours of March 8, with two drums of petrol being ignited in the building's foyer. That sent carbon monoxide into the club and people tried to leave, however the exit was poorly organised and the layout of the escape route was described as a 'deathtrap'.

It was Australia's worst mass murder until the 1996 Port Arthur massacre.

Both Dubois and O'Dempsey were due to be witnesses at the inquest into the incident. Pre-inquest hearings got underway in April this year, according to the Daily Mail.

Another key witness, James Richard Finch, died just over a month ago. He was convicted of carrying out the attack, along with John Andrew Stuart, and both protested their innocence during their trials.

Stuart died in his cell of Boggo Road Gaol after a six-day hunger strike in 1979. Finch eventually was released from prison in 1988, after almost 15 years behind bars.

Featured Image Credit: 9News

Topics: Australia