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'‘He takes you in the middle of the night, like an angel, and you’re gone for good.’ — Witness at Vincent O’Dempsey’s committal hearing for murder, 2015.
'In 2017, Vincent O’Dempsey was sentenced to life in prison for the brutal murders of Barbara McCulkin and her two young daughters. It took over 40 years to bring him to justice. Feared for decades by criminals and police alike, O’Dempsey associated with convicted underworld figures and has been linked to a string of haunting cold cases, including the deadly Whiskey au Go Go nightclub firebombing that killed 15 innocent people.
'Award-winning investigative journalist Matthew Condon has interviewed dozens of ex-cons, police and witnesses to put together a compelling picture of the calculating killer who spent his life evading the law before he was finally brought to justice.'
Source: Publisher's blurb.
Notes
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Dedication: For my wife, Katie Kate.
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Epigraph: '...he is colour blind in the red, green and brown colours...he is hard to frighten...he is very methodical...he does not like sunlight because he is very fair-skinned...he has the tattoo of St George and the Dragon on his chest, on his back and both legs.' -Witness statement about Vincent O'Dempsey given to the Crime Intelligence Unit, Brisbane 1974
'He takes you in the middle of the night, like an angel, and you're gone for good.' -Witness at Vincent O'Dempsey's committal hearing, Brisbane 2015
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Other Formats
- Sound recording.
Works about this Work
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The Whiskey Tragedy
2019
single work
review
— Appears in: Australian Book Review , September no. 414 2019; (p. 55)
— Review of The Night Dragon 2019 single work biography'In 2013, Matthew Condon published Three Crooked Kings, the first in his true crime series delving into the murky, sordid, and often brutal world of police corruption in Queensland. That year, he wrote in Australian Book Review that, after finishing his trilogy, he planned to ‘swan dive into the infinitely more comfortable genre of fiction’.' (Introduction)
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Revisiting the Dark Man : A Journey into Queensland’s Shadow
2019
single work
autobiography
— Appears in: Griffith Review , August no. 65 2019;'One recent Saturday morning, I once again drove my children to the street in Brisbane’s west where I grew up as a boy.
'They had been on this journey too many times to remember: the pleasant drive through The Gap in the Taylor Range, past the old jam factory and the golf course, left into Payne Road and then sharp left into the dogleg that is Bernarra Street.' (Introduction)
-
The Whiskey Tragedy
2019
single work
review
— Appears in: Australian Book Review , September no. 414 2019; (p. 55)
— Review of The Night Dragon 2019 single work biography'In 2013, Matthew Condon published Three Crooked Kings, the first in his true crime series delving into the murky, sordid, and often brutal world of police corruption in Queensland. That year, he wrote in Australian Book Review that, after finishing his trilogy, he planned to ‘swan dive into the infinitely more comfortable genre of fiction’.' (Introduction)
-
Revisiting the Dark Man : A Journey into Queensland’s Shadow
2019
single work
autobiography
— Appears in: Griffith Review , August no. 65 2019;'One recent Saturday morning, I once again drove my children to the street in Brisbane’s west where I grew up as a boy.
'They had been on this journey too many times to remember: the pleasant drive through The Gap in the Taylor Range, past the old jam factory and the golf course, left into Payne Road and then sharp left into the dogleg that is Bernarra Street.' (Introduction)