Shirley June Finn, née Shewring (2 November 1941 – 22 or 23 June 1975), was an Australian brothel keeper, nightclub operator and socialite who was shot dead at about midnight on 22–23 June 1975 in Perth, Western Australia. Her body, dressed in an elaborate ball gown and expensive jewellery, was found at dawn in her car, which was parked on a golf course next to a busy freeway. The murder is notable because of Finn's close relationship with Western Australia Police detectives who, in that era, controlled and regulated Perth's prostitution and gambling activities. The crime remains unsolved.
A coronial inquest held between 2017 and 2020 returned an open finding with an acknowledgement that "it was most likely she was killed because she had tried to blackmail police about corruption."Shepherd, Briana. "Shirley Finn inquest unable to solve long-running mystery of who murdered brothel madam." ABC News, 12 August 2020
Early life and career Shirley Finn was born Shirley Shewring on 2 November 1941 in Fremantle, Western Australia. A wartime baby, Shirley was the eldest child of a bomber pilot, and of necessity was brought up by her mother during her early years. After the war, Shirley's family lived in comfortable surroundings in Mount Pleasant, the riverside suburb of Perth, where she became a teenager before the birth of her two younger siblings. Though successful at her schoolwork, she was sexually active by age 14, which caused her to be committed for eight months to a notoriously cruel welfare home administered by the Catholic Church.Wills, Juliet "Dirty Girl: The State Sanctioned Murder of Brothel Madam Shirley Finn", Fontaine Press, Fremantle 2017,
Biographer Juliet Wills recounts that Finn left school at age 15 and found work at a Perth frock shop, where she met her husband-to-be Des Finn, a 22-year-old air-force mechanic. They married and went to live in Melbourne, Victoria, where he continued his service with the Royal Australian Air Force and she worked as a sales assistant at Buckley & Nunn. Her sons, Steven and Shane, were born in 1959 and 1960 respectively. The family eventually transferred back to Perth, where daughter Bridget was born in 1961. (Bridget later adopted her mother's maiden name of Shewring.)Shewring, Bridget. "Please tell us the truth!" Plea from Shirley Finn's Daughter , at thestarfish.com.au, 1 June 2015. Retrieved 8 April 2016
Sex business When her husband suffered a serious injury and subsequent mental instability, Finn, aged 21, chose to engage in sex-oriented activities as a means of supporting her three children, including topless-dancing and body painting. From this she conducted such activities in association with a travelling fairground boxing troupe. She also joined a witchcraft coven which conducted "black magic and sex" activities in Kings Park. In 1969, Finn was conducting a "body painting and escort business" which was raided by police, and she was charged and convicted with "keeping premises for the purpose of prostitution." As a result, the family was socially ostracised and her children had to leave their Catholic primary school.
Regulated prostitution Finn became associated with Dorothea Flatman, a brothel operator from King's Cross, Sydney, New South Wales, who transferred to Perth in 1968 and set up a number of brothels under the symbiotic protection of Australian vice overlord Abe Saffron and a policy of "containment" upheld by the Western Australian Police. Flatman, Stella Strong (also from Sydney) and Finn were among a privileged few allowed to operate in the prostitution business under the rigorous line management of Vice Squad chief Bernard Johnson.
Murder Finn's body was found by a motorcycle traffic officer at about 8.30 a.m. on Monday 23 June 1975, in her parked Dodge DG Phoenix near the ninth fairway of the Royal Perth Golf Club, South Perth.Wills, Juliet. Website: Finn murder The state sanctioned murder of Shirley Finn"Shirley Finn—found shot dead" The West Australian, 24 June 1975, p. 1,5 The location was clearly visible from the adjacent Kwinana Freeway, from which it was then separated only by a waist-high fence and an access road (Melville Parade). Inside the car, Finn's body was slumped behind the wheel with four bullet holes in her head. She wore valuable diamond jewellery which had not been touched.
Crime-scene location "botched" It has been alleged by Wills that the long-established police map of the crime scene is grossly erroneous, incorrectly locating Finn's car near the fifth tee, more than from the ninth green, near the golf clubhouse, where the body was found. The erroneous police map was officially adopted for decades, causing evidence of eyewitnesses to be ignored or discounted as not in accord with the map.Knowles Gabrielle. "Finn murder map 'botched'". The Weekend West, 7–8 July 2018, p. 13. (Online version at Pressreader.com)" ('Unbelievable error' discovered in Shirley Finn murder mystery". WAtoday, 6 July 2018. Retrieved 17 July 2018
Rumours At the time, various rumours regarding the murder attributed it to specific issues relating to prostitution and the way it was being handled by police and government in Perth, but no evidence of this was made public.Whish-Wilson, David. Shirley Finn at davidwhish-wilson.comAdshead, Gary. Cover Story: Shirley Finn – Death of a madam, West Weekend Magazine 17 January 2009, pp. 10–15, at davidwhish-wilson.com
Purported investigations The murder, and the implied connections to the local police and sex industry, resulted in a Royal Commission being held.Norris, John Gerald (Commissioner) (1976). Report of the Royal Commission into matters surrounding the administration of the law relating to prostitution. Perth: Government of Western Australia Continued interest in Finn's murder, and the apparent lack of evidence, led to periodic speculation as to the murderer's identity and has been the subject of numerous articles and television pieces, as well as two books—Juliet Wills's Dirty Girl and David Whish-Wilson's crime novel Line of Sight."Shirley Finn—police still have not found her killer", Daily News (Perth, W.A.), 23 June 1988 and 24 June 1988, p. 11 There is evidence that major Sydney underworld figures were in Perth at the time, including Saffron and corrupt police officer Roger Rogerson,Taylor, Grant. The Weekend West, 20–21 February 2016, p. 9. "[A former WA detective said] he was introduced to Mr Rogerson [in June 1975] at the Raffles Hotel in Applecross just days after Shirley Finn [a Perth brothel keeper] was killed. Drinking with Mr Rogerson at the Raffles was [Perth vice-squad head] Bernie Johnson and Saffron" yet no significant line of investigation was pursued by the police.
In 1985, according to the then state premier Brian Burke, a "very senior police officer" was under investigation for murder, resulting in that officer's retirement and the matter then being deemed to have been "resolved". The West Australian newspaper reported Burke's belief that the subject killing was that of Finn.Adshead, Gary. "Senior cop probed in Shirley Finn case says Brian Burke". The West Australian, 7 June 2017, p. 1 and p. 18. Retrieved 7 June 2017 On the thirtieth anniversary of the murder—23 June 2005—a cold-case review was announced.Ambrose, Melanie.(2006) "Cold case." Author Juliet Wills discusses the murder of Finn. The Sunday Times (Perth, W.A.), 23 April 2006, STM section, pp. 10–12 An opinion was canvassed that no solution of the case was likely.Kelly, Jim. (2005) "Lawyer Ron Cannon doubtful Shirley Finn's murderer will be found". Sunday Times (Perth, W.A.), 26 June 2005, p. 29
In 2014, another cold-case review was launched by Western Australian Police. The following year, the Corruption and Crime Commission confirmed it had received new information about the murder. News reports said a former policeman had spoken about seeing Finn with detectives in the bar of the old central police station, in East Perth, on the night she was killed. , no further information had been released by police about their cold-case review.
On 6 March 2017, the ABC Television documentary series Australian Story aired a piece titled "Getting Away With Murder""Getting Away With Murder". ABC Television, 6 March 2017. Transcript. which revealed that a coronial inquest would be conducted later that year. The story also presented testimony from Finn's former driver, Leigh Beswick, that she had an extended relationship with then police minister Ray O'Connor.Feller, Jennifer. Shirley Finn murder: Brothel owner threatened to expose alleged lover former WA premier Ray O'Connor. ABC News, 6 March 2017
Coronial inquest The inquest scheduled to open on 11 September 2017 was in fact commenced on Tuesday 29 August to take evidence from former detective James Archibald Boland about an officially documented 1975 rumour that Sydney criminal Neddy Smith had flown to Perth "for an arranged meeting with [Finn] and an unnamed police officer."Taylor, Grant; Hampton, Shannon. "Sydney hit man Arthur ‘Neddy’ Smith ‘was paid $5000 to kill Shirley Finn’". The West Australian, 30 August 2017. Retrieved 7 September 2017. NOTE: The cited travel date (23 June) would need to be 22 June to accord with established timelines.
The public hearing was adjourned on 20 December 2017 and resumed on 23 July 2018. After a week, it was again adjourned for six months, "allowing new leads to be followed up and two scientific investigations to be completed". Coroner Barry King acknowledged limitations but had not given up hope. He urged persons with information to come forward.Farcic, Elle. Shirley Finn inquest adjourned to explore new leads. The West Australian, 27 July 2018, (print version: p. 21). Retrieved 6 August 2018
Witnesses Heard in 2017 James Archibald Boland (29 August) said he had met a man named Keith Alan Lewis who told him that Smith flew to Perth on 23 June and was "paid $5000 to kill [Finn] on behalf of her business partners." An official police document, known as "serial 393", was produced to support Boland's claim that "Mr Lewis had been willing to provide information about Smith in exchange for fraud charges against his boyfriend being downgraded." Following suggestions that Smith was aiming to take control of Perth brothels, Boland said he was ordered by former CIB boss Don Hancock not to have any further involvement in the inquiry.Trigger, Rebecca; Shepherd, Briana. Shirley Finn murder: Police received tip-off Neddy Smith killed brothel madam, court told. ABC News, Perth, 29 August 2017. Retrieved 21 September 2017
Bridget Shewring (13 September), daughter of the deceased, claimed her 1975 statement was twisted or mishandled by detectives, and that her mother's partner Rose Black may not have revealed all she knows.Clarke, Tim. "Finn's lover knows more." The West Australian, 14 September 2017, p. 5Shepherd, Briana. Shirley Finn inquest: Daughter denies remarks allegedly made to investigating officers. ABC News, 13 September 2017
Phillip Hooper (13 September) testified that he saw nightclub owner Lawrence Tudori and another man at the scene of the crime and that he was subsequently intimidated into silence by them and Bruce Wilson, a former Australian Workers Union leader.