Shirley Finn: Fifty years since her murder, police hint at using new forensic technology to identify killer

Police have hinted at using new forensic technology to identify the triggerman behind Shirley Finn’s execution, a case that has now sat unsolved for 50 years and is one of WA’s most enduring mysteries. Last month marked five decades since the 33-year-old brothel madam was found in a glamorous ballgown with four bullet holes in her head in the front seat of her Dodge Phoenix at the Royal Perth Golf Club. Her killer has never been found. But among the high-profile list of suspects include a former premier, powerful policemen and infamous underworld figures. Ms Finn was killed on June 23, 1975, just two days before a tax inquiry at which she was threatening to reveal the dodgy dealings of cops, politicians and businessmen. Among the suspects was former head of WA’s vice squad Bernie Johnson, former police minister and premier Ray O’Connor, former head of Perth’s criminal investigation bureau, Don Hancock and NSW detective-turned-killer Roger Rogerson. Sydney underworld crime figures Arthur “Neddy” Smith and Abe Saffron were also suspects, as was Ms Finn’s lesbian lover Rose Black. However, a long-running inquest ended in 2020 with former coroner Barry King finding it was impossible to pinpoint any one person as being responsible. Asked this week if police were still actively investigating the murder, a WA Police spokesman said the force would “always remain committed to finding answers for the family and broader community.” “It remains challenging for the family and their friends while this investigation remains unresolved,” he said. The spokesman added Ms Finn’s murder was a “sad episode in Western Australia’s history.” “There are significant challenges investigating matters which date back over several decades, but the WA Police Force continues to seek out new technologies to respond and investigate offences of this nature,” he said. After the inquest, Ms Finn’s daughter Bridget Shewring said she was “pretty set in my ways now that I’m never going to find out.” Lawyer Shash Nigam, who acted for Ms Shewring with Tom Percy at the inquest, said he hoped Ms Shewring “gets more of an answer than what she’s got at the moment.” “But the issue with that, as a general rule, is the longer the passage of time, the more difficult,” he said. “Not always, but who knows, if something happens to pop up that changes things, that helps the understanding of the matter move forward in a certain direction to give her clarity . . . we can only hope.”