Joel Cauchi’s shattered parents reveal Bondi killer’s downward spiral
The parents of the Bondi stabbing attacker have revealed his downward spiral as he struggled with mental illness, with his father revealing why he thinks he may have targeted women.
QLD News
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The parents of Bondi Junction killer Joel Cauchi say they are deeply torn by their son’s actions, with his mother saying if he had been in his “right mind he would be absolutely devastated” with what he had done.
Cauchi stabbed six people to death at Westfield Bondi Junction on Saturday - five women and one man.
The 40-year-old - who had been diagnosed with schizophrenia as a teenager - was shot dead as he rampaged through the centre.
Speaking to media on Monday at his Toowoomba home, Andrew Cauchi spoke of his pain, describing his son as a “beautiful” boy who “let himself down” when he went off his medication.
Asked if he had any idea why his son may have targeted women in the attack Mr Cauchi responded: “He wanted a girlfriend and he’s got no social skills and he was frustrated out of his brain.”
Mr Cauchi spoke of his pain and his heartache for families who lost their loved ones in Saturday’s attack.
“I’m extremely sorry, I’m heartbroken for you,” Mr Cauchi said.
“This is so horrendous I can’t even explain it.
“I’m just devastated, I love my son.”
Mr Cauchi said his son had battled with mental illness for many years and had decided to come off his medication because he was feeling better.
“I made myself a servant to my son when I found out he had a mental illness, I became his servant because I loved that boy,” he said.
“He let himself down, he was taken off medication because he was doing so well but then he took off to Brisbane.
“You don’t know how beautiful this boy was. There’s no way, I did everything in my power to help my son.
“I’m sorry, there’s nothing I can do or say to bring back the dead.
“I’m loving a monster. To you he’s a monster but to me he was a very sick boy.”
Cauchi’s mother Michele also apologised for her son’s actions.
“Really, I’m so sorry about what my son has done,” Mrs Cauchi said.
“We don’t know why he did what he did.
“And he was brought up in love. He was a loved child. He was under the care of his doctors for 18 years.”
Mrs Cauchi said her son “took his medication well” but then asked his doctor to reduce it, which was done over a number of years.
“Anyone who has got a relative with mental illness will understand medication doesn’t make you feel very well,” Mrs Cauchi said.
She said her son had lived at the family home until he was 35 and moved to Brisbane.
“And so, there’s a condition with a mental illness called anosognosia where the brain is damaged and it doesn’t tell you’re sick. So if you don’t know you’re sick, why would you take medication?” she said.
She suggested anyone with family who has a mental illness contact Arafmi, which provides support and education services.
“This is a parent’s absolute nightmare, when they have a child with mental illness, that something like this would happen,” she said.
“And my heart goes out to the people my son has hurt, if he was in his right mind he would be absolutely devastated with what he has done.
“He was obviously not in his right mind. He was somehow triggered into psychosis and lost touch with reality - and it’s not a joke, it’s not a joke.
“It’s difficult for all those poor people who have lost their loved ones.”
She said they were “just ordinary people who brought up our son as best as we could”.
“We did what he could for him ... we helped him get a degree, we contacted the lecturers, we contacted the university, everybody was very supportive of him, his teachers loved him, he was top of the class. He worked hard.
“And he doesn’t, I don’t want to see his reputation tarnished by lies and things you think you have found out, because you haven’t.
“He had lots of friends until he got sick, and then if you do any research into mental illness you will know people socially isolate, and they can’t cope with anything.
“So I hope you don’t edit too much, I’m just concerned for people of whom there are many who have children with a mental illness to contact Arafmi to get support. Because when you face something like this, it’s very difficult.”
Mrs Cauchi added that she was tired and stressed in the aftermath of Saturday.
“I don’t have a son anymore,” she said.
Flowers were delivered to their Darling Downs home west of Brisbane on Monday morning as Cauchi’s parents, Andrew and Michele, come to terms with their 40-year-old son’s actions and his death.
Mr and Mrs Cauchi earlier emerged from his Toowoomba home, as neighbours revealed they were a deeply spiritual family and their faith would help them get through the tragedy.
Mr Cauchi did not speak to media as he ventured outside earlier Monday morning and carried out work in the front yard of the Rockville home the family has lived in for many years.
His wife was also seen carrying out household chores ahead of an expected visit from NSW Police detectives.
The distraught couple phoned police on Saturday after identifying their 40-year-old son Joel in footage of the horrific Bondi Westfield shooting, in which six people died and more are fighting for their lives in hospital.
A neighbour who lives opposite Mr and Mrs Cauchi said they were a deeply spiritual family who would have been rocked by what their son has done.
“Joel was very gentle, family orientated person who was very close to his parents,” she said.
“Unfortunately he had mental health problems.
“He was a very quiet person and was not very chatty.”
The women, who wish to remain anonymous out of respect for the family, said their faith would help them get through the tragedy.
“His parents did talk about Joel’s mental health problems but I don’t think that thought anything like this would happen,” she said.
“Some people, when they have mental health problems, they go into themselves and that was Joel.”
The Australian reported Mr and Mrs Cauchi were a deeply religious family, and had been members of the Toowoomba City Church, founded by Ian Shelton.
It also reported the couple were known as good people - with Andrew taking meals to an elderly neighbour who had broken a collarbone.
According to The Australian, a neighbour said Andrew could at times also “just start preaching at you”.
Another neighbour told The Courier-Mail tensions had boiled over in the street on one occasion when someone complained Andrew Cauchi was keeping pigeons in the yard.
On Sunday, the family released a statement saying they were “devastated” by the traumatic events that occurred in Sydney and the police officer who shot their son was “doing her job”.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with the families and friends of the victims and those still undergoing treatment at this time,” they said.
“Joel’s actions were truly horrific, and we are still trying to comprehend what has happened. He has battled with mental health issues since he was a teenager.
“We are in contact with both the New South Wales Police Force and Queensland Police Service and have no issues with the Police Officer who shot our son as she was only doing her job to protect others and we hope she is coping all right.”
Queensland Police Acting Assistant Commissioner Andrew Massingham on Monday repeated plans to increase police presence in shopping centres around Queensland in response to the Bondi massacre.
“So you would’ve seen that yesterday you will see that for at least the next week,” Mr Massingham said on Monday.
“Our police are very focused at this stage at just ensuring the safety of members of the public attending those shopping centres and that will continue for the foreseeable future.
“The issue around policing of shopping centres is an ongoing one something that we’ve always looked at and tried to improve.
“I know from my regional experience as a regional crime co-ordinator, we have tasking objectives for our patrolling crews to go into shopping centres and take up with people operating businesses within those shopping centres daily. So when we talk about police beats and the presence of police, it’s not just those that are seated within the police beat.
“Every day, we list patrol objectives on our frontline crews where they’re able to patrol our shopping centres. And you’ll also see from the number of hours with Operation Whiskey Unison, which is our hotspot patrolling, there’s been now some 55,500 hours of (patrols of) shopping centres since the first of March 2023.”
Mr Massingham said it was always a concern to police if people were bringing knives to shopping centres.
He said it was clear Jack’s Law, in which police have the power to wand people to detect weapons in safe night precincts and transport hubs, was working.
Mr Massingham said police had finished a submission to the government relating to the potential of wanding people in shopping centres and that the service was “very keen” for the change.
“Over 520 knives taken off people this year alone,” he said.
“And as I’ve said one in 40 scans on public transport is showing up a weapon. That means those weapons are in our shopping centres, because most of those transport hubs go for shopping centres, or a part of the general route to that shopping centre.
“So what I say is we’ll let the process take its course (in relation to the proposal to allow police to wand people at shopping centres), but we’re very keen to see that enacted sooner rather than later.”
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