Police: CBD stabber Mert Ney sent chilling video of murder aftermath
Accused Sydney stabber Mert Ney allegedly subjected Michaela Dunn to 13 minutes of horror inside her unit before unleashing his reign of terror through the CBD. Police will allege he filmed the deadly stabbing attack before sending it to a friend.
After slashing the throat of Michaela Dunn, Mert Ney took a video of her bloodied body, declared “Allahu Akbar” and sent the clip to a friend, police allege.
They claim it took just 13 minutes from the time Ney arrived at Ms Dunn’s apartment until she was dead.
New allegations about the violent rampage that brought the city to a halt emerged after Ney, 20, appeared in court yesterday charged with murdering Ms Dunn and stabbing another woman.
He is accused of killing Ms Dunn, 24, after booking a $250 appointment for sex with the former University of Notre Dame student on Tuesday. He is not charged with any terrorism offences.
Ms Dunn was stabbed in the face, neck and chest and had her throat slashed in a unit on Clarence St in the city.
Police will allege Ney then used his phone to record a video that he sent to a friend. That friend allegedly told another person, who called his local police station to report a concern for welfare for Ney.
In response to that call, officers went to Ney’s Marayong family home, unaware of the incident unfolding in the city.
It is understood that officers were still at his home when it became clear Ney had been arrested in Wynard St in the city.
While he declared “Allahu Akbar” throughout the attack, police are still searching for solid evidence it was a politically or religiously motivated terrorist attack.
Ney’s lawyer Zemarai Khatiz told the magistrate the 20-year-old will fight the charges on mental illness grounds.
As Ney appeared in court, dozens of colourful messages were posted around the apartment building where Ms Dunn was killed, paying tribute to her and condemning violence against women.
Ney’s reign of terror started when he left emergency housing in Blacktown with a kitchen knife earlier in the day, police will allege. He caught a train to the city and was captured on CCTV at Town Hall at 1.04pm.
It will be alleged Ney sent a text message to an escort service for a “30 minute GFE”, or “girlfriend experience”, with Ms Dunn. He turned up to unit 26 at 104 Clarence St at 1.44pm and Ms Dunn was dead before 1.57pm, police will claim.
They have been told Ms Dunn rented the $700-a-week, fourth-floor apartment with a friend for the purpose of meeting clients.
It is understood the two women exchanged texts when a client was booked and checked in again when an appointment was finished.
It was this system that led the friend to arrive at the unit just after 3pm when her calls and texts went unanswered. She found Ms Dunn’s body and called police.
This was almost an hour after heroic witnesses chased and tackled Ney as he ran through the streets brandishing a knife and screaming for someone to shoot him.
After leaving the Clarence St unit, police allege CCTV from an alleyway captured Ney taking a selfie before putting on a beanie and running into the street. It will be alleged he randomly stabbed 41-year-old Lin Bo in the back outside Hotel CBD.
A group of firefighters, office workers and a lawyer banded together to stop Ney, who was taken down in Wynyard St with a milk crate and chairs.
What prompted the alleged attack is still unclear, with police sifting through Ney’s phone records, internet history and text messages.
Footage of mass casualty attacks, including the Christchurch massacre, were allegedly found on Ney’s phone and a USB stick.
The case has highlighted gaps in the state’s mental health system and exposed Ney’s cries for help in the lead up to last Tuesday.
He left the family home on August 7 after allegedly putting his sister Yazel in a headlock and choking her.
Over the next six days he attended Blacktown Hospital twice and visited a doctor to whom he expressed suicidal thoughts. At the same time, police were checking his phone records, bank transactions and talking to his associates in a bid to find him in relation to the domestic violence allegation.
Ney was on medication for anxiety and depression and in the days leading up to the CBD rampage, was staying in government-funded emergency accommodation in Blacktown.
Police are investigating whether Ney and Ms Dunn had crossed paths before.
In stark contrast to Ney’s troubled existence, Ms Dunn has been remembered as a beautiful, bright young woman with the world at her feet.
She had studied at the University of Notre Dame, played on the university basketball team and moved out of her family home to flat with friends in the inner-west.
She grew up in Lidcombe in a loving family with her eldest sister Emily, who is a lawyer in the ACT.
It is unclear how Ms Dunn went from working at Ten Pin City bowling alley and studying, to becoming a sex worker. but social media photographs suggest she used her income to travel the world.
Appearing in Parramatta Bail Court via audio-video link, Ney did not apply for bail.
Mr Khatiz said Ney had asked Corrective Services on six occasions for his medication since his arrest but nothing had happened.
The magistrate adjourned the case to Central Local Court on Monday and recommended he be seen by Justice Health urgently for pain relief and mental health medication.
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