Bourke St massacre Coroners Court inquest begins
LATEST: THE granting of bail to Dimitrious Gargasoulas a week before he allegedly killed six people in the Bourke St massacre will be the focus of an inquest into the deaths.
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THE granting of bail to Dimitrious Gargasoulas a week before he allegedly killed six people in the Bourke St massacre will be the focus of an inquest into the deaths.
The inquest will look at the police handling of Gargasoulas before and during the deadly Melbourne CBD attack.
State Coroner Judge Sara Hinchey today adjourned the inquest until the criminal case against Gargasoulas has been dealt with.
He is facing six counts of murder amid dozens of other charges over the January 20 tragedy in Melbourne’s CBD.
Three-month-old baby Zachary Bryant, schoolgirl Thalia Hakin, 10, Jess Mudie, 22, Matthew Si, 33, Bhavita Patel, 33 and 25-year-old Y. Kanno from Japan died in the tragedy.
During the 20 minute directions hearing counsel assisting the commission, Mandy Fox, said proceeding with the hearing any earlier risked the proper administration of justice.
“We are acutely aware of the intense public interest surrounding the matters likely to be examined in the course of this inquest,” she said.
“There is a very significant public interest in having all matters investigated in an open, fair, complete and timely manner.
“There is also however, a fundamental public interest in ensuring the criminal justice process is not compromised.
“In our opinion, it is not possible to proceed with the inquest or any discreet area of inquiry within the inquest without creating an unacceptable risk of compromising the criminal proceedings and the rights of the accused to a fair trial.
“We respectfully submit to your Honour that the further hearing of this inquest should be adjourned to a date to be fixed, pending the determination of the criminal charges against Mr Gargasoulas.”
Ms Fox said details of the specific focus of the inquest were still being worked through.
But the police response to the tragedy and reasons Mr Gargasoulas was free on bail will be key areas of interest.
She said matters of interest would also include:
WHAT information was available to Victorian police regarding Mr Gargasoulas’s conduct prior to 20 January, including information as to his behaviour in the days immediately prior to 20 January;
WHAT interaction Victoria Police had had with Mr Gargasoulas on 20 January;
WHAT assessments and planning were undertaken as a result of the information which Victoria Police had in relation to Mr Gargasoulas by 20 January, including an examination of current Victoria Police pursuit guidelines and policies and whether they were appropriately applied;
WHAT coordination of Victoria Police activities took place on 20 January, including an examination of Victoria Police radio communications across and between radio channels.
It is also anticipated that the matters examined in the inquest will include the circumstances in which Mr Gargasoulas was released onto bail on 14 January 2017.
Solicitors for the families of two of the victims, Zachary Bryant and Jess Mudie indicated that the relatives did not want to speak publicly at this time.
Naty Guerrero-Diaz of Adviceline Injury Lawyers said that both families were grateful that a thorough inquest would be held into the Bourke Street tragedy.
“Both families hope that the inquest will prevent anything similar ever happening again”, Ms Guerrero- Diaz said.
It is anticipated that the inquest will not commence until the later part of 2018.
“As the police have interviewed many hundreds of witnesses, it will be a very detailed and extensive investigation”, Ms Guerrero-Diaz said.
Gargasoulas, who grew up in Coober Pedy, South Australia, has publicly declared his innocence during a bizarre courtroom outburst in which he described himself as “the Saviour” and declared “I am not guilty”.
He scoffed at the Australian judicial system saying “all law was illegal” because it was incompatible with the Bible and the Koran.
“Muslim faith is the correct faith according to the whole world,” he said during the April hearing.
Mr Gargasoulas was controversially bailed on a string of driving charges days before the tragedy.
In the wake of the Bourke St tragedy Victoria Police were criticised for failing to stop Mr Gargasoulas as they followed him earlier that day.
In the hours before the mall tragedy, Mr Gargasoulas had allegedly stabbed his brother, kidnapped his girlfriend and been followed by police.
He also stunned bystanders by doing doughnuts outside Flinders St Station just before driving down the mall. Two teenage boys with baseball bats tried to stop the car.
The Coroners Court independently investigates certain deaths and fires in order to determine what happened and why.
Through its investigations, the court makes findings about whether there are opportunities to prevent the occurrence of similar events in the future.