Sad final text from Lilla Messo before violent attack by son, Gabriel Messo

The death of a Gladstone Park man who stabbed his mother in a frenzied attack while suffering delusions is being probed in a bid to prevent similar tragedies.

One of the last text messages a mother sent to her son before he brutally stabbed her in a 20-minute attack in Melbourne’s northwest has been revealed at an inquest into his death.

Gabriel Messo, 30, was fatally shot by officers at John Coutts Reserve in Gladstone Park in 2020 following the attack which left his mum, Lilla, fighting for life with stab wounds to her neck, face and scalp.

The circumstances surrounding Gabriel’s death, his access to mental health treatment and how similar tragedies can be avoided is being examined at an inquest that began at the Victorian Coroners Court on Tuesday.

Gabriel, 30, who had been diagnosed with bipolar, was experiencing delusions when he messaged his mother asking her to meet him at the park on July 16, 2020.

“I’m so sad, I need to see you,” he texted her.

Police shot dead Gabriel Messo after he brutally attacked his mum, Lilla Messo. Picture: Supplied

She replied: “Okay Gabby I will see you”, along with a kiss emoji.

But upon her arrival, Gabriel, who had previously believed he was on a mission from God to “cull people”, attacked his mother leaving her with critical injuries, including a collapsed lung.

It took 17 minutes before police arrived and shot Gabriel three times in the chest.

He died at the scene.

Lilla suffered four cardiac arrests and later had an eye surgically removed but survived.

She is unable to give evidence at the inquest due to a brain injury acquired during the incident.

Gabriel’s father Frank Messo told the inquest he was left a “broken man” after his son was discharged from hospital despite having a mental health episode the day before his death.

On July 15, Gabriel was arrested following an incident at his aunt and uncle’s home and was taken to hospital under police guard.

Gabriel Messo appeared to be drug-affected when he was shot by police.

He appeared to be drug-affected or in a psychotic state.

But he was considered fit for interview and discharged to the Broadmeadows Police Station where he was released on bail.

“This person, his history … I can’t believe they let him go home,” Frank said.

“What happened over at my brother’s, that really broke me as a person, I lost complete faith in the system.”

Counsel assisting the coroner Ben Ihle QC said Gabriel’s family had faced “obvious difficulties” in maintaining appropriate mental health treatment for him since his bipolar diagnosis in 2014.

The inquest before Judge John Cain continues.