Knife-wielding young woman’s ‘bizarre … private writings’ revealed after she was shot dead

JUST after this photo, Courtney Topic was fatally shot “at the hands of the police”. Her distraught parents are still waiting for an apology.

THE parents of the young knife-wielding woman shot dead by NSW Police have lashed out at authorities for not apologising for the incident.

Courtney Topic’s parents Leesa and Ron are calling for an apology they say they never received, after Deputy State Coroner Liz Ryan today delivered her findings at the inquest into the February 2015 death of the 22-year-old.

“Our child is dead at the hands of the New South Wales Police,” Mrs Topic said.

“She was a human being, a young girl, a young woman. Couldn’t somebody from the police

force, whether it is the Commissioner or somebody come to our home, knock on our door and say, We’re very sorry for your loss’?”

Topic was brandishing a large knife outside a fast-food outlet and moving towards a police officer, when she came within two metres of him and he fired his gun, near a busy intersection at Hoxton Park in Sydney’s west. Topic died from a single gunshot wound to the left side of her chest.

“(The police officer) had reason to believe his life was in danger,” Ms Ryan said.

“Errors were made that morning that made the resort to lethal force a tragic inevitability.”

Forensic psychiatrist Dr Kerri Eagle told the inquest that a series of private notes written by Topic and discovered in her bedroom after her death had provided an insight into the state of her mind around the time of the incident.

“Unknown to her family, these writings documented bizarre and highly disturbed beliefs of being controlled, of her mind being read by others, of being forced to participate in an experiment, and of having lost her true identity,” Ms Ryan said.

“The discovery of these anguished writings after Courtney’s death must have been a fresh source of grief for her family.”

Mr and Mrs Topic said they had been dealt a life sentence because of the incident.

“This can’t happen to anybody ever again,” Mrs Topic told ABC’s 7.30 program.

“Courtney had a mental illness, absolutely, but she did not deserve to die.

“Acknowledging that Courtney’s death could have been avoided was a big thing for us.

“She was a beautiful person who wouldn’t hurt anybody and for whatever reason, something went the worst kind of wrong that day — horrifically wrong.”

The parents said for the officer who fired the fatal shot to walk away saying he wouldn’t do anything differently was hard to swallow or accept.

Courtney Topic moments before she died.

Moments before the fatal shooting of a young mentally ill woman, Courtney Topic, 22.

Courtney Topic, 22, was brandishing a large kitchen knife before she was killed.

Courtney Topic’s funeral was held at Bonnyrigg Heights.

Dr Eagle told the court that the notes showed a mind “tormented for several years with an internal world characterised by identity disturbance, persecutory themes … and perceptual abnormalities”.

The inquest heard that Topic had never been diagnosed with schizophrenia but had suffered its symptoms for a sustained period. Dr Eagle said Topic had a lengthy history of reporting auditory hallucinations. Two months before her death, Topic reported to another psychiatrist that she had experienced “invasive memories — fear/panic … I do everything out of fear …

Fear of safety if I don’t do what I’m supposed to do”.

Courtney Topic, woman who was shot dead by police in Hoxton Park. Pic supplied Police Media

The father of Courtney Topic, Ronny Topic speaks to the media outside the NSW Coroner's Court in Sydney, Monday, July 30, 2018. Picture: AAP/Peter Rae.

The coroner found that Topic was probably suffering a psychotic episode due to undiagnosed schizophrenia when she took to the street with a weapon in the moments before her death.

She was described by police who attended the scene as looking as though she was “in a daze or in her own little world”, of looking “like a zombie”, and of moving “in a jerky and

uncoordinated way”.

“It is probable Courtney (Topic) was not able to understand that police were telling her to put down her large knife,” Ms Ryan on Monday.

Ms Ryan said Topic shouldn’t have been killed but that it would be wrong to understate the seriousness of this situation.

Mr and Mrs Topic said schizophrenia had never come up in any of their diagnosis conversations over the years.

Outside court today they said they pleased with the coroner’s mental health training recommendations.

They just want to make sure the commissioner follows through on implementing them.

“Don’t remember her as a statistic, she is not a statistic she is my beautiful girl, who I just want to hold and hug and I’ll never ever be able to do that again,” a distraught Mrs Topic told reporters on Monday.

“We just hope she is remembered for the beautiful soul she is and if something positive can come out of this so no other family has to live this heartache, then we’ll be grateful for that.”

Courtney Topic’s mother, Leesa Topic (left) speaks to the media outside the NSW Coroner's Court in Sydney, Monday, July 30, 2018. Picture: AAP/Peter Rae.

Ms Ryan made 10 recommendations to the NSW Commissioner of Police, mainly dealing with the training of police officers dealing with people possibly suffering a mental health crisis.

“If changes are not made, there will be more deaths like Courtney’s,” the coroner said.

“The court heard that in Australia, of the persons shot by police between 1989 and 2011, nearly 42 per cent were suffering from a mental illness.”

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