Inquest begins into Sydney siege deaths

THE gunman started out like any other customer, ordering tea and chocolate cake. Then he asked to be moved to another table. These are the chilling new details of what happened inside the Lindt Cafe.

The cover of Tori Johnson's funeral booklet features a quote from the philosopher Rumi.

WHEN Man Haron Monis walked into the Lindt Cafe there was no hint of the calamity that was about to unfold.

His sawn-off pump action shotgun was hidden in a blue plastic bag and the Islamic flag he would later make terrified hostages hold at the windows was hidden from view.

Like an ordinary customer, he ordered chocolate cake and drank a cup of tea. When he’d finished he asked if he could be moved to another table — one close to the doors that would give him a view of the whole cafe.

When Monis was seated he asked to speak to the store manager, Tori Johnson. No one was sure why but staff became fearful when the normally calm Mr Johnson became “visibly stressed” as he listened to what Monis was telling him.

An inquest into the deaths of Mr Johnson, barrister Katrina Dawson and Monis began today at the Glebe Coroners Court. Counsel assisting the Coroner, Jeremy Gormly SC, said it was at this point an otherwise “ordinary” Sydney day turned to terror for so many.

“Mr Johnson then said to another employee, in a low voice, something like “I need you to go get my keys from the office and lock the doors. We’re closed. Everything is OK. Tell the staff to be calm.”

The doors were the locked and the hostage crisis that would grip Australia for the next 17 hours had begun.

Tori Johnson was forced to kneel on the cafe floor before he was shot in the back of the head.

Monis stood up, put on a vest and a bandanna, and waved his gun at the shocked customers and staff. He told them: “This is an attack, I have a bomb.”

He told Mr Johnson to call 000 to say Australia was under attack by the Islamic State and there were bombs ready to explode in other parts of central Sydney.

“At 9:44am, at the request of Mr Monis, Tori Johnson placed a 000 call and was told by Mr Monis what to say. That was in effect that Australia is under attack by Islamic State and there are a number of radio-controlled bombs situated in Martin Place, Circular Quay, and George Street and that proved to be false, ultimately. Tori told the operator that Mr Monis had pointed a gun at him and that he had been taken hostage along with others within the Lindt Cafe.”

The nature of the call meant police immediately treated the situation as a possible terrorist attack.

He told the hostages he was prepared to kill them so he would “be taken seriously”.

Mr Gormly told the court today that Monis fired five shots throughout the ordeal and confirmed, in chilling detail, the final moments of Mr Johnson and Mrs Dawson.

Just after 2am several hostages escaped and an enraged Monis fired the first shot at a door. Minutes later he followed through with his deadly threats when he forced Mr Johnson to kneel on the floor of the cafe.

Katrina Dawson is pictured with her husband Paul Smith. It was today revealed she was hit by six fragments of police bullets.

Mr Gormly said: “After a short lapse of time, Mr Monis simply shot him without further notice or warning in the back of the head. The end of the barrel was about 75cm from Mr Johnson’s head at the moment of discharge.”

Mr Johnson is believed to have died instantly..

“The shot was witnessed by a police marksman who called it in. That resulted in immediate order to force entry of the cafe.”

Police stormed the cafe, firing rounds through the glass doors and windows to break them and throwing 11 distraction devices. The specialist police fired 22 times. Monis fired back twice.

He was killed by a shot to the head; possibly as he was reloading his shotgun. Mr Gormly confirmed today — for the first time — that Mrs Dawson died from fragments of police bullets that ricocheted onto her.

She was struck six times. One hit a major blood vessel. She lost consciousness and quickly died.

THE SIEGE

* 6 fragments of a police bullet or bullets killed Katrina Dawson

* 5 shotgun cartridges were discharged by Monis during the siege on four separate occasions.

* 21 other cartridges of various sizes were found on Monis’ body.

* 11 distracters were thrown into the cafe by police, making the noise of explosion-like guns and flashes of lights.

* 22 shots were fired by two police officers, with Monis firing two cartridges.

* 17 hours was the total length of the siege, ended by police when they stormed in following Monis’ execution of Tori Johnson

The court heard two snipers who will give evidence will have their identities suppressed for their own safer.

All the hostages had been asked to give evidence. He said they had been through an experience “most of us struggle to even imagine” but it was not the place of the court to make “moral judgments” about how the hostages or police reacted during the siege.

While there were no CCTV inside the cafe, the siege was filmed from the outside and there was sound and audio footage.

Mr Gormly said Monis fired five shots during the siege each of which was undergoing ballistics analysis. Each shot he fired, and those by police, would be accounted for.

Part of the inquiry will focus on the police operation and whether officers should have waited “or acted immediately”, Mr Gormly said.

“If there were defects in the management of the siege, they will be exposed.”

The inquest has heard details of what happened inside the Lindt Cafe.

Mr Gormly said that Monis had not made contact with Islamic State before the siege, though someone in IS endorsed him afterwards.

The issues the inquest will determine include what terrorist associations, if any, Monis had. During the siege he claimed to have bombs and said Australia was under attack by the Islamic State.

“Security issues concerning Mr Monis will be examined in some detail,” Mr Gormly said. This includes what information was being held about him by state and federal authorities.

Part of the inquiry will also focus on NSW controversial bail laws and changes to the laws. Monis was on bail for murder at the time of the siege.

“Mr Monis was on bail at the time of the siege ... It is necessary to examine how he came to be on bail.”

The coroner has arranged for an independent critical assessment of the police effort by UK police experts.

They will be assisted by interstate police providing insight into the domestic context.

Evidence is likely to be heard on questions surrounding the use of police marksmen and whether they should have acted early or not. Mr Gormly said.

Man Haron Monis fired five shots inside the cafe. Picture: AAP Image/Dean Lewins

No members of Ms Dawson’s family were at Glebe Coroner’s court for the opening day but members of Mr Johnson’s family were present.

No witnesses were called today and John O’Brien was the only former hostage who attended.

Outside court he said he had found it “upsetting” to listen to details of Mr Johnson’s final moments.

Mr Gormly said the coroner was aware that paid television interviews had been recorded by several hostages but he didn’t believe it would affect the inquest because their statements had been made before they did the interviews.

Monis’s partner Amirah Droudis is being represented by lawyer Angelo Bilias.

Solicitors for Mr Johnson’s family and Ms Dawson’s family sought leave to appear, as did counsel Ray Hood for “Officer A”, whose name cannot be reported.

Greg Willis is appearing for “Officer B” in the cafe siege entry team.

State Coroner Michael Barnes gave the opening speech about the inquest saying: “rarely have such horrifying events unfolded so publicly,” so it was natural the hostage crisis affected so many people.

Mr Barnes said that the court would need to rely on reason and to “keep our emotions in check”.

He also noted that ongoing security concerns may have to take precedence over the public interest in knowing what happened during the Lindt Cafe attack last year.

Extra resources have been made available to the Coroners Court so that other matters are not impacted by the inquest into the siege being brought forward.

Mr Barnes said it was necessary to have a inquest held quickly because the siege “raised issues relevant to the actual security and sense of security to the rest of the population”.

However, not all the questions would be able to be answered “because the only person who knew them is beyond reach”.

Monis had not made contact with Islamic State before the siege, though someone in IS endorsed him after death #sydneysiege inquest hears

— Dan Box (@DanBox10) January 28, 2015

The inquest will also probe how the police managed communications with families of the hostages during the siege. The investigation will sift film, sound recordings, texts, Facebook pages and other social media, CCTV footage, emails and more than 300,000 phone calls.

“For an event that took only 17 hours, there has resulted in what has been described to me as hundreds of hours of material,” Mr Gormly said.

No witnesses were called today and the inquest will resume on a date yet to be confirmed. — with Agencies

Hostages run for their lives during the Lindt siege. Pics Bill Hearne