’Haunted by tragedy’: Sad truth behind horror Perth slayings
A devastating revelation has emerged in the wake of the horror slayings of a Perth mother and daughter.
A woman has been left the sole surviving member of her family after a string of tragedies.
Liesl Petelczyc lost her mother Jennifer, 59, and sister Gretl, 18, after the pair were horrifically murdered by Mark James Bombara in a senseless attack.
Police say the she was not at the property at the time.
She is now the sole surviving member of her family after the loss of her mother and sister, along with her father Jon back in 2019.
The 63-year-old killer who murdered the mother and her teenage daughter before turning the gun on himself.
Bombara turned up at the Floreat home in a frantic search for his ex-wife at about 4.30pm on Friday.
His ex was a good friend of Jennifer but when he was unable to find her, Bombara cable-tied the mother and daughter before making several threatening phone calls.
It is understood that Bombara’s wife left him weeks ago and had been staying with Ms Petelczyc. He was “known to police” but did not have a history of violence and was not being monitored.
Ms Petelczyc and Bombara both died at the Berkeley Crescent residence while Gretl was rushed to Royal Perth Hospital, where she died on Saturday morning.
“The male discharged a firearm, killing the 59-year-old female, and critically injuring the younger female,” WA Police Detective Inspector David Gorton said on Saturday afternoon.
“St John provided emergency treatment to the younger female at the house, she was then taken to Royal Perth Hospital, but unfortunately, she tragically died.”
Bombara was a licensed firearms holder and the owner of the firearm used in the violent act.
Detective Inspector David Gorton said the police arrived at the scene of the crime and heard the final shot.
“We’re aware that police were on the street when the last shot was fired and we believe the last shot was the male taking his own life,” he said.
A family member had alerted the police to the unfolding horror.
“We received phone calls from a family member,” detective Gorton added.
“We are still reviewing those particular calls and how they came to know what was going on at the house. That is still the subject of the investigation.”
He said the man’s ex wife and Ms Petelczyc were “good friends” and the older victim and the man were known to each other or had “met previously”.
The police are unclear at this time how many shots were fired.
He said this crime would be classified as a double murder suicide and not a domestic violence incident, because the man and the women were not related to one another.
The victims’ family and the man’s ex-wife are receiving support from the police, he said.
Haunted by tragedy
The 18-year-old victim was a talented waterpolo player who graduated St Hilda’s Anglican School in 2022 before going on to study a bachelor of sport at the University of Western Australia.
Ms Petelczyc, who went by Jenny, had been left a widow when her husband Jon Petelczyc, the director of a local business consultancy firm, died in August 2019.
The mother was active in local government meetings and a known figure in the basketball community in Perth’s western suburbs.
Family friend Daele Dobson told Daily Mail Australia that Jenny was a “kind and generous” woman and a devoted mother who would “do anything for her girls”.
“The family were great ambassadors for the Guide Dog Association and took on ‘Sunny’, a golden Labrador puppy, who they kept in their home,” she said.
The murders come as Australia grapples with an rising crisis of male violence against women.
Independent Curtin MP Kate Chaney, whose electorate takes in Floreat, said she had spoken with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese about the incident on Saturday morning.
“Enough is enough,” she said.
“So many women that I’ve spoken to in my community last night and this morning are feeling exhausted and furious because more women are dying at the hands of a man.
“I spoke to the Prime Minister this morning and he sends his condolences to our community and I again reiterated to him that we need a sense of urgency on this issue.”
Neighbour Archer Beattie told 9News he heard tyres screeching, driving, “lots of sirens, and then the occasional crack”.
The home is on a quiet street and near the Floreat Forum.
“Thinking of the family, neighbours and community in Floreat tonight,” state MP and former social worker Katrina Stratton posted.
Fellow state MP Christine Tonkin said piecing together what happened would take time.
“We don’t know exactly what happened or why it happened but we do know that tragically two people have died and another has been injured in a quiet Floreat street,” she posted before it was announced the third person died.
“We know that the people in this neighbourhood are shocked, confused and grieving. It will take time to make sense of what has happened and for life to return to a semblance of normality. In the meantime, let’s be gentle with each other.”
Floreat is a wealthy suburb, with a median house sale price of $1.83m, nearly three times the wider Perth median.
It sits in a wedge of expensive, established suburbs between the Swan River and Indian Ocean.
-With NCA Newswire
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