Inquest to probe whether killer Joel Cauchi targeted specific groups or individuals in Bondi attack
The possibility that killer Joel Cauchi targeted specific groups or individuals will be probed in a five-week inquest into the Bondi attack.
The possibility that killer Joel Cauchi may have targeted specific individuals or groups, or that he had a potential motive or degree of planning prior to the Bondi Junction attack where he stabbed six people to death, will be probed in an upcoming coronial inquest.
Dawn Singleton, Yixuan Cheng, Faraz Ahmed Tahir, Ashlee Good, Jade Young and Pikria Darchia were all killed at Westfield Bondi Junction on April 13 last year after they were stabbed to death.
Cauchi, 40, stabbed 16 people in less than three minutes before NSW Police Inspector Amy Scott single-handedly followed Cauchi through the centre and shot him.
A five-week coronial inquest will examine Cauchi’s “state of mind” both before the fatal attack and on the day, including whether he may have targeted any particular individuals or groups.
Whether and to what extent he had any motives or a degree of planning will also be explored in the inquest, slated to begin on April 28 and extend until May 30.
Cauchi grew up in Toowoomba and was diagnosed with schizophrenia when he was 17, with his mental health appearing to have declined from 2020 onwards.
The inquest will probe whether the treatment he received for his mental health was “adequate and appropriate”, specifically looking at the circumstances of his ceasing to take psychotropic medication as well as any treatment of his mental health from February 2020 onwards.
Whether there were any opportunities for early intervention during his interactions with NSW and Queensland police will also be examined.
Restrictions on sale of weapons to be considered
The inquest may recommend restrictions on the sale of weapons, including Ka-Bar USMC utility knives – used by Cauchi in the attack – and equivalents, according to an issues list released on Wednesday.
Available alternatives, or any that could be implemented, for the treatment of people with chronic schizophrenia may also be recommended during the inquest as well as the training of security staff at commercial shopping centres to deal with mass casualty events.
Additional equipment given to security contractors or other appropriate security measures that could be brought in at shopping centres could be recommended as well as how best to educate and alert members of the public who are put at risk by a mass casualty event.
The co-ordination of emergency services, communication protocols for NSW police regarding information given to families and friends following mass casualty events may also be probed in the recommendations.
Recommendations regarding the “adequacy and appropriateness” of media policies and codes of conduct may also be made.
Scentre Group, subcontractors to come under microscope
The nature, timing, and adequacy of the response by Scentre Group, which operates a string of Westfields across the country including Bondi Junction, as well as its subcontractors Glad Group and Falkon Security, will also be examined in the inquest.
This includes when staff in the CCTV/control room first became aware of an active armed offender (AAO) in the centre, actions of security staff, and the nature and timing of the alerts and alarms that followed.
Policies and procedures for dealing with AAOs, the adequacy of the training of security guards and the equipment available to them in AAO scenarios, and the nature and adequacy of the subcontracting security services at the centre will also be probed.
The circumstances of Inspector Scott shooting Cauchi, as well as the nature, timing and adequacy of the NSW police and ambulance responses, are also included on the issues list.
Media response to be examined after families’ ‘significant distress’
The general nature and content of the media response, including reporting and “activities to obtain information, images and/or footage in the immediate aftermath” will also be explored as well as the impact of the media reporting on the families of those who died.
Peggy Dwyer SC, assisting NSW Coroner Teresa O’Sullivan, told a directions hearing on Monday that the victims’ families had specifically requested the media response and the impact of this on the families be probed.
“A number of families have reported their significant distress at graphic footage being shown in the media,” Ms Dwyer told the court.
Psychiatrists, schizophrenia and security experts to be brought in
A raft of experts are set to be brought in during the inquest, including psychiatrists, a Danish expert in schizophrenia and a security expert who previously gave evidence in inquests across the globe, such as the Manchester bombing and the Christchurch mosque shooting.
Reports from four psychiatrists are included in the brief of evidence “because, of course, the issue of mental health – and the management or mismanagement of Mr Cauchi’s mental health – looms large in this inquest”, Ms Dwyer said.
Queensland and NSW GPs, an emergency medicine specialist and a toxicologist are also expected to provide reports and/or evidence.
Cauchi’s mental health decline
Ms Dwyer last year told the court during a directions hearing that she expected evidence to find Cauchi had been receiving treatment and was on medication for his schizophrenia until June 2019 when his medication was gradually stopped.
He saw a psychiatrist until February 2020; however, following his move to Brisbane it appeared “there was no particular treatment directed at Mr Cauchi’s mental health, and the evidence suggests a deterioration in his mental health over that time”.
Cauchi twice called the police in 2023 and claimed his parents had stolen his knives after he retuned to Toowoomba.
“These were the same type of knife used in the Bondi Junction attack, which was a Ka-Bar USMC utility fixed blade knife which Mr Cauchi told Queensland Police he collected,” Ms Dwyer told the court.
She said Cauchi’s family told police on the first occasion that they’d confiscated them because they were worried about “the deterioration of their son’s mental state” and he had long-term schizophrenia and was no longer medicated.
“I expect the evidence to be that police officers did not consider that they had a basis to detain Mr Cauchi involuntarily under the Mental Health Act at that time, but instead they spoke to him about the fact that his parents had taken the knives because they were worried about his mental health,” Ms Dwyer told the court.
Ms Dwyer said she expected evidence to be that an officer sent an email to a Queensland Police unit specialising in mental health raising concerns over Cauchi’s mental health, while a “be on the lookout” flag was placed on Cauchi following his second call to police.
By December 2023, Cauchi was homeless in NSW, likely living under the Maroubra Beach pavilion.
‘Gonna die’: Teen’s last words in hospital
A Melbourne teenager who died in hospital after anaphylaxis, reportedly said he was “gonna die” in his final moments, it has been reported.
Fresh blow to Dutton in latest poll
Opposition Leader Peter Dutton is facing an uphill battle to the May 3 election, with new polling showing a fresh drop in the Coalition’s primary vote.