The grieving son of a woman killed in the Westfield Bondi Junction stabbing massacre has spoken about her last phone call.
Pikria Darchia, 55, was among six people killed in the attack carried out by Joel Cauchi, 40, armed with a 30cm knife on April 13.
Darchia ended a call with her son, Irakli Dvali, about 15 minutes before she was killed in the Cauchi attack.
He was abroad in Georgia at the time of their call and they spoke for about half an hour, Dvali told 7News.
“It was a really nice conversation we had. I don’t know, maybe in my head we were connecting and it was like saying goodbye,” he said.
After learning about the stabbings shortly after her phone call, Dvali anxiously waited for news about her mother.
“Just sit back and wait for the phone call,” he said. “It was very hard not to know.”
Irakli Dvali (pictured) finished speaking to her mother, Pikria Darchia, on the phone about 15 minutes before she was stabbed to death by Westfield Bondi Junction knifeman Joel Cauchi.
Ms Darchia (pictured) had moved from her home in Georgia, in Eastern Europe, to Sydney because she “loved” Australia and believed it was “safe”.
Ms Darchia had moved to Australia from Georgia, where she attended the Tbilisi State Academy of Arts.
His son said he made the decision because he “loved” Australia and felt it was “safe.”
‘I thought I was in a safe place, but unfortunately, I don’t know what to tell you anymore. Nothing in the world can shock me anymore,” said Mr. Dvali.
In an emotional GoFundMe post, Darchia’s loved ones described her as a “beautiful woman who always had a positive outlook on life.”
“Pikria was an amazing, thoughtful, incredible person and a very talented artist,” organizer Nicole Mikhailidi wrote.
‘I had a lot to give and a future to enjoy. She was an inspiration to all of us.
“Tragically, in the blink of an eye, Pikria was taken from us.”
Mrs Mikhailidi described Cauchi’s violent attack as “cruel and senseless”.
“Pikria was a widow and leaves behind her two incredible children and three beautiful granddaughters who adored her,” he said.
“Her family is incredibly devastated as they try to cope with the tragedy of her loss and how she was torn from them so suddenly and in such an unspeakable and evil way.
‘Their pain is palpable and unimaginable as they face their future without her. They are broken.’
The lives of Jade Young, 47, Ashlee Good, 38, Dawn Singleton, 25, Pikria Darchia, 55, Faraz Tahir, 30, and Yixuan Cheng, 27, were also lost in the tragedy.
NSW Police Inspector Amy Scott put an end to 40-year-old Cauchi’s rampage when she shot him on level five of the complex as shoppers fled.
It was later revealed that Cauchi had schizophrenia and was sleeping rough before the attack.
Loved ones described Mrs Darchia (pictured with her son) as a “beautiful woman who always had a positive outlook on life”.
