A former Bondi Junction brothel manager has recalled the “bizarre” encounter she had with wannabe sex worker and crazed Westfield killer Joel Cauchi and revealed her chilling theory behind what may have triggered his stabbing attack.
Cee Rodriguez, 39, was managing the now-closed brothel ‘The Flamingo Club’ on Ebley Street in Bondi Junction in August last year when he received a ‘strange’ request from a man called ‘Joel’.
He sent a photo of himself wearing a tight-fitting Manchester United football club shirt while straddling a chair with his arms crossed, stating that he would be “open to serving both men and women.”
“I told my friend, ‘obviously this kid is an amateur,’ because this is work, this is a business and if you want to be taken seriously you need to present yourself as such,” Ms Rodriguez told WhatsNew2Day Australia.
‘We complain because that’s what we do. I said “look at this guy, my God, he’s delusional” and my friend said “who the fuck would pay for that?”
‘I thought, what the hell, these aren’t Green Street hooligans. Are you trying to sell sex using this image? ANDYou’re not endearing yourself to anyone.
Despite his immediate reaction, Ms. Rodríguez sent ‘Joel’ a polite response, telling him no accept men into the establishment, but suggested they could work out a “booking only” deal if there was interest in him.
Cee Rodriguez (pictured), 39, was managing now-closed brothel ‘The Flamingo Club’ on Ebley Street in August last year when he received a ‘strange’ request from a man called ‘Joel’.
He sent a photo of himself wearing a tight-fitting Manchester United football club shirt while straddling a chair with his arms crossed and said he would be “open to serving both men and women.”
Ms Rodriguez was so concerned about the encounter that she saved his number as ‘Wtf’ on her personal device (pictured) and ran it through a database, which didn’t raise any red flags.
“I told him we could rent a room, he could use the facilities, he would be safe, he could have all the supplies and towels and everything if we made a reservation,” he said.
But your request was very sloppy and unprofessional. He would answer questions with questions.
‘I said, “Do you mind if I ask you how much experience you’ve had?”
“And he said, ‘Look, I just want to know if you have a female clientele.’
Ms. Rodríguez said she had never received a request like Cauchi’s before.
‘Anyone who wants to work in the industry and thinks they’re going to make money serving women, I tell them, ‘listen, unless you’re going to become gay for money, you’re going to be pretty broke.” she added.
‘If I hadn’t said men, I would have just laughed. He would have sent her a laughing emoji and she would have blocked him.
“But like men said and because I know the demographics and some of the customers and their requests, I entertained the idea of a reservation-only deal.”
Despite that, Mrs. Rodríguez did not have much hope for her popularity.
“I remember telling my friend, ‘the only people who are going to hire this guy are going to be the ones who are high on drugs,’ and then I made reference to a client we have who gets so screwed up on drugs and who is desperate and will literally take anyone,” he said.
“I thought that would be the only kind of customers I was going to get, who are desperate.”
Rodriguez said Cauchi’s messages were “not coherent” and he got the impression that he had never actually done any sex work.
“It seemed like he was trying to get into the sex industry and didn’t have much luck,” she said.
“If you are successful in this game, you don’t need to send cold messages to a brothel.”
Cauchi had also been listed on several male escort websites including Australia Cracker, Empire Escorts and Escorts Australia.
A visibly emaciated Cauchi (pictured) walked into Westfield Bondi Junction on Saturday afternoon and stabbed him with a 30cm hunting knife, killing six people and seriously injuring a dozen, including a nine-month-old baby.
Pictured: Cauchi’s listing on one of the escort websites she registered with.
In his online bio, he described himself as an “athletic and attractive 39-year-old” based in Sydney who was looking for “a fun time” and offered dozens of “closed-door services” that are too graphic to publish.
In an attempt to “let him down in some way,” Ms. Rodriguez sent him an application form and told him that if he wanted to come and do an interview he would have to bring identification.
“In the application it says any drug use or threats of violence or actual physical violence or robbery will be referred to NSW Police,” he said.
“After I told him he had to fill out an application form and bring identification, he simply responded by saying, ‘Don’t worry about it.’
“If he had approached me with some kind of business acumen or just a more presentable photo, maybe I would have taken him more seriously, but he seemed so scattered and distracted.”
Ms Rodriguez was so concerned about the encounter that she saved his number as ‘Wtf’ on her personal device and ran it through a database, which didn’t raise any red flags.
He wondered if his experience – or lack thereof – in the sex industry could have been a trigger for his breakdown, leading to his murderous attack.
“This is pure speculation, but if you try to offer services to women initially and realize you’re not going to make any money, you can expand to both men and women,” she said.
‘If you were hired by a couple, say husband and wife, the feedback you might receive could be debilitating.
“It can destroy your fragile mental health.”
Cauchi, visibly emaciated, walked into Westfield Bondi Junction on Saturday afternoon and stabbed him with a 30cm hunting knife, killing six people and seriously injuring a dozen, including a nine-month-old baby.
Finally, the police shot him dead.
On Monday, the killer’s distraught father revealed his son was a misogynist who had an “obsession” with knives.
“He had a problem with women, he couldn’t get a girlfriend,” his father said.
Five of Cauchi’s six victims were women.