The man behind the Westfield Bondi Junction stabbing stopped receiving treatment for his schizophrenia years before the terrifying attack, a court has been told.
Joel Cauchi fatally stabbed six people and injured a dozen others during a wave of violence during Saturday trading in the busy shopping center in Sydney’s eastern suburbs in April.
An investigation will examine the circumstances of the attack with the aim of preventing a similar tragedy from happening again.
It will look at issues such as whether any intervention could have prevented Cauchi’s mental health from deteriorating to the point it did before the attack, which ended with him being shot dead.
The case came to the courtroom for the first time on Tuesday, when an opening directions hearing received an overview of the many issues at stake ahead of the inquest due to be held in April and May 2025.
Ashlee Good, 38, Dawn Singleton, 25, Jade Young, 47, Pikria Darchia, 55, Yixuan Cheng, 27, and security guard Faraz Tahir, 30, were killed in the attack. .
At least 12 other people were taken to hospital with stab wounds, including a nine-month-old baby who was discharged after receiving treatment.
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.
Joel Cauchi fatally stabbed six people and injured a dozen others during a wave of violence during Saturday trading in the busy shopping center in Sydney’s eastern suburbs in April.
Bondi stabs the victims (top left) Dawn Singleton, Ashlee Good, Cheng Yixuan, (bottom left) Faraz Ahmed Tahir, Jade Young and Pikria Darchia
The court was told Cauchi was receiving treatment for schizophrenia, but around the end of 2019 he began to be tapered off his medication.
From early 2020 until the time of the attack, he did not receive any treatment despite evidence that his mental health was deteriorating.
New South Wales State Coroner Teresa O’Sullivan expressed her deepest condolences to the family and loved ones of the deceased.
“The events of April 13 remain raw and painful for all those who have been affected,” he said.
Counsel assisting Peggy Dwyer SC said such mass casualty events were rare in Australia and could expose deficiencies or failures in systems intended to address them.
“When they happen, they happen quickly and cause chaos,” he said.
The court was told Cauchi (pictured) was receiving treatment for schizophrenia but from around the end of 2019 his medication began to be reduced. From early 2020 until the time of the attack, he did not receive any treatment despite evidence of his deteriorating mental health.
“They provide the opportunity to learn with a view to saving lives… in the future.”
There was great public interest in how large companies such as Scentre Group, which operated the shopping centre, were preparing for mass casualty events, Dr Dwyer said.
Evidence was expected to show no alarm was raised inside Westfield Bondi Junction until about a minute after Cauchi was shot dead and more than seven minutes after the first victim was attacked, the court was told.
“It is currently unclear why the alarm took so long to sound,” Dr. Dwyer said.
The investigation will run from April 28 to May 30.
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