If new mother Ashley Good had been given “even one second’s warning” when Joel Cauchi went on a stabbing rampage at Westfield Bondi Junction, she might have been able to take evasive action to save her life, a court has heard.
Cauchi, a 40-year-old schizophrenic man, murdered Good, 38, Jade Young, 47, Yixuan Cheng, 27, Picaria Darchia, 55, Dawn Singleton, 25, and Faraz Tahir, 30, and wounded 10 others at Westfield Bondi Junction, before he was shot and killed by Police Inspector Amy Scott.
As submissions to the inquest into the seven deaths concluded, the New South Wales Coroner’s Court heard that the families of those killed were “not only disappointed but angry” at Westfield’s owner, CentreGroup, and Glad Security Group, who did not acknowledge that the sole control room operator, known as CR1, was not capable of being in that position.
During a five-week trial in May, it emerged that CR1 was using the bathroom when the attack began. The first emergency announcement made over the tannoy at Westfield was made just after Cauchi was shot dead.
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In her oral submissions on Friday afternoon, Sue Chrysanthou SC, representing the Good, Young and Singleton families, said: “Cr1 should never have been in that chair unsupervised that day.”
He said: “If a competent person had seen Dawn being stabbed on CCTV and raised an alert… Ashley Good could have taken some action to protect herself.”
“She was in the elevator,” he added. Had she received “even 10 seconds’ warning” she could have taken evasive action, including staying in the elevator.
Dr Peggy Dwyer SC, senior counsel assisting the coroner, said that CR1 was competent in her role in some aspects, but she should not have been solely responsible for the CCTV control room.
Echoing Chrysanthou’s sentiments, Daniel Roff, the attorney for Darchia’s family, said: “There was no alarm, certainly not a true alarm. Miss Darchia would have been able to take evasive action, but she was not given that opportunity.”
Dean Jordan SC, representing Centre Group, owner of Westfield Bondi Junction, said earlier on Friday that some of the criticisms of the CR1’s performance were “harsh” and that there was consistent evidence that showed it was capable and did not require constant supervision.
Chrysanthou also took aim at Cauchi’s psychiatrist, Dr Andrea Boros-Lavacque. While she acknowledged that the Toowoomba doctor “eventually” admitted that Cowie’s discharge to his GP was inadequate, she said the “late” admission “does not mitigate the lack of judgment and insight displayed by Dr Boros-Lavacque during this inquest”.
His discharge was “not just below normal levels”, he said, but “much worse”. The “enthusiastic letter” was misleading and “presented a healthy patient” who was subsequently referred to repeatedly by other doctors for years.
Because of his conduct, the coroner needs to refer Boros-Lavack to the health regulator, he said.
On Tuesday, Dwyer also suggested that, if the coroner refers the case, the health regulator could ask a psychiatrist to investigate further. On Friday, their lawyer, Mark Lynch, suggested that the families of those killed could make referrals to the regulator themselves.
In response, Chrysantho asked: “Couldn’t they do enough?”
“Why should he have to go through another process in person…when we have everything in the open court?” He added.
Earlier on Friday, Lynch said Cauchi’s phone and internet records showed it was “clear he was seeking cocaine, MDMA and cannabis in late 2023 and early 2024”.
Additionally, his resumption of drug use was “highly likely” to have played a role in the events of that day, although cocaine and MDMA were not found in his toxicology report.
A major topic in the proceedings has been whether Boros-Lavack should have taken Cauchy off his antipsychotic medication in 2019.
Given that Cauchi did not reach the threshold required to give her the medications without her consent, “It was not open to anyone, any doctor … to force her to take the medications,” Lynch said.
“Their autonomy must be respected,” he said.
At one point in the five-week hearing in May the psychiatrist sensationally told the court that he believed Cauchi’s attack had “nothing to do with psychosis”, before he retracted those comments the next day.
Experts believe that Cauchi, who was homeless at the time of the attack, was “extremely mentally ill” that day. The court was told on Tuesday that Boros-Lavacque’s conviction has caused trauma to the families.
On Friday, Lynch said it was “grossly unfair” to be forced to answer questions about Cauchi’s mental state on the day of the attack, when his client was not provided with the material available to experts, and Cauchi was not treated for four years.
Dwyer said this was “incorrect” and that Boros-Lavack had been provided with the entire evidence.
Lynch said it was “extremely regrettable” that Boros-Lavack’s comments had traumatized the families, “but in a sense (the questions) should never have been asked”, he said.
Dwyer can be seen shaking his head in response to the comment.
Lynch also addressed Dwyer’s claim that Boros-Lavack had behaved “belligerently” while testifying.
“She was distressed in the witness box, there’s no question about that,” Lynch said, explaining that she was in pain, taking medication, unable to give evidence and “she clearly felt she had been attacked”.
O’Sullivan said he expected the findings to be released before the end of the year.
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