The families of six people murdered during a stabbing attack in a Bondi Junction shopping centre a year ago want a fast inquest into their deaths but do not speak with “one voice”, a Sydney court has heard.
Forty-year-old Joel Cauchi killed Ashlee Good, 38, Jade Young, 47, Yixuan Cheng, Pikria Darchia, 55, Dawn Singleton, 25, and Faraz Tahrir, 30, and injured a further 10 people at Westfield Bondi Junction on 13 April before he was shot and killed by police inspector Amy Scott.
The five-week inquest at the New South Wales state coroner’s court will address questions around Cauchi’s background, mental health conditions and treatment in Queensland, and previous interactions with police. It will also examine the response of police and ambulance services, security systems in Westfield, owned by Scentre Shopping CentreManagement, and the training of security staff.
At the second directions hearing for the inquest, which begins on 28 April, counsel assisting Dr Peggy Dwyer SC explained that the purpose of the inquest was not to apportion blame, but to learn lessons that might save lives.
After feedback from grieving families, the inquest will also focus on the role of the media, including how the broadcast of graphic CCTV footage of the incident was particularly traumatising for families and witnesses.
Dwyer also said that “families cannot be expected to speak with one voice” – that “not even all persons within the same family” can be expected to hold the same views.
The court heard the remarks the day after John Singleton, the father of Dawn Singleton, who was fatally stabbed while shopping for wedding makeup, publicly denounced the inquest.
The businessman told Nine’s 60 Minutes on Sunday it was “absolutely stupid” and “just a waste of time”.
“I’m worried about the family or loved ones of those people who were killed, and I don’t see why their privacy should be upset by an inquiry,” he said.
“He kills these people, he gets killed. End of story. What else do they want to find out?”
Singleton is not represented by Sue Chrysanthou SC, who is representing other members of the Singleton family, as well as the families of Good and Young.
“Their lives have been changed in a way that none of us can really comprehend,” Chrysanthou said.
She said the families she represents were “very adversely impacted” by some members of the media and “how they behaved in the minutes and hours and days after the tragedy occurred”.
“They continue to be impacted by a broadcast last night,” she said, adding that her clients asked for media reporting on the anniversary of the incident to take “extreme care” in their work.
Dwyer said it was important for the public to understand the inquest was mandatory, given six deaths were apparent homicides and one was a result of police actions.
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“It was also the specific request of families that an inquest was held,” she said.
Timeline
How the Bondi Junction stabbings unfolded
Show
Outlined at the inquest’s initial hearing on 12 November 2024
3.31pm – Joel Cauchi walks over the level-four airbridge inside Westfield Bondi Junction.
3.32:57pm – Attack begins. Cauchi, who had been “fidgeting” in a queue outside the Sourdough Bakery, removes his knife from his backpack and fatally stabs Dawn Singleton.
3.33pm – Cauchi fatally stabs Jade Young near Sourdough Bakery.
3.33pm – Cauchi fatally stabs Yixuan Cheng near Cotton On and Peter Alexander.
3.34pm – Running back towards the bakery, Cauchi attacks Ashlee Good from behind. She attempts to block him from attacking her baby in her pram and receives another stab wound while “undoubtedly” saving her injured baby’s life.
3.34pm – Cauchi stabs security guards Faraz Tahir and Muhammed Taha. Tahir’s injuries are fatal.
3.34pm – Cauchi fatally stabs Pikria Dachia.
3.34pm – Inspector Amy Scott responds to a police call regarding a stabbing and drives to Westfield.
3.35:40pm – Cauchi stabs his final victim, who survives. Attack ends.
3.37pm – CCTV footage shows Scott entering Westfield on level four.
3.38pm – Cauchi runs at Scott, who then gives chase. Four civilians run closely behind Scott ready to help.
3.38:47pm – Scott discharges her firearm three times, fatally wounding Cauchi in the neck and shoulder.
The court heard that no CCTV footage from the incident would be played in court during the inquest and that the proceedings would be trauma informed.
While a significant amount of footage is already in the public domain, Dwyer called on the media to be sensitive around how that footage was treated.
The court heard the brief of evidence for the inquest contained 47 volumes, not including expert evidence. There are 1,600 tabs on the brief of evidence.
Evidence includes reports from four psychiatrists from Australia and Denmark, two general practitioners from NSW and Queensland, emergency medicine specialists and a toxicologist.
A security expert from the UK, Scott Wilson, who has worked on mass casualty events including the Manchester bombings and Christchurch attacks, will also be called to the stand, as will an expert on mass casualty events, Dr Philip Cowburn.
Dwyer acknowledged the ongoing trauma of many witnesses and people who responded on the day, saying, “the healing will go on and on for ever”.
Speaking to bereaved families in court and online, the state coroner, magistrate Teresa O’Sullivan, said: “Our thoughts are very much with you in these coming days and particularly on the 13th.”
“As the anniversary of this tragic event approaches, the assisting team and I are aware that this is a particularly difficult time for you.”
Oral evidence will conclude on 30 May, with further submissions expected by 25 September.
