The father of the Bondi mall murderer says his son was a “very sick boy” and revealed the killer targeted women during the attack out of frustration he could not get a girlfriend.
“I’m loving a monster,” Andrew Cauchi told Australian media. “To you, he’s a monster but to me, he was a very sick boy.”
Joel Cauchi, 40, stabbed six people to death and wounded at least 12 others in a knife rampage at the Westfield Bondi Junction shopping centre on Saturday.
He was shot dead by a police officer after lunging at her in the mall.
His mother, Michele Cauchi, told the Mail she believed her son attacked women during his rampage “because he wanted a girlfriend and he’s got no social skills”.
His parents phoned police to offer information when they recognised him on television news coverage of the attack. They were due to be formally interviewed as part of police investigations.
“I’m extremely sorry, I’m heartbroken for you,” Andrew Cauchi told news.com outside his Rangeville home, about 130km west of Brisbane.
“This is so horrendous I can’t even explain it. I’m just devastated, I love my son.”
Cauchi said his son battled with mental illness for many years.
“He let himself down, he was taken off medication because he was doing so well but then he took off to Brisbane,” Andrew Cauchi told news.com.
“You don’t know how beautiful this boy was. There’s no way, I did everything in my power to help my son.
“I’m sorry, there’s nothing I can do or say to bring back the dead.”
Earlier today, Andrew Cauchi erupted at reporters staking out the family’s home in Toowoomba, Queensland, before tending to his flock of hundreds of pigeons.
“How do you think I feel? How’s your sensitivity,” he told reporters, according to the Daily Mail.
“I felt all right until you got here.”
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Yesterday police described Cauchi’s troubled past. He had a history of mental health treatment and was diagnosed with schizophrenia as a teenager.
Police also said he was estranged from his family.
However, it’s understood Cauchi’s family were expecting him to return home this week to help manage the pigeons.
Neighbours said Cauchi was described by his father as a “backpacker who travels to Melbourne” and “well-behaved”.
“At one point the son came back home with some other backpackers to help weed the yard. Andrew just loves gardening.”
Another neighbour said they knew Cauchi to be “very gentle” and “family-orientated”.
She noted Cauchi’s mental health problems and described him as quiet and “not very chatty”.
“His parents did talk about Joel’s mental health problems but I don’t think that (they) thought anything like this would happen.”
A woman who briefly dated Cauchi in 2019 told Australian media the pair met on dating app Badoo.
She described him as “kind and sweet”.
Another woman who dated Cauchi in 2022 was shocked to hear he had committed the murders.
She said he had wanted to be a teacher.
“He took me to lunch and we spent a day at the Japanese garden. He was fine, I never noticed anything wrong with him.”
One of the victims was on the phone to her boyfriend when the attack happened.
Nine News Australia reported that Yixuan Cheng, a Chinese national student, was the sixth person to have died in Cauchi’s murderous rampage through the Westfield shopping centre at Bondi Junction.
Cheng, 27, was shopping for clothes and sending photos to her partner in China, Daily Mail Australia reported.
Her parents told Chinese media that after ending the call to his girlfriend, he saw the news about the stabbing attack in Sydney soon afterwards and tried calling her back.
She never answered. The couple were planning to get married after Cheng graduated from her studies this year.
Cheng was an economics student studying at the University of Sydney.
The first two victims to be named were 25-year-old Dawn Singleton and 38-year-old Ash Good, the mother of a 9-month-old girl who was also injured during the attack just after 3pm (Australian time) on Saturday. The little girl is fighting for her life in hospital.
The third victim was identified as Jade Young, 47, a mother to two daughters and an active member in her community in Bellevue Hill in Sydney’s eastern suburbs. The fourth was a refugee from Pakistan, 30-year-old Faraz Ahmed Tahir. He was a security guard at the mall and the only man killed.
Pikria Darchia, 55, was the fifth victim identified. Darchia is originally from Tbilisi in Georgia and the Sydney Morning Herald reported a LinkedIn profile suggests she was an artist.
Darchia was also a mother to two sons. On her Facebook page, ordinary members of the public left comments on her page, with one woman writing: “Your life was stolen too soon. Condolences to your friends and family grieving you.”
Australian police are investigating whether Cauchi was targeting women, as most of his victims were female and there were reports he spared other men during the knife rampage.
In total, seven people died. This includes the attacker who was shot dead by a policewoman after he lunged at her inside the mall. A further 12 people went to hospital.
The policewoman who stopped him was identified as Inspector Amy Scott. She has been hailed by her boss for showing “enormous courage and bravery” when she responded to the Bondi Junction Westfield attack alone.
New South Wales Police Commissioner Karen Webb said there was “no ideological motive” behind Cauchi’s frenzied attack. But she and Queensland Health, the state’s public health service, confirmed he had a history of mental health treatment and was diagnosed with schizophrenia when he was 17.
He was originally from Brisbane and in 2020 he posted on social media asking to meet people who shoot guns. He had a particular interest in knives, once calling the police on his family after they took knives away from him. In his last social media post hours before the attack, he asked people to come surfing with him.
Cauchi was estranged from his family, who called police to offer information immediately after seeing their son on television. Cauchi worked as a male escort, selling sexual services online, and was known to sleep in his car and at backpackers.
Webb said any purposeful targeting of women would be “an obvious line of inquiry” for police.
When she was asked about video footage showing Cauchi ignoring men in the mall and deliberately chasing women, Webb said people could form their own opinions about what he was doing.
Witnesses saw Good trying to save her daughter after they were both attacked, handing her child to two strangers as she fought for her life, news.com.au reported.
She was taken to St Vincent’s Hospital with critical injuries and died soon after arriving.
Good’s friends described her as “the world’s best mum” and “a beautiful human” as they mourned her death.
Good’s family released a statement saying they were “reeling from the terrible loss” and thanking the two men who looked after her baby.
“Today we are reeling from the terrible loss of Ashlee, a beautiful mother, daughter, sister, partner, friend, all round outstanding human and so much more,” the statement read.
They said they were “struggling to come to terms with what has occurred”.
“We would also like to thank the New South Wales police for their kindness and diligence in this tragedy and emergency services for getting our baby the care she needed as quickly as possible.
“To the two men who held and cared for our baby when Ashlee could not - words cannot express our gratitude.”
The North Melbourne Football Club, an AFL club known as the Kangaroos, wore black armbands during a game yesterday afternoon in Good’s honour. She was the daughter of former North Melbourne player Kerry Good, the Sydney Morning Herald reported.
The second victim who died, Singleton, was the daughter of multi-millionaire advertising mogul John Singleton and lawyer Julie Martin.
Singleton studied at the University of Technology Sydney, graduating with a Bachelor of Communications. She worked for retailer White Fox Boutique.
It’s understood she had been due to marry a New South Wales policeman and had just purchased a wedding dress.
Singleton’s former principal at Kambala School paid tribute to her, saying the school community was saddened and shocked by the attack.
“We extend our sincere condolences to her family and acknowledge that the loss of a family member from such a random act must be exceptionally hard to comprehend,” Jane Danvers wrote.
The third victim was Jade Young, an architect who specialised in protecting heritage buildings, according to the Daily Mail.
Young studied at the Architectural Association School in London and specialised in building conservation, working with heritage buildings in Sydney’s eastern suburbs, the Sydney Morning Herald reported.
She was an active member of the Bronte Surf Life Saving Club, who remembered her as a “much-loved” club member.
”Many club members will be affected by the loss of Jade and the impact of this senseless and tragic event will affect each of us differently over time,” the club wrote.
The fourth victim, Faraz Ahmed Tahir, was orginally from Pakistan and “had so many hopes and dreams for his future”, his friend Shajar Ahmad told the Sydney Morning Herald.
He had only worked about five shifts at the Bondi Junction Westfield. Saturday was the first time he had worked during the day.
Tahir came to Australia on a United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees programme.
He had only moved to Sydney from Queensland eight months ago, his friend said.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the attack was “a tragedy that should have never occurred” and offered his thoughts and prayers to the victims and their families.
Albanese said the scenes at Bondi Junction were “beyond words or understanding”.
He laid flowers in memory of the victims yesterday afternoon.
“Yesterday, Bondi Junction was the scene of horrific violence - but also selfless courage and bravery,” Albanese said.
“Today this community has come together to mourn the victims of this devastating atrocity and offer its sympathy to those who have lost loved ones.”
New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said Kiwis were thinking of those affected by the tragedy, saying “Australia is family”.
Luxon praised members of the public who intervened and emergency responders: “Exceptional courage from NSW Police.
Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters also offered his thoughts, calling the event “shocking and appalling”.
Police Minister Mark Mitchell was in Sydney and was also due to lay a wreath in remembrance of the victims.
Speaking from Bondi Junction, Mitchell described the mood as “sombre” and said a large section of the community had gathered to pay their respects.
Earlier, Albanese paid special tribute to Scott, the policewoman who stopped Cauchi.
Scott was the first police officer on the scene and ran through the mall to confront Cauchi, according to the Daily Mail. He lunged at her and she shot him dead.
New South Wales Premier Chris Minns also paid tribute to Scott, along with the 75 doctors and paramedics who responded. He said the stabbing was one of the “worst events the state had seen”.
Raphael Franks is an Auckland-based reporter who covers breaking news. He joined the Herald as a Te Rito cadet in 2022.
Rachel Maher is an Auckland-based reporter who covers breaking news. She has worked for the Herald since 2022.
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