The families of six individuals fatally stabbed in a rampage at Westfield Bondi Junction are demanding an investigation into the psychiatrist of the assailant, who has been accused of minimizing his schizophrenia diagnosis.
Dr. Andrea Boros-Lavack, who had been treating the deceased mass murderer Joel Cauchi for many years, is accused of misleadingly downplaying the severity of his mental illness. A coroner has been urged to recommend an inquiry into her conduct.
Joel Cauchi, aged 40, was suffering from severe psychotic symptoms when he fatally attacked six people and injured ten others, including a nine-month-old infant, during a violent outburst at the shopping center on April 13 of last year.
The victims of the tragic incident included Dawn Singleton, 25; Ashlee Good, 38; Jade Young, 47; Pikria Darchia, 55; Yixuan Cheng, 27; and Faraz Tahir, 30, who was a security guard at the center.
Cauchi had been receiving treatment for schizophrenia since his teenage years, but after being taken off his antipsychotic medication, he fell through the healthcare system’s gaps.
During the inquest, Ms. Boros-Lavack, who had been Cauchi’s psychiatrist for eight years, testified that he did not suffer from chronic schizophrenia and was not mentally unwell at the time of the incident.
‘I honestly believe, that is my opinion, that it was nothing to do with psychosis,’ she told the inquest in the deaths.
That answer ‘was shocking, it was genuinely shocking,’ counsel assisting Peggy Dwyer SC said on Tuesday.
Dr Andrea Boros-Lavack was the long-time psychiatrist for mass-murderer Joel Cauchi
Dr Peggy Dwyer SC (left) arrives at the NSW Coroner’s Court on Tuesday
Joel Cauchi killed six people at Westfield Bondi Junction in April 2024 (pictured)
Dr Dwyer, who outlined findings and recommendations the coroner could make about events leading to the April 2024 attack, said Dr Boros-Lavack’s answer – recanted the next day – had caused distress to the families of the victims.
Dr Dwyer said Ms Boros-Lavack’s characterisation of Cauchi’s mental health illness as ‘prolonged first episode psychosis’ was ‘at best misconceived’.
‘But it was more likely [a] deliberately disingenuous attempt to justify her own decision to wean him off medication and her statement that he was not unwell at the time of the attack,’ the coroner was told.
Dr Boros-Lavack, through her lawyer, disputes she suggested Cauchi was not unwell at the time.
The inquest is probing issues including whether Cauchi’s mental health was appropriately managed and whether there were missed opportunities to detect his deterioration.
‘There were multiple red flags in the months after Cauchi was taken off his medication,’ Dr Dwyer said.
But they were not noted by the treating psychiatrist when she discharged him into the care of his GP, she said.
The psychiatrist has since accepted there were deficiencies in the way she handed over Cauchi’s care, including not flagging his relapse symptoms or the high risk that he would relapse.
How Cauchi’s senseless attack played out
Pikria Darchia, 55, was murdered by Cauchi
Jade Young, 47, was murdered by Cauchi
Dr Dwyer said the concession was welcome but would not be accepted by the coroner as genuine because Dr Boros-Lavack had been ‘lacking in insight’ as a witness.
‘It was exceptional the level of belligerence and confrontation Dr Boros-Lavack demonstrated in the witness box,’ Dr Dwyer said.
‘It’s highly concerning that someone charged with the care of some of the most vulnerable in our society would be so unwilling to reflect and learn.’
The families of Cauchi’s victims have called for the psychiatrist to be referred to a regulatory body following her evidence, the inquest was told.
Dr Dwyer said it was an option open to State Coroner Teresa O’Sullivan, noting the inquest was not charged with reviewing the psychiatrist’s treatment history.
She also recommended the implementation of a preventative mental health care model, rather than a crisis-driven approach.
‘It’s an opportunity to look at this tragedy and see whether there are broader reforms that could save lives,’ Dr Dwyer said.
The inquest continues.
