Daughter of Bondi stabbing victim Jade Young drew map of centre in crayon to show grandmother ‘where mum had fell'

News.com.au

6 days ago

The daughter of one of the women killed in the Westfield Bondi Junction stabbing rampage drew a map of the centre in crayon to show her grandmother 'exactly where her mum had fell' after she was stabbed.
Joel Cauchi, 40, killed six people and injured 10 during a stabbing rampage at the Westfield shopping centre in Sydney's east on April 13, 2024.
Dawn Singleton, Yixuan Cheng, Faraz Ahmed Tahir, Ashlee Good, Jade Young and Pikria Darchia were all killed in the attack.
A five-week coronial inquest into the deadly stabbings explored what could have been done differently at every level from Cauchi's treating psychiatrists, nurses and doctors in the years prior, to the response of emergency services and the centre's operator on the day of the tragedy.
The inquest heard from the families of the victims on Thursday, with boxes of tissues placed throughout the court and the media room before proceedings began.
Ms Young's mother, father, brother, husband, and dog all entered the witness box on Thursday morning, delivering heart wrenching statements to coroner Teresa O'Sullivan of their anger, anguish and grief.
Her mother, Elizabeth Young, told the court how Ms Young was killed while her own daughter was by her side on the day of the attack.
Ms Young's husband was at the shopping centre on the day and was threatened by Cauchi at one stage: he warned other shoppers Cauchi had a knife before he rushed to his wife and child.
Their daughter had called him after Ms Young was stabbed.
Ms Young's mother told the court on Thursday her granddaughter was 'so aware' of what had unfolded she once drew a map of the shopping centre's fourth floor in blue crayon after her mum was stabbed, to show her 'exactly where her mum had fell'.
She invited the court to pause and reflect on this.
The last time the mother interacted with her daughter was the morning of April 13, 2024, when she received a heart emoji to a photo she had sent her of a fairy ring of mushrooms.
'My absolute last connection with her, an emoji … ordinary interactions between a mother and daughter,' Ms Young told the court.
'Little over a week later I was leaning over her body here.'
She said she has 'lost (her) way in life' following the death of her daughter, and flinches at people shouting in the street, startles easily, and can no longer listen to music or have flowers at home.
She dreads Saturday afternoons, as that is when the tragedy unfolded.
She said by the time she recovers from them 'it's 15.33pm on Saturday again'.
'I am angry and aggrieved and anguished for what I have lost … She has been denied a future,' Ms Young told the court.
There is 'no way to make amends for what (Cauchi) took from me and my family.'
She said suggestions people from various agencies were doing their best on the day of the attack provided little comfort to her.
'Dr Dwyer referred to individuals doing their best in fallible systems,' she told the court.
'I'm sorry but it seems to me that my daughter and five others were killed by the cumulative failures …(of a) whole series of systems.'
She said Australia 'doesn't seem to want to acknowledge that what happened on that Saturday is essentially … the years of neglect of within our mental health systems, state and federal'.
She aired her frustration with the reporting of the tragedy, including images of her daughter's 'lifeless body being worked on' broadcast, including by way of social media.
Victim 'oblivious' to Cauchi's rampage
A comprehensive statement from the NSW police officer who led the investigation into the fatal attack, Detective Chief Inspector Andrew Marks, gave a heartbreaking insight into how the events unfolded.
It revealed details of the families' statements given to investigators.
Ms Cheng was an only child from Bozhou, China. She was passionate about piano, taekwondo and dance.
She studied economics at the University of New South Wales and returned to China due to the pandemic before she came back to NSW in 2023 after she was accepted into a masters of economics at the University of Sydney.
She called her mother on the day of the fatal attack to tell her she was going shopping at Westfield Bondi Junction.
About 6pm that evening Ms Cheng's boyfriend called her mother and told her about the incident, and that he couldn't get in touch with Ms Cheng.
CCTV showed Ms Cheng walking through the centre on her phone, 'oblivious that what had been occurring in front of her'.
She was stabbed by Cauchi and later died.
Ms Young grew up in the Wollongong area and studied architecture. She and her husband lived in the UK for eight years and had two children together.
She was shopping with her daughter on the day of the attack.
Ms Young was meant to meet her husband, who was threatened by Cauchi at one stage.
He warned other shoppers Cauchi had a knife.
Ms Good, a former osteopath who had moved into a corporate role as executive years prior, was pushing her daughter in a pram when she was stabbed.
'After Mr Cauchi attacked Ms Good it caused her to stumble away from the pram,' counsel assisting the coroner Peggy Dwyer SC told the court.
In a 'tremendous act', Ms Good was able to 'save her child's life'.
Inspector Marks later said Ms Good should be awarded a posthumous bravery award for saving her child.
Mr Tahir was working his very first shift at Westfield Bondi Junction when he was killed.
He had five siblings and grew up in Pakistan before he moved to Sri Lanka in 2018 before moving to Australia in 2022.
He moved to Adelaide and Brisbane before settling on Sydney.
Mr Tahir had a video call with all his siblings the day before he died — his brother, Muzafar Ahmad Tahir, said in a statement that Mr Tahir was 'excited because he was wearing a uniform'.
The court was told Mr Faraz and his colleague, Muhammad Taha, had 'moved towards the crowd to assess the situation and determine if there was any threat' that would need to be reported to the control room as the tragedy unfolded.
Mr Tahir had turned towards his colleague after he was stabbed by Cauchi, giving Mr Taha 'a moment to brace himself'.
'Faraz demonstrated immense bravery and courage, sacrificing his life to protect others,' the court was told.
Ms Darchia had two children and moved to Australia from Georgia in 2012.
A statement from her best friend revealed Ms Darchia was studying at a prestigious art academy, undertook English courses, and enjoyed yoga.
She had met her friends for lunch on April 13 before heading to the shopping centre, where she was stabbed by Cauchi.
Ms Singleton was stabbed while she was waiting in line at the Sourdough Bakery.
'The first and youngest victim who was killed by Mr Cuachi was Ms Dawn Singleton. She was only 25 years old, and a much loved daughter, sister and fiance,' Ms Dwyer told the court.
Bystanders rushed to Ms Singleton after she was stabbed and 'exposed themselves to danger' to stay with her, even after hearing gunshots.
A man who came out of the nearby Country Road had wielded a chair and told those with Ms Singleton 'I'll fight (Cauchi) off if he comes back'.
Coverage caused 'immeasurable pain'
Families of the victims specifically requested the media response, and the impact this had on them, be probed during the course of the inquest after reporting 'significant distress' at the showing of graphic footage.
Dawn Singleton's mother, Julie Martin, and her fiancee, Ashley Wildey, both reported they were upset to find Dawn had been identified in media reports before they were allowed to formally identify her.
'I had not seen her … I was still hoping at this point there had been some kind of horrible mistake,' Ms Martin's victim impact statement read.
Ms Martin hadn't yet told Dawn's friends, one of whom found out from a media report while she was waiting for Dawn to pick her up for an event.
Ms Martin also said she found reporters requesting comment, including by leaving notes in her mailbox, 'intrusive', and some of the footage played left her 'distraught'.
Mr Wildey said the reporting of the attack caused 'immense and immeasurable pain' to he and Dawn's family.