Mass murderer Joel Cauchi Googled knives and “how to kill” before he stabbed six people to death at Bondi Westfield on Saturday.
Cauchi, a paranoid schizophrenic, had a “fixation with killing” and a “fixation with knives” police reportedly told A Current Affair crime editor Simon Bouda.
“Initially, everyone thought this was a man suffering from schizophrenia whose mind has snapped, words in his head,” Bouda explained on Monday night’s ACA.
“I have learned today that the investigators have been able to download data from his phone, which has indicated that he had a fixation with killings.
“He also had a fixation with knives. That tells us it wasn’t a spur of the moment attack. Beforehand, he was thinking about killing, and that is terribly frightening.”
When asked if Cauchi was “searching about killing” on his phone, Bouda replied “yes, that is what I understand.”
It was also claimed that Cauchi was seen at two other Westfield shopping centres around Sydney — Penrith and Parramatta — leading investigators to question if he may have also been scoping these out for a possible attack.
“I was told he was spotted at Westfield in Penrith and Parramatta, just in recent weeks,” Bouda continued.
“What was going through his mind? Was he checking out other locations that he may have decided appropriate for what he wanted to do? Was he just visiting?
“Who knows. But it was happening in very quick succession.”
Bouda also said that Cauchi walked up behind two of his victims in the back, not speaking to them or looking at them before delivering the fatal blows.
“The first woman was lining up in a queue to buy a coffee, he has come up behind her and stabbed her in the back,” crime editor Simon Bouda said.
“He stabbed another woman in the back, he is not even looking at them.
On Monday Cauchi’s father speculated that he had targeted women because he wanted a girlfriend and was “frustrated out of his brain”.
How family learnt their son was a killer
Cauchi’s family reportedly contacted authorities when they saw footage of the massacre on TV because they believed it was their son.
Cauchi’s parents are said to be supportive of the police officer who shot him dead at Westfield Bondi Junction after he used a knife to kill six people and injure 12 others.
Speaking in Brisbane, Queensland Police Assistant Commissioner Roger Lowe said the 40-year-old had come into contact with police over the past four years due to mental health issues but had no criminal record.
His family have co-operated with police, telling them that Queensland-raised Cauchi lived a drifting lifestyle and had intermittent contact with them.
FLAVIO BRANCALEONE/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
“It’s a difficult time to tell anyone they’ve lost their son,” Assistant Commissioner Lowe said.
“Their first thoughts for us were to express their concerns regarding the family and victims of these crimes.
”And in particular their thoughts around the police officer, who had to bravely act in such a manner.”
Cauchi’s family have reported their son was sleeping in a car and at backpacker hostels.
Assistant Commissioner Lowe said Queensland police last had contact with Cauchi in December but stressed there had been nothing to previously indicate the man could be capable of such horrific acts.
“He has not been prosecuted or arrested or charged for any offence within Queensland, and he has no record within the courts for a domestic violence order.”
Killer’s dad breaks down
On Monday, Cauchi’s parents said they were deeply torn by their son’s actions.
Speaking heartwrenchingly to the media, his father Andrew Cauchi said he was a “beautiful” boy who “let himself down” when he went off his medication.
Mr. Cauchi spoke of his pain and his heartache for families who lost their loved ones.
“I’m extremely sorry, I’m heartbroken for you,” Mr. Cauchi said outside his Rockville home, near Toowoomba
“This is so horrendous I can’t even explain it.
“I’m just devastated, I love my son.”
Mr. Cauchi said his son had been diagnosed with schizophrenia when he was 17 and had decided to come off his medication because he was feeling better.
“I made myself a servant to my son when I found out he had a mental illness, I became his servant because I loved that boy,” he said.
“He let himself down, he was taken off medication because he was doing so well but then he took off to Brisbane.
“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.
“I’m loving a monster. To you he’s a monster but to me he was a very sick boy.”
When asked why he thought his son had targeted women during the rampage, Mr. Cauchi said he could understand why the NSW Police believed that was his motive.
“He wanted a girlfriend and he’s got no social skills and he was frustrated out of his brain,” Mr. Cauchi said.
Cauchi’s mother, Michele, said her son’s actions were “very out of character” despite his mental health battles.
“I’m so sorry about what our son has done,” Mrs. Cauchi said.
“We don’t know why he did what he did, it was very out of character.
“He was brought up in love, he was a loved child and he was under the care of his doctors for something like 18 years. He was taking his medication well and then he asked the doctor to come down on (the dose).
“He did so over a period of years.”
Mrs. Cauchi said she didn’t think her son would have been cognisant of what he was doing when on the violent rampage.
“This is a parent’s absolute nightmare, when they have a child with a mental illness, that something like this would happen,” she said.
“If he was in his right mind, he would be absolutely devastated about what he’s done.
“He obviously wasn’t in his right mind, he’s somehow been triggered into a psychosis and he’s lost touch with reality.”
Killer’s social media posts
Just six days before the horrific incident, Cauchi posted on social media seeking surfing companions at Bondi Beach.
Cauchi often posted in hobby groups on Facebook seeking friendship or tips on activities such as astrophotography through the years.
In December 2020, in a post that now holds dark overtones, he wrote in an outdoor adventures page to ask members whether they would join him on a shooting session.
“Hi I am looking for groups of people who shoot guns, including handguns, to meet up with, chat with and get to know,” the 40-year-old wrote.
“Please send me a DM if you can help me out! I live in Brisbane by the way.”
NSW Police have said Cauchi acted alone and had a history of mental health issues, for now ruling out any links to terrorist ideologies.
It is believed the man, captured on harrowing footage running through the centre armed with a knife and wearing a green and gold Kangaroos jersey, suffered from schizophrenia.
Police officers visited the childhood home of Cauchi in Toowoomba on Sunday, with a neighbour telling media he had met Joel and described him as “disturbed.”
“It’s a spin out, he could have done that here,” the man said, according to The Daily Telegraph.
“They seem like a nice family with a nice house but he had schizophrenia growing up.”
A woman told news.com.au she briefly dated Cauchi in 2019 after meeting him on dating app Badoo.
She said the pair were both from Toowoomba and met up when she had just turned 18.
The woman said he was older than what he had originally said in his dating profile, however, was “kind and sweet.”
Six people were killed on Saturday – five women and one man – and 12 others remained in hospital on Sunday morning.
Cauchi’s social media profile suggests he had been in Sydney for several months after growing up in the Toowoomba area and living in Brisbane.
According to his Facebook page, he worked as an English tutor at an online institution.
Many of his posts have been flooded with angry comments after Cauchi’s identity was released to the public.
On January 5, he wrote in the Australian Backpackers page looking for rideshare arrangements and accommodation in Sydney.
“Hi, I live in Sydney and am looking for people that I can rideshare with, pay for some fuel and stay at some interesting places reasonably close to Sydney together,” he said. “Let me know if you are interested!”
Two days later he wrote to an amateur astronomy and astrophotography page to ask if he could join any upcoming trips.
“Hi I live in Sydney and am looking for someone to tag along with and learn some astrophotography at a dark sky site some place, can anyone help me out?”
One man replied saying he would organise a trip when weather permitted.
Cauchi on February 6 reviewed a day trip to Palm Beach, a picturesque spot on Sydney’s northern beaches.
“This is a beautiful place, the beach is absolutely amazing, great for surfing and snorkeling (sic) and the hiking nearby was amazing with an incredible view!,” he said. “It’s great for everything I think, just a picnic even too.”
He also reviewed a Chippendale cafe on February 26 and later on April 3 wrote to a group seeking candidates for a “language exchange” with a Swedish speaker.
“I am a fluent English speaker and can teach that in exchange for being taught Swedish if you are interested.”
Last week Cauchi wrote to Beginner Surfing and Adventuring (Sydney) in one of the last posts he would make before Saturday’s stabbing spree.
“Hey I am surfing Bondi this afternoon if anyone wants to meet there for a surf.”
NSW Police said Cauchi was known to authorities in his home state and a multi-agency investigation was underway into his motivations.
Anyone with information is urged to contact police.
