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We have a curated list of the most noteworthy news from all across the globe. With any subscription plan, you get access to exclusive articles that let you stay ahead of the curve.
We have a curated list of the most noteworthy news from all across the globe. With any subscription plan, you get access to exclusive articles that let you stay ahead of the curve.
AIKEN COUNTY, S.C. – A man from Aiken County has admitted guilt to charges related to secretly recording guests at his rental properties.
Rhett Riviere,...
A long-time psychiatrist for a man who killed six people in a stabbing rampage was “likely deliberately disingenuous” as she played down his illness and should be investigated, a coroner has been asked to find.
Joel Cauchi, 40, was experiencing acute psychotic symptoms when he killed six people and injured 10 others, including a nine-month-old baby, inside Westfield Bondi Junction shopping centre.
Dawn Singleton, 25, Ashlee Good, 38, Jade Young, 47, Pikria Darchia, 55, Yixuan Cheng, 27 and security guard Faraz Tahir, 30, all died in the 13 April 2024 attack.
Cauchi had been successfully treated for schizophrenia since he was a teenager, but he was weaned off anti-psychotic medication and fell through the cracks before the incident.
Andrea Boros-Lavack, who had been treating Cauchi for eight years, initially testified that he did not suffer from chronic schizophrenia and was not experiencing any mental illness during the incident.
Pikria Darchia was among the six individuals injured in the knife assault at Bondi Junction. Source: NSW Police, PA / Family handout
“In my honest opinion, the attack was unrelated to any psychotic episode,” Boros-Lavack stated during the inquest examining the fatalities.
That answer “was shocking, it was genuinely shocking,” counsel assisting Peggy Dwyer said on Tuesday.
While presenting possible conclusions and recommendations regarding the April 2024 incident, Dwyer noted that Boros-Lavack’s statement, which she later retracted, had deeply upset the victims’ families.
Joel Cauchi was ultimately shot and killed by police. Source: Facebook
Boros-Lavack’s characterisation of Cauchi’s mental health illness as prolonged first episode psychosis was “at best misconceived”, Dwyer said.
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.
Boros-Lavack, through her lawyer, disputes she suggested Cauchi was not unwell at the time.
The inquest is investigating 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, Dwyer said.
But they were not noted by the treating psychiatrist when she discharged him into the care of his GP, she said.
Six people were killed and more seriously injured during the stabbing rampage at Westfield Bondi Junction in April 2024. Source: AAP / Steven Saphore
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.
Dwyer said the concession was welcome but would not be accepted by the coroner as genuine because 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,” the counsel assisting 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.
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.
Dwyer recommended implementing a preventive 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,” Dwyer said.
