GP told 'nothing' about Bondi killer's mental state, inquest hears
A general practitioner says he had no information about potential signs of a psychotic relapse for the man who ended up killing half a dozen people at a shopping centre.
Joel Cauchi, 40, killed six people and injured 10 others at Sydney's Bondi Junction Westfield in April 2024 before being shot dead by police.
His regular Queensland GP Richard Grundy testified at an inquest into the tragedy today.
READ MORE: Unemployment rate steady days before RBA interest rates meeting
Grundy said he was not told about any concerns when Cauchi relocated from Toowoomba to Brisbane in early 2020.
"I had nothing," he told the NSW Coroners Court.
Grundy said he would have attempted some sort of follow-up if he had been told about concerns raised by Cauchi's mother with his private psychiatrist between October 2019 and February 2020.
These potential signs of relapse included a large number of notes being left around the house – some referring to satanic control – excessive obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), an obsession with pornography, irritability and a strange gait.
In mid-2019, Cauchi had stopped taking two antipsychotics which had successfully treated his schizophrenia symptoms since he was a teenager.
READ MORE: Former MP Rory Amon charged with breaching bail terms
"I didn't have any information – all those things that were discussed for some reason or another never came to me," Grundy told the court by videolink from London.
On discharging Cauchi from her clinic in March 2020, his psychiatrist – who cannot be legally named – sent a letter to Grundy.
"Please recall Joel to discuss his options and referral to an alternative psychiatrist if required," she wrote.
In earlier evidence given to the coroner, she insisted she had a lengthy phone conversation with Dr Grundy after sending this letter.
"I can take Joel back, I am the family GP, I know him very well and I will recall (him)," the GP told her, according to her evidence.
However today, he denied that this conversation took place, saying there was no record of it in his notes.
A psychiatrist who gave Cauchi a medical report supporting a gun licence also gave evidence to the court.
READ MORE: Manhunt under way after Border Force officials attacked
During a single one-hour session in Brisbane in January 2021, Cauchi denied any hallucinations or psychotic symptoms with the doctor reporting he had a "stable mood".
He told the court he had sought collateral information from private and public health systems in Toowoomba to confirm what he had been told.
He was unable to get details from Cauchi's mother, saying he had only consented that they be contacted in an emergency.
The doctor admitted that inconsistencies he was told about the length of time Cauchi had taken antipsychotics could have been a "red flag".
A medical report was eventually supplied to Queensland Police which eventually provided Cauchi with a statement of eligibility to get a gun licence.
However, he did not follow through with obtaining the licence itself.
Cauchi was transferred from the public to private health sectors in 2012 when he formed a plan with his psychiatrist to decrease his medication.
By mid-2019, he was completely off the antipsychotics and he became detached from the mental health system early the following year after moving to Brisbane.
The inquest continues.
Readers seeking support can contact Lifeline on 13 11 14 or beyond blue on 1300 22 4636.