EXCLUSIVE
A young woman says she was shocked to discover the “real gentleman” she was dating was the deranged mass killer behind the stabbing attack at Westfield Bondi Junction.
The Gold Coast woman, who wishes to remain anonymous, told Daily Mail Australia about her brief relationship with mad knife maker Joel Cauchi, 40.
Cauchi was shot and killed by lone police officer Amy Scott on Saturday afternoon after stabbing to death five women and a man and injuring at least a dozen others, including a nine-month-old baby girl.
But the woman said she barely recognized the savage killer – who stabbed the baby in her pram – from the man she met on dating app Badoo in April 2020.
A woman previously in a relationship with Westfield Bondi Junction cutler Joel Cauchi has revealed he is a ‘true gentleman’ (pictured is a photo Cauchi sent to the woman between 2020 and 2021)
The woman (pictured), who did not wish to be identified, met Cauchi in 2020 and spent a year messaging with him.
“I engaged him in conversation for a while and then had a few drinks with him at his house in Brisbane. He lived there with roommates,” she said.
“He was a lovely guy when I met him, definitely quiet and reserved. I’m just very shocked by what happened.
“It’s hard to believe he killed these innocent people.”
She described Cauchi as a “true gentleman” but admitted they had only met in person once because he wasn’t her type.
Despite this, the couple continued their relationship until 2021.
‘He was a very nice guy. Well said. I only saw him once, but we texted for a good year after that,” she said.
“He seemed a bit too cheesy to me to be honest, but we always kept in touch. I live on the Gold Coast and he was living in Brisbane at the time.
Although Cauchi’s father previously told Daily Mail Australia that the 40-year-old led a “backpacker” lifestyle, which involved alternating between sleeping in his car and cheap hostels, the woman’s wife Gold Coast didn’t remember Cauchi being interested in travel.
“He never talked about traveling with me. That’s why I was surprised he was in Bondi,” she said.
Another woman who claims to have dated Cauchi said she stopped seeing him because of his strange behavior.
“We went to church together. I had a few coffee dates with him, but he had compulsions,” she said.
‘It was a bit weird so I stopped messaging him and then he said he was moving away. I’m in shock.’
Cauchi (pictured) stabbed six people to death at Westfield Bondi Junction shortly before 4pm on Saturday.
The Gold Coast woman said Cauchi was “quiet”, “reserved” and “nerdy” (pictured is a photo Cauchi sent to the woman between 2020 and 2021)
Since the shocking attack, several people claiming to have known or attended school alongside Cauchi have shared different versions of him online.
One person, claiming to be part of the cutler’s “close circle of friends” when he was at high school in Toowoomba, southeast Queensland, offered some explanation for Cauchi’s strange behavior.
“He was one of those at school who was shy, always a little weird, but whenever he did something it was always all out,” they wrote.
“Looking back, he probably didn’t regulate very well.
“Disappeared from the radar after school, but to my knowledge, he maintained no friendship with his circle of classmates. »
They believe Cauchi was suffering from a mental health issue at the time of the Westfield attack on Saturday, a theory shared by police and echoed by his distraught parents.
Cauchi was diagnosed with schizophrenia when he was a teenager, and his parents said he stopped taking his medication, which triggered his psychosis.
“This may seem like misplaced empathy, but the Joel I knew would not have been himself, not in control of his actions when he attacked these people,” the friend wrote.
“If there’s one lesson to be learned, it’s that mental illness is bullshit and we shouldn’t get involved in it.
“We shouldn’t be too hard to get help ourselves when we need it, and when people contact us for a connection, we should see it for what it is and not ignore them.
“Joel is certainly not the only one having difficulties.”
Joel Cauchi (pictured) was diagnosed with schizophrenia as a teenager and is understood to have been taking no medication at the time of the attack.
Cauchi’s mother and father (pictured) described Saturday’s stabbing as “truly horrific” and said they had “no problem” with the police officer who fatally shot their son.
They also shared their sympathy for the relatives of the six shoppers killed and injured.
“I know this is no comfort to the victims, this whole thing is a bloody tragedy for them and their families, for Joel and his family, and for everyone connected to the event who does not feel also safe to shop there now,’ they wrote.
The six people killed in Saturday’s rampage have been identified as mother Ashlee Good, 38, advertising heiress Dawn Singleton, 25, architect Jade Young, 47, artist Pikria Darchia, 55, security guard Faraz Tahir, 30, and Chinese student Yixuan Cheng, 27.
NSW Health Minister Ryan Park confirmed on Monday morning that the condition of Ashlee Good’s nine-month-old daughter had been upgraded from “critical” to “serious”.
The baby was rushed from Westfield Bondi Junction to Sydney Children’s Hospital after her mother left her in the care of strangers when they were attacked by Cauchi.
NSW Police do not believe the stabbing was a terrorist incident, instead pointing to Cauchi’s history of mental illness.
His parents, Andrew and Michele Cauchi, spoke from their family home in Toowoomba on Sunday and described the tragedy as “truly horrific”.
They admitted their knife-obsessed son was a “monster” who hated women because he was “frustrated” at not being able to find a girlfriend, they said.
“He wanted a girlfriend and he has no social skills,” Mr. Cauchi said. “He was completely frustrated.”
Cauchi is understood to have filed a complaint against his mother and father (pictured) for ‘stealing’ his knife collection after becoming obsessed.
Six people were stabbed to death in the Cauchi carnage and at least a dozen others were injured, including a nine-month-old baby girl.
The family appears to have had strained relations with some neighbors saying they last saw Cauchi knocking on his parents’ door, which they refused to open.
Two months earlier, Cauchi had filed a complaint against them for “stealing” his knife collection.
It is understood that his parents had taken possession of his collection, growing concerned that he posed a danger to himself or others.
Cauchi’s close friend also spoke about his experience with his family.
“I played at his house a few times early in high school and he played at my house,” they said.
“His mother was the nicest thing ever, Dad was prone to outbursts – in the rare instances I’ve seen – although it probably wouldn’t have been labeled that in the mid-90s.”
Cauchi’s father is known in the town for being “very religious” and for raising homing pigeons. He currently cares for around 700 birds.
A neighbor told Daily Mail Australia the couple expected Cauchi to come home this week because they needed help moving some pigeons due to noise and odor complaints.
The parents reportedly quickly recognized their son in footage of Saturday’s attack and frantically contacted police to identify him.
The Cauchis said in a statement that they had “no problem” with the actions of the officer who fatally shot their son.
Cauchi’s parents said: ‘We are absolutely devastated by the traumatic events in Sydney’ (pictured, witnesses speaking to officer at scene)
“We are absolutely devastated by the traumatic events in Sydney yesterday,” they said.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with the families and friends of the victims and those still undergoing treatment at this time.
“Joel’s actions were truly horrific and we are still trying to understand what happened.
“He has struggled with mental health issues since he was a teenager.
“We are in contact with NSW Police and the Queensland Police Service and have no issues with the officer who shot our son as she was only doing her job to protect others and we hope she s ‘comes out well.”
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