12-05-2025
Nurse 'vomited' when told former patient Joel Cauchi fatally stabbed six, Bondi Junction inquest hears
A nurse who treated Joel Cauchi while he was still medicated for his schizophrenia said she "vomited" when she heard he was responsible for the Bondi Junction Westfield stabbing attack.
The mental health nurse monitored Cauchi while he was taking antipsychotic medication for his treatment-resistant schizophrenia at a clinic in regional Queensland between August 2015 and October 2017.
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Cauchi grew up in Toowoomba, Queensland, but at the time of the attack was experiencing homelessness in Sydney, the court heard.
On Monday, the coronial inquest into the mass stabbing heard Cauchi had been attending the practice monthly for almost a decade, until he was discharged when he moved to Brisbane in March 2020.
But he did not continue receiving psychiatric care after he was referred back to his general practitioner.
The nurse, known as RN2, told the court she "vomited", was "incredibly shocked" and had a "visceral response" when she learned Cauchi had fatally stabbed six people inside the shopping centre on April 13, 2024.
"It really doesn't make any sense."
The court heard he was weaned off antipsychotic medication entirely in June 2018, and later stopped taking his prescription used to treat his obsessive-compulsive disorder.
RN2 told the court she had never heard of a patient being weaned off the psychotropic medication Cauchi was taking completely, without it being replaced by another.
During the time he was treated by RN2, the dose of his schizophrenia medication was being gradually reduced.
Clinical notes presented to the court reported that Cauchi was feeling "significantly better" and saw a reduction in cognitive side effects from the medication over months.
The nurse described him as being "very conscientious in regard to his mental health".
"He was quite diligent and monitoring signs of relapse, he didn't want to get unwell … He had anxiety around it.
"He wanted to get the support and make sure he did the right thing."
The nurse stopped treating Cauchi when she resigned from the practice in 2017 but later returned and was no longer clinically treating the man.
In February 2020, his mother Michele Cauchi called the clinic expressing concerns about her son's behaviour.
Ms Cauchi told the nurse she was worried her son became "irritable" when she mentioned that his unit was untidy, and that she was concerned he would become homeless if he moved to Brisbane.
The nurse conceded this was "potentially" an early warning sign of relapse and denied he had shown any predisposition to violence.
She said when she told Cauchi's psychiatrist about the conversation with his mother, the doctor "noted it, but didn't appear overly concerned".
The inquest is expected to run until Friday, May 30.
