Andrew and Michele Cauchi disconnected relationship with their son Joel Cauchi explored as the Bondi Westfield killer’s parents speak out.
The apple never falls too far from the tree … In a bid to understand what led to Bondi Westfield killer unleashing his venom on the shopping mall, killing six and wounding another 12, media has descended on the confused household of Joel Cauchi’s parents.
Andrew and Michele Cauchi, both in their 70’s for all accounts live a marginalised existence in their community of Toowoomba, Queensland, where they have lived for over 46 years, mostly keeping to themselves, sometimes greeting neighbors and like the rest of us, reading the headlines this weekend which indicted their 40 year old son as the the perpetrator of one of the most violent crimes Australia has seen in modern times.
A preliminary expose of the assailant’s parents describes them as an isolated couple who are ‘very religious’ who probably preferred not to be bothered upon the release of their son’s nefarious actions before finally releasing a statement that placated the corporate press’ demands for contrition.
Bondi Westfield killer hated women cause he couldn’t get a girlfriend & refused to give up knives
Joel Cauchi’s ‘very religious’ parents emerge from the Bondi Junction killer’s childhood home after breaking their silence on the massacre – as neighbours speak about the knifeman and his last visit to the property https://t.co/KwoLpO7ROg pic.twitter.com/0osbVVFpDo
— Daily Mail Online (@MailOnline) April 14, 2024
Joel Cauchi parents release statement
Read the pious statement: ‘We are absolutely devastated by the traumatic events that occurred in Sydney yesterday,
“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 comprehend what has happened. He has battled with mental health issues since he was a teenager.
‘We are in contact with both the NSW Police Force and Queensland Police Service and have no issues with the police officer who shot our son as she was only doing her job to protect others and we hope she is coping alright.’
Not mentioned in the release was the parents thoughts and sentiments and the dynamic of their relationship with their son.
Hinting at the family disconnect, the Cauchi’s mentioned that Joe sometimes ‘text his mother with an update as to where he was’.
Where he was – included living in youth hostels occasionally, sleeping mostly in his car and in the ebbing flow of his rapidly descending mind, one match stick away from self detonation.
Fragmented and alienated
Andrew Cauchi revealed his son having been diagnosed with a mental illness at the age of 17, (schizophrenia) along with his mental health declining in the last few years.
No mention of whether Joel was receiving treatment, when he last knowingly received treatment and what plans and hopes the man’s parents had for their son who had moved out of state to live a duplicitous existence. An existence that Joe Cauchi’s parents likely had no idea about or could possibly ever fathom.
A statement from Queensland Health confirmed Cauchi stating Joel having been treated for mental health issues more than a decade ago, while saying ‘his care was transferred to a psychiatrist in the private sector in 2012’.
Assistant Commissioner Lowe said Cauchi’s family had reached out to police after seeing footage of the horrific fatal attack on television and had been ‘assisting in all elements that they can to gain an understanding of why their son, in this particular case, allegedly behaved in this manner and killed people in a public place.’
Joel Cauchi’s ‘very religious’ parents emerge from the Bondi Junction killer’s childhood home after breaking their silence on the massacrehttps://t.co/zQ4oyc5EPO via @MailOnline
— Frankie Crisostomo (@FrancCrist) April 14, 2024
A failed society
One neighbour, Carol, told Daily Mail Australia that Joel Cauchi’s parents had been expecting their son back home this week, except for the inconvenient and tragic events of this weekend, which forever preempted the son’s return home and shattered the lives of many others.
The Cauchi’s it is revealed only learned of the horror of their son’s actions when they like most of us (except for those who had the misfortune of living it first hand) saw it on TV – but by then it was too late. There was nothing they could say or do, implore or impress or lament or express or offer. What went wrong in the family household? What led to parents and son maintaining a fractured disconnect and why couldn’t they get the help their son so obviously and desperately needed?
The state of affairs at the Cauchi household itself could just as easily be that of any household in an atomized modern existence in contemporary times. Which is to say and wonder, one does the best they can to get on and survive and understand, while reckoning to what degree has society failed individuals like Joel Cauchi and his victims?
