<div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>A man who went on a stabbing spree in an urban shopping centre had been worried years before that his mental health would deteriorate.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Joel Cauchi, 40, armed himself with a pigging knife when he launched his unprovoked attack at Sydney's Bondi Junction Westfield in April 2024.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>He killed six shoppers and injured 10 others during a psychotic episode before he was shot dead by NSW Police Inspector Amy Scott.</span></div></div><div><div id="adspot-mobile-medium"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/bondi-junction-inquest-security-response-to-shopping-centre-mass-stabbing-at-westfield-faces-scrutiny/b28487a5-3369-4302-bafd-b5c1fcc33056"><strong><span>Bondi killer tells cops about knife collection a year before stabbing</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Diagnosed with schizophrenia as a teen, he had been successfully treated in the public and then the private system at a local clinic in Toowoomba, in the Darling Downs region of Queensland.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>A nurse who treated Cauchi from 2011 to 2017, and then again in 2019 and 2020, described him as someone who diligently went to appointments and complied with his medication.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>She told an inquest into the shopping centre stabbing Cauchi was concerned in 2016 about a possible mental health decline.</span></div></div><div><div class="OUTBRAIN" data-reactroot="" data-src="//www.9news.com.au/national/bondi-junction-inquest-sydney-anxious-about-becoming-mentally-unwell/8e2b5b1f-b1cd-4182-a64f-54dc2ec5210b" data-widget-id="AR_5"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"He didn't want to get unwell," she told the NSW Coroners Court sitting in Lidcombe on Monday.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"He had anxiety around it."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/pope-leo-xiv-brother-john-prevost-says-new-pope-accepting-role/fc9b6354-a91b-424c-aa5f-72869924a546" target="_blank"><strong><span>Pope Leo 'relaxed' in immense new role, brother says in exclusive interview</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The nurse, who cannot be legally identified, worked alongside a psychiatrist to treat Cauchi.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>She said there were no concerns raised at weekly meetings, as he was weaned off his anti-psychotics.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>He eventually stopped taking medication entirely in July 2019.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>By March 2020, as the COVID-19 pandemic gripped the world, he stopped seeing a psychiatrist completely.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The nurse's clinical notes, shown to the court, reveal that Cauchi complained about the side effects of the drugs.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>He said he felt mentally clearer and could focus on his studies and hobbies better as the dosage was lowered.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/woolworths-lowers-price-items-on-shelves-ceo-personal-letter-to-customers/4da4cb58-5963-4d53-a628-12aa0aeae525" target="_blank"><strong><span>Woolworths to slash prices on hundreds of shelf items this week</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>His later behaviour, when he killed multiple shoppers, was "incongruous" with how he appeared earlier, the nurse said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>She was shocked and had a visceral reaction when she heard the news of the tragedy.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"I vomited when I saw that it was him," the nurse told the court.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"It really doesn't make any sense."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The nurse said she had not heard of anyone who had been taken off clozapine, an anti-psychotic that Cauchi was on, without being put on something else.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>In February 2020, his mother spoke to the nurse regarding her concerns about his mental health and ability to take care of himself.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>By that stage, he had moved to Brisbane and his apartment was a mess.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>When confronted about it by his father, Cauchi became irritable and swore, the coroner has heard.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The nurse said that this was out of character.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>However, at the time, she thought it was due to the friction caused when someone moved out of home for the first time, especially someone who was underdeveloped mentally.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>She said she was "shocked" that patients discharged from psychiatric clinics were sent back to their GPs to find further mental health support.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Instead, she recommended the Care Programme Approach used in the United Kingdom where people have a follow-up and are allocated a case worker after they leave a clinic.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The inquest continues.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>Readers seeking support can contact Lifeline on 13 11 14 or beyond blue on 1300 22 4636, Suicide Call Back Service on 1300 659 467 or MensLine Australia on 1300 78 99 78.</span></strong></div></div>