The father of a young woman stabbed to death in the Westfield Bondi attack has pleaded for a coronial inquest into the tragedy to be axed.
Dawn Singleton, 25, was one of six shoppers killed in Bondi Junction Westfield last April when knifeman Joel Cauchi, 40, went on a stabbing rampage.
Her father, millionaire advertising executive John Singleton, said a month-long hearing into the tragic event would would only torture the victims’ loved ones.
Mr Singleton said families couldn’t stand to relive the events of April 13 at the inquest next month.
‘If it was going to bring some justice I would understand – but it can’t, it’s just so unfair,’ he told the Sunday Telegraph.
‘No good can come of making the details of this public all over again, the CCTV footage images.
‘We all know what happened and who did it and he’s gone, there’s nothing to gain.’
He urged the NSW Attorney-General to shelve the inquest before it begins.
Dawn Singleton, 25, was one of six shoppers killed in Bondi Junction Westfield last April when knifeman Joel Cauchi, 40, went on a crazed, stabbing rampage last year
Advertising executive John Singleton said rehashing the events of last April would only cause grief for victims’ families and loved ones
‘Coronial inquests are for all the unsolved murders, focus on them, not this one; it helps no one (but) feeds a room full of lawyers,’ Mr Singleton said.
Mr Singleton said nothing remained to be solved; police acted incredibly on the day, and there was more than one hero, he said.
His daughter ‘Dawnie’ was killed in the tragedy alongside Ashlee Good, 38, Pikria Darchia, 55, Jade Young, 47, Yixuan Cheng, 27, and Faraz Tahir, 30.
The bride-to be had bought her wedding dress and sent ‘save the date’ invitations to loved ones and friends days prior to the attack.
She had been in Chanel buying make-up for her nuptials when her life was cut short.
Her childhood sweetheart and fiancé, police officer Ashley Wildey, was on-call when Cauchi began his attack – rushing to the scene only to be informed of Ms Singleton’s death.
The shattered officer still visits Dawnie’s grave every day.
Ms Singleton is one of Mr Singleton’s three daughters from his marriage to Julie Martin.
Ms Singleton ’embodied love’ and ‘always spoke with words of such kindness’, family said
‘Coronial inquests are for all the unsolved murders, focus on them, not this one,’ Mr Singleton said
He has eight children in total.
Sally Singleton-Hawach, also a daughter of John Singleton, paid a heartfelt tribute to her sister a month after the massacre.
In an emotional social media post, Ms Singleton-Hawach shared a photo collage of her little sister growing up.
She said that ‘Dawnie’ ’embodied love’ and ‘always spoke with words of such kindness… with a smile that warmed all our hearts’.
‘And that laugh, I play on repeat in my videos,’ Ms Singleton-Hawach wrote.
‘You were so loved. I love you little Sis. Till we meet again’.
Cauchi had moved to Sydney from Queensland shortly before the attack, had a history of mental health issues, and had previously come to the attention of police in both NSW and his home state.
He indiscriminately stabbed 16 people in total with a hunting knife.
The inquest is due to examine the events and whether they could have been avoided.
Sixteen people were stabbed in total at the attack last April, with the horror remaining present in the minds of victims’ loved ones
The case reached a courtroom for the first time in November, when an initial directions hearing received an overview of the many issues at play ahead of the inquest which is due to be held in April and May 2025.
The hearing was told of Cauchi’s history of mental health issues.
The court heard Cauchi was receiving treatment for schizophrenia, but from about late 2019 his medication began to be reduced.
From early 2020 until the time of the attack, he received no treatment at all despite there being evidence of his deteriorating mental health.
NSW State Coroner Teresa O’Sullivan expressed her condolences to the family and loved ones of those who were killed.
‘The events of the 13th of April remain raw and painful for all those that have been impacted,’ she said.
Counsel assisting Peggy Dwyer SC said such mass casualty events were rare in Australia and could expose deficiencies or flaws in the systems intended to deal with them.
