Sydney stabbing: Family’s tribute to mother killed while saving baby, as more victims are identified
The mother who died trying to save her baby from a knifeman in a Sydney shopping centre was remembered by family as an ‘‘outstanding human’’, as the identities of other victims were confirmed.
Ashlee Good, a 38-year-old osteopath, died in hospital on Saturday evening after she and her daughter were stabbed by a man at Bondi Junction Westfield shopping centre. Her nine-month-old baby remained in a serious condition in hospital on Sunday.
In a statement, Dr Good’s family said that they were ‘‘reeling from the terrible loss of Ashlee, a beautiful mother, daughter, sister, partner, friend, all round outstanding human’’.
‘‘We appreciate the well-wishes and thoughts of members of the Australian public who have expressed an outpouring of love for Ashlee and our baby girl,’’ they said.
Four other women and a male security guard were killed in the rampage. Among the victims named on Sunday morning was Dawn Singleton, a 25-year-old e-commerce assistant who was the daughter of Australian millionaire John Singleton.
A Sydney mother-of-two was also identified as one of the victims however her family requested her name not yet be released. The security guard was a man in his 30s, police said.
Anthony Cooke, the Assistant Commissioner of New South Wales Police, said officers were contacting families to provide support.
‘‘Two (of the victims) would appear to have no family in Australia so we are working through and with agencies overseas to attempt to reach out to the families,” Mr Cooke said.
Killer was known to authorities
Police on Sunday identified the attacker as 40-year-old Joel Cauchi, a mentally unwell man who had recently moved to Sydney from Queensland.
Police believe Cauchi, 40, had lived with schizophrenia and had used drugs including methamphetamine and psychedelics. His family had reportedly held concerns about his interest in knives and other weapons.
Mr Cooke confirmed investigators had searched a storage container used by Cauchi but would not detail whether any items of significance had been found.
“We are continuing to work through the profiling of the offender but very clearly to us at this stage it will appear related to the mental health of the individual,” Mr Cooke said.
“There is still to this point nothing – no information we have received, no evidence we’ve recovered, no intelligence that we have gathered – that would suggest that this was driven by any particular motivation, ideology or otherwise.”
Family thanks witnesses who helped baby
Dr Good was walking through the shopping centre when Cauchi stabbed the baby in her pram, before turning the weapon on the mother.
She desperately tried to save her daughter’s life by handing her to nearby strangers.
“She handed us the baby and said ‘please help, help’,” a witness told Channel Nine at the scene. “She was bleeding from her head, her face … the baby was bleeding.”
Dr Good was rushed to St Vincent’s hospital in a critical condition, but died soon after arriving.
Her daughter underwent surgery at Sydney Children’s Hospital.
‘‘We are so grateful for the expert care and attention of the medical team,’’ the statement from Dr Good’s family read.
‘‘We would also like to thank the New South Wales Police for their kindness and diligence in this tragedy and emergency services for getting our baby the care she needed as quickly as possible.
‘‘To the two men who held and cared for our baby when Ashlee could not - words cannot express our gratitude.’’
