Shocked women who dated Sydney knifeman say he was 'weird' and 'little too nerdy' – The Mirror
Joe Cauchi killed six people in a knife rampage at a Westfield shopping centre in Sydney and now women who dated him have said how he was “weird” and a “little too nerdy”
Women who had dates with the Sydney knifeman have reportedly said how he came across as a “little too nerdy” and “weird”.
Police have said they will be investigating whether Joe Cauchi intentionally targeted women. There were five women among the six people killed by Cauchi in the Westfield shopping centre at Bondi Junction on Saturday.
New South Wales police commissioner Karen Webb said it is a “line of inquiry” that the Sydney shopping centre attacker “focused on women and avoided the men” during his stabbing spree.
And one woman who dated Cauchi said she stopped going out with him due to his “weird” behaviour. The female who did not give her identity said how he had “compulsions” that made her stop contacting him.
“We went to church together. I went on a few coffee dates with him, but he had compulsions. It was a bit weird so I stopped messaging him, then he said he was moving away. I'm in shock,” she told Daily Mail Australia.
While another woman who also went out with him said how he was “a little too nerdy” for her although she did say that he came across as a “very nice guy”. She also told the outlet: “He was a very nice guy. Well spoken. I only saw him once but we did text for a good year after that. He came across a little too nerdy for me to be honest, but we still kept in touch. I live on the Gold Coast and he lived in Brisbane at the time.”
Cauchi, 40, from Queensland, had suffered mental health issues since he was a teenager, his family said in a statement released through Queensland Police.
Asked during an interview with Australian broadcaster ABC News about CCTV footage which appeared to show Cauchi targeting women, NSW police commissioner Ms Webb said: “The videos speak for themselves, don’t they? And that’s certainly a line of inquiry for us.
“It’s obvious to me and it’s obvious to detectives that it seems to be an area of interest that the offender had focused on women and avoided the men. It has been reported that five of the deceased are women and the majority of victims in hospital are also women.”
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese told ABC Radio the breakdown of the victims was “concerning”. Asked about any links between the attacker and misogynist networks, he said: “All of that investigation will take place, it will be comprehensive, and nothing will not be looked at in this matter.”
Mr Albanese confirmed in an interview with Triple M radio in Sydney that the final victim to be named was Yixuan Cheng, a Chinese student. Four other people died at the shopping centre, named as Dawn Singleton, the 25-year-old daughter of Australian businessman John Singleton, 47-year-old Jade Young, who worked as an architect in Sydney, 55-year-old Pikria Darchia and security guard Faraz Tahir.
Ashlee Good, 38, died in hospital from her wounds and her nine-month-old daughter Harriet has undergone surgery. NSW Health said she was in a serious but stable condition in Sydney Children’s Hospital with seven other injured people remaining in hospital on Monday. All are in stable condition, but one woman is described as serious but stable.
Get email updates with the day’s biggest stories
