Joel Cauchi biography: 13 things about Toowoomba, Queensland man

Joel Cauchi went to the Westfield Bondi Junction shopping center in Bondi Junction, New South Wales, Australia on April 13, 2024. He was wearing a sports jersey and carrying a 12-inch knife.

Inside the shopping center, Joel fatally stabbed Pikria Darchia, 55, of Georgia, Jade Young, 47, Ashlee Good, 38, Faraz Ahmed Tahir, 30, of Pakistan, Cheng Yixuan, 27, of China, and Dawn Singleton, 25, and wounded 12 others including Ashlee Good, then 38. After the stabbings, New South Wales Police Force police inspector Amy Scott fatally shot Joel in the chest.

Who is Joel Cauchi?

Cauchi worked as an English tutor. He is Andrew Cauchi and Michelle Cauchi‘s youngest son.

Andrew and Michelle are known to be religious. They followed the Pentecostal faith.

Originally from Toowoomba, Queensland, Australia, Joel spent his childhood and university years in Brisbane, Queensland. Here are 13 more things about him:

1. In 2001, he was diagnosed with schizophrenia.
2. In 2012, he graduated from the University of Southern Queensland in Toowoomba with a bachelor’s degree in international relations and culture and language.
3. In May 2019, he met Josephine Everson, then 18, on a dating site, met in person at a coffee shop at Northpoint Shopping Centre in Toowoomba and started dating.
4. In October 2019, he moved to Brisbane and stopped communicating with Everson.
5. In 2020, he matched with a Brisbane woman on Tinder. They never met in person due to the new coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic restriction.
6. In January 2023, he called his father and said he was about to be homeless because he had lost his unit in Brisbane.
7. On October 25, 2023, he send a private Facebook message to Stefan Deutsch as a response to Deutsch’s surfing lessons advertisement. He never replied after Deutsch said the lessons were not free.
8. In December 2023, the Queensland Police Service interacted with him over suspicious behavior.
9. In January 2024, he looked for someone to help him learn about astrophotography at a dark sky site in Sydney and advertised on at least three male escort sites.
10. In February 2024, he posted a review about Palm Beach, Sydney, describing it as a beautiful spot with an amazing beach.
11. On April 8, 2024, he wrote on Facebook, “Hi I am surfing Bondi this afternoon if anyone wants to meet there for a surf!”
12. At around 3:10 p.m. on April 13, 2024, he stabbed 18 people in the Westfield Bondi Junction shopping center.
13. At 8:30 a.m. on April 14, 2024, the New South Wales Police Force confirmed that he was fatally shot by a police inspector. He was 40.