More needs to be done to address mental illness in Australia in the wake of Queensland man Joel Cauchi's violent stabbing spree at a Sydney mall over the weekend, a leading expert on criminal psychology says.
Six people died and at least 12 others, including a baby, were seriously wounded.
The rampage ended when 40-year-old Cauchi was shot dead by police inspector Amy Scott.
Criminal psychologist Tim Watson-Munro, who has worked on hundreds of murder trials, told Breakfast this morning: "There was a debate about whether he was mad or bad.
"The diagnosis is schizophrenia, but my view — having looked at the footage, having read articles about him — was that there was considerable planning attached to his criminal behaviour.
"The latest information would tend to corroborate that; raids have shown that he had Googled how to kill people, he had accessed weapons, he had an obsession with weapons."
And Cauchi's father has said his son was lonely and wanted a relationship with a woman but was repeatedly rejected, Watson-Munro added. Police have said the killer deliberately targeted women in his rampage.
"So, I think what you have here is a person who is obviously unhinged — but somebody who knew what they were doing, somebody who was capable of planning six murders in a short space of time, and somebody who was very angry and percolating.
"What do we take away from that?
"We need to be doing more to recognise people with mental illness, that's a big part of the story," he said.
Watson-Munro also linked the crime with other social issues.
"It's hard for people even with incomes to get into homes in Sydney and Melbourne," he explained. "He was living rough, living in his car.
"So it's multifactorial but I think he planned this to great effect ... he knew what he was doing."
SHARE ME