Killer’s GP saw no ‘red flags’ in mental health review
Aaron Bunch |
A gunman’s doctor says she didn’t know about his family’s concerns for his mental health before he murdered two women.
Mark James Bombara, 63, shot dead Jennifer Petelczyc, 59, and her daughter, 18-year-old Gretl, at their Perth home on May 24, 2024, before killing himself.
Bombara had been searching for his ex-wife Rowena, a longtime friend of Jennifer’s.
He had become fixated on his failed marriage, counsel assisting the coroner Rachael Young said in her opening remarks to an inquest examining the circumstances of their deaths.
Bombara had sent an email in late March to his children telling them he had a stroke and he wouldn’t “be around for much longer” and that he was incapable of clear thinking, Ms Young has said.
General practitioner Arwen Boyle had five appointments with Bombara about his health issues in the months before he died.
“He was a sad man who had come in and said, ‘My wife just emailed me, and she wants a divorce,'” she told the WA Coroner’s Court on Tuesday.
“He told me he had no idea it was coming.”
Dr Boyle referred Bombara to a psychologist to help him deal with the break-up, but says she had no concerns about his mental health.
On May 13, Bombara reported low mood to Dr Boyle and said one of his daughters wanted him to see a psychiatrist, but there were no “red flags”.
“I questioned him about whether he was having thoughts of self-harm or suicide or thoughts of harm to others, which he denied,” she said.
The pair also discussed Bombara’s possible cognitive decline and depression following two strokes in the previous months and the need for further testing to determine whether he needed medication.
Dr Boyle said she was unaware of the concerns held by Bombara’s family about his behaviour.
She was also unaware Bombara’s wife had called his previous GP in March to report that his condition had deteriorated and he was not making sense.
“We take it seriously if a family member says that they have concerns,” she said.
“I didn’t have any clues. No one ever called. No one ever reached out with any concerns, unfortunately.
“I wish I’d known that there was risk. I wish that I’d really understood that someone had concerns.”
After Rowena left Bombara, she and her daughter Ariel went into hiding “in fear for their lives”, Ariel’s lawyer Kathryn Kraus has previously told the inquest.
Dr Boyle’s last appointment with Bombara was on May 16, eight days before he murdered the Petelczycs.
She said he was coping well with his separation and making plans for the future.
“He came across as a well-put-together gentleman who was sad over the end of his marriage, who was fairly much just looking forward to rebuilding,” she said.
Dr Boyle, who was at times tearful while recounting the details of six appointments with Bombara, stopped being a GP after the shootings.
Neurologist Kevin O’Connor said Bombara’s strokes and a 10cm brain cyst that he had likely had since birth were highly unlikely to have been the cause of his murderous rampage.
But the strokes could have contributed to him having undiagnosed depression.
Dr O’Connor said Bombara’s planning and actions before the murders showed a high level of cognitive ability.
“Going to the rural property to get a firearm, changing vehicles, disabling location software,” he said.
“That shows quite a high level of planning, computational thinking.
“There was good organisation.”
The inquest is examining the police response to eight triple-zero calls before the murders and the family violence allegations against Bombara.
It will also investigate whether he should have been licensed to hold the 13 firearms he owned.
Bombara’s medical care after he had several strokes and started experiencing mental instability will also be investigated.
The inquest continues.
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AAP