'Unlikely' neurological conditions led to Floreat double murder, inquest hears

The premeditated actions of a man who shot dead a mother and daughter in their Perth home showed “high-level” planning skills and it was unlikely his neurological conditions were a contributing factor, a court has heard.An inquest is underway in Perth into the 2024 murders of Jennifer and Gretl Petelczyc by gunman Mark Bombara, who went to their home in the western suburb of Floreat looking for his estranged wife Rowena.Bombara had gathered guns, disabled the location on his mobile phone, and written a letter before forcing his way into the Petelczycs' home, and today neurologist Kevin O’Connor told the court the level of planning indicated he was in control of his actions.Police in Floreat in the hours after the women were killed. (ABC News: Ruby Littler)The 63-year-old gunman had been admitted to hospital about two weeks before the murders, after suffering multiple strokes that resulted in an acquired brain injury. After reviewing Bombara's MRI and medical notes, Dr O'Connor said it was unlikely the strokes had affected the gunman's behaviour. "It is very unusual for a stroke of this nature to affect personality," Dr O'Connor said. The independent expert said while post-stroke depression was common and seen in about 30 per cent of patients, he had never seen it result in homicidal intent.He said a large cyst found on Bombara's brain was likely there from birth and also would not have affected his behaviour. When asked by Acting State Coroner Sarah Linton if the strokes may have provided a level of disinhibition similar to being "drunk", the doctor responded that would only account for actions undertaken "in the heat of the moment" — but the murders had been planned "over days".Yesterday the inquest heard that during Bombara's two-day stay in hospital, his eldest daughter Candice had raised concerns with hospital staff about his deteriorating mental health. In a letter to the coroner, three of Bombara's adult children said they had witnessed significant mood changes in the months before the murders and believed their father should not have been discharged from hospital without a comprehensive mental health assessment.Police minister concernYesterday the inquest heard Gretl's first Triple Zero call on the day of the shootings was not answered by staff at the Police Assistance Centre for one minute and 20 seconds, and by the time they did answer, Gretl was no longer on the call.A second Triple Zero call, made by Bombara's daughter Ariel, was not answered for about two-and-a-half-minutes. Reece Whitby described the evidence at the inquest as "heartbreaking". (ABC News: Keane Bourke)Speaking at a press conference on Tuesday, Police Minister Reece Whitby said he was "very concerned" about the evidence being heard by the inquest, particularly around how long it took police to respond."When you're calling Triple Zero, it's usually about life and death," he said."And it's heartbreaking, it really is heartbreaking, to hear a young girl on the phone, pleading for help and assistance … and that not happening as quickly as we all want."So we need to get to the bottom of this, we need to ensure that we improve the service."Mr Whitby said he was open to any recommendations from the coroner to address shortcomings, but that the government had already acted in a range of ways."And if we can learn more that will make West Australians even safer, we will do so," he said.