Warning: This story contains distressing content.
Gretl Petelczyc, 18, made her first call to triple-zero at about 4.30pm on May 24, 2024, after Mark Bombara entered her home in the wealthy inner-Perth suburb of Floreat with a gun. She can be heard quietly asking for police, giving her location and telling the operator, “there is a guy in my house with a gun.”
The operator tried to put the call through to the WA Police Assistance Centre, but the call was not answered for one minute and 20 seconds, counsel assisting the Coroner, Rachael Young, told the inquest. The call was then disconnected at Gretl’s end.
At the same time, Gretl’s mother, Jennifer Petelczyc, 59, was on the phone to Bombara’s estranged wife, Rowena Bombara, and his daughter Ariel, who could hear Jennifer telling Bombara, “She’s not here. I told you she’s not here” and then, “Mark put down the gun” or “Mark put the gun away.”
Ariel called triple-zero herself about five seconds after Gretl did. The Police Assistance Centre took almost a minute to answer that call. Rowena said she heard Mark say, “put the zip ties on, you know how they work.” Gretl’s sister also called triple-zero after receiving messages saying “call the police”, “my hands are tied”, “he has a gun”, “help” and “call police.”
“Gunshots were heard through the phone [call to Rowena], which was communicated by Ariel to the police officer,” Young said. CCTV from a neighbouring property then captured Jennifer saying, “come back, no” and then, “come on darling. No, please don’t.” Bombara can then be heard saying, “right now, you get ...” followed by a woman screaming.
Gretl called triple-zero again and whispered, “there is a guy with a gun in my house.” The call was put through to the Police Assistance Centre, which was not answered for another minute and five seconds.
“While the operator is doing that, a scream can be heard, followed four seconds later by something that sounds like a gun shot,” Young said. “By the time the Police Assistance Centre picked up, the call had been disconnected.”
In total, five gunshots were heard. Bombara shot both women dead before turning the gun on himself. Police arrived to discover the bodies.
Mark Bombara, 63, was hunting for his estranged wife, Rowena, who had asked for a divorce and fled the family’s Mosman Park home. Bombara wrongly assumed she was staying with her best friend, Jennifer. He was armed with two handguns.
Bombara’s daughter Ariel spoke out days after the deaths, pointing the finger at WA Police. She revealed she and her mother had sought help on multiple occasions, warning of her father’s increasingly erratic behaviour while he had access to 13 guns he legally owned. She claimed officers “did not have much care for our situation” and, in a statement read out at the inquest on Monday, said the officer who addressed their concerns at Mirrabooka Police Station on Easter Sunday was “rude, patronising and didn’t seem to care.”
WA Police conducted an internal inquiry, with a report finding that eight officers had failed to perform their duties, causing them to face internal disciplinary action.
Young said six issues needed examination: the police response to family violence, Bombara’s firearms licence continuation, the response to triple-zero calls, problems with a police radio system on the day, the healthcare Bombara received, and the response to concerns about his mental health.
Bombara’s other three children, Isaac, Eden and Candice, supplied a statement arguing that, in their opinion, their father’s mental health was a “much more significant factor to investigate.” They said their father “was not a physically abusive person, but rather he had become seriously unwell in the months preceding the events.” They said his stroke and brain cyst diagnoses in January 2024 and a second stroke on May 4, 2024, resulting in an acquired brain injury, led to behavioural changes and altered thought processing. They added that they were “beyond disappointed” in the care their father received at Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital in the months before the murders.
“We wonder frequently if dad had received the care he was due, would Jenny and Gretl still be alive, and would he have not killed himself,” the statement read.
The inquest heard that one of Bombara’s daughters, Candice, asked health professionals for a mental health assessment on May 7 while he was admitted to the hospital. Her concerns were noted, but Bombara was discharged and sent home. Doctors who assessed Bombara and police officers will give evidence during the inquest.
If you or anyone you know needs support, call Lifeline on 131 114 or Beyond Blue on 1300 224 636.