An internal investigation by Western Australia’s police force into the murders of a mother and daughter has found eight police officers failed to perform their duties to the necessary standard. Mark Bombara shot and killed Jennifer Petelczyc and her 18-year-old daughter, Gretl, in their Floreat home last may before turning the gun on himself.
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00:00Essentially, Joe, he said police failed, they got it wrong.
00:07As you mentioned, Mark Bombara shocked the nation in May last year when he shot and killed
00:11Jenny Patelchess and her 18-year-old daughter Gretel inside their Florian home in Perth.
00:17He was looking for his ex-wife and his daughter, Arielle Bombara.
00:23And in the aftermath of those murders, Arielle revealed that she had tried to warn police
00:28in the lead-up, in the weeks leading up to those deaths, that her father was dangerous
00:33and that he had guns.
00:34Now, WA police have since been conducting an internal probe into how her warnings were
00:41handled.
00:42And today, WA Police Commissioner Cole Blanch has handed down the findings of that investigation.
00:48As you mentioned, eight police officers have been found to have failed in their duties.
00:53Here's the police commissioner speaking earlier.
00:56Family violence is a community scourge.
00:59It's one we all must be focused on addressing.
01:03And the recommendations are exactly that.
01:05They are police recommendations, but family violence is a system that we all must address.
01:12And Rhiannon, Arielle Bombara has also spoken.
01:15What's her reaction to these findings?
01:18She has.
01:19She's given another powerful address to the media, her third since this tragedy.
01:24And every time she speaks, Jo, she is eloquent and measured.
01:29And her message has been consistent.
01:30It is that this shouldn't have happened.
01:34She warned of what her father was capable of.
01:38And it mustn't happen again.
01:39These deaths must not be in vain.
01:41Here she is speaking earlier.
01:43This report identifies all of the risk factors we communicated to the police.
01:48His history of abuse, access to and incorrect storage of firearms, including concealable
01:54handguns, that he was escalating, that he'd had a recent stroke.
01:59We told you that he was going to murder us.
02:01So did you not believe us or did you just not give a shit?
02:07I can have empathy for human beings making mistakes, but that is a lot of human beings
02:13making a lot of mistakes.
02:16Ariel Bombara speaking there.
02:18This investigation has prompted 18 recommendations and WA police say 11 of them have already
02:24been actioned, Jo.