Shooter's medical care focus of inquest into Floreat double murder

A coronial inquest into the double murder of Perth mother Jennifer Petelczyc and her daughter Gretl is expected to begin today, focusing on the medical care provided to their killer in the lead up to the fatal shooting.

WARNING: This story contains details that may distress some readers

Mark Bombara, 63, shot and killed his estranged wife's best friend, Jennifer Petelczyc, 59, and her daughter, Gretl, 18, in their Floreat home, before turning the gun on himself.

He had gone to their house in May 2024 looking for his estranged wife and his daughter.

Bombara made menacing phone calls, triggering a massive police response, but when officers arrived at the Berkeley Crescent home Bombara and Jennifer Petelczyc were dead.

Gretl was rushed to Royal Perth Hospital but died a short time later.

It was a tragedy that shocked the state, exposed police failings and forever changed the state's gun laws.

What will the inquest examine?

A pre-inquest hearing in June heard the coroner's primary focus would be investigating the medical care Bombara received in the lead-up to the shooting.

An expert neurological report on Bombara was requested, but no detail has been provided on Bombara's medical history or why the report was ordered.

The actions of police officers, the state's gun laws and how family and domestic violence played a role are also expected to be examined over five days.

The internal police investigation

Bombara's daughter, Ariel, had been trying to warn police for weeks that her father had a history of family and domestic violence and was a real and imminent threat.

She and her mother had fled the family home weeks earlier, fearing for their lives, and had told officers that one of Bombara's 13 guns was missing, but no action was taken.

A WA Police investigation found eight officers did not perform their duty and internal disciplinary action was taken.

No officer was sacked.

"The finding is that officers did not correctly assess the risk, therefore the available powers under the Restraining Orders Act and Firearms Act were not exercised appropriately," WA Police Commissioner Col Blanch said in January 2025.

Ariel Bombara's response to the police report was scathing.

"We told you he was going to murder us. So did you not believe us? Or did you just not give a sh*t?" she said at the time.

"This was the perfect storm of apathy and compassion fatigue from officers combined with shoddy systems, outdated policies and insufficient training and support that resulted in a lethal outcome."

One of the recommendations from the police report was for a family violence coordinator to always be present at the state Operations Command centre to allow officers to seek expert advice.

Australian Bureau of Statistics data shows WA Police are responding to one family and domestic violence incident every 20 minutes.

Changes to WA gun laws

Mark Bombara legally owned 13 guns, including 11 firearms on a recreational licence and two handguns on a collector's licence.

That is no longer possible.

Less than a week after the double-murder suicide, the WA Parliament vowed to change the state's gun laws.

The reforms came into effect in March 2025 and are now the toughest in the nation. They have reduced the number of licensed guns in the state by a quarter.

Recreational licences no longer exist, and collectors' licences are much stricter.

There are limits of 10 guns and a requirement for a mental health check every five years.

But what are likely to make the biggest difference are the disqualification orders, which allow for the immediate removal of a person's firearms when a report of domestic or family violence has been made.

It removes the ability for police officers to use discretion to assess whether the risk threshold has been met.

The changes were met with backlash from The Nationals and the WA Firearms Community Alliance who suggested they were an overreach affecting law-abiding gun owners, while not targeting illegal guns in the community.

A 2024 record-breaking ePetition in Parliament was signed by more than 31,000 people who also were against the changes.

Family violence failings

The deaths of Jennifer and Gretl Petelczyc were a turning point for the state's response to domestic and family violence, but in the two years since, the number of women and children killed by violence has continued to climb.

According to Australian Femicide Watch, 60 women and 28 children across Australia have been killed by violence so far this year.

What more needs to be done to protect Australian families will be heard in the inquest, which is expected to sit for five days.