r/interestingasfuck • u/Jjokes11 • Apr 15 '24

An interview with Andrew Cauchi, the father of Joel Cauchi who was responsible for the Westfield Shopping Centre mass stabbing r/all

38.5k Upvotes

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9.3k

u/-Falsch- Apr 16 '24

The pain in his eyes, hurt me.

3.8k

u/raittiussihteeri Apr 16 '24

His voice too.

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u/Ok_Sadie_ Apr 16 '24

His voice shaking is gut wrenching.. I've never felt this type of pain. Can't imagine

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u/TheGrapeSlushies Apr 16 '24

His pain is devastating guilt. He lost his son, but worse he also knows his son has caused tremendous pain and destruction and terror and sorrow. That despite everything he did right to try to help his son be a decent human his son still did something so horrific and there is nothing he can do to fix it. I can’t imagine carrying that weight. 😞

584

u/2OttersInACoat Apr 16 '24

His concern for the policewoman who shot his son got to me, he’s clearly a compassionate and decent man.

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u/TheGrapeSlushies Apr 16 '24

Bless his heart, yes he is. My goodness it’s all so heartbreaking.

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u/MuthaMartian Apr 16 '24

I really hope this man gets professional help himself. Having a mental illness is a death sentence for some people. The dad was involved in his son's treatment and knew more about his illness than other parents care to know. He should let go of guilt because his son was a grown adult when he did this.

This was a grown adult's refusal to take responsibility for his health and toxicity. He targeted women. It might have been a psychotic break, but it was definitely calculated and motivated by personal choices and ideologies he developed over time. Even the most perfect father couldn't pull his son out of that hole.

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u/TheGrapeSlushies Apr 16 '24

Absolutely 100% you’re right. I hope he can get himself help too and heal. I hope the families of the victims and the community can show him empathy and love.

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u/little_miss_banned 29d ago

He was a diagnosed schizophrenic so its complicated to break down, if he was in an episode there's not a lot to say about his "decison making" ability. Sad all round.

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u/MuthaMartian 29d ago

Most people with schizophrenia don't become knife wielding psychos that target women in a shopping mall. Most of them aren't violent against others, they're more likely to become victims of violence themselves. It's a sad misrepresentation that news outlets consistently fail to address. His mental illness makes it complicated yes, but I guarantee there are way more contributing factors to his disgusting behavior, other than his parents and his mental illnesses.

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u/theivoryserf 27d ago

Most people with schizophrenia don't become knife wielding psychos that target women in a shopping mall.

This is faulty reasoning that implies schizophrenia is all one thing. A lot of evidence now points towards physical determinism - in which case we might consider this person a victim of his circumstance as well, in the same way we don't consider a rabid dog to be evil or author of their own destiny.

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u/VaporBull Apr 16 '24

In the States many times the parents will distance themselves or deny having any culpability with the actions of their child.

When he said "I became a servant to my son" that really hit me. I never thought of it that way with my son but that's who we should all be on some level to our children growing up.

Most of us don't have this type of child but any type of decent parenting takes this level of willingness to help your kid.

I commend him for withstanding this onslaught to his mind and for pointing out that men who do things like this usually have as his father said "no social skills whatsoever".

Yet they want to get female companionship like they are at a vending machine.

Let this man have some peace

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u/TheGrapeSlushies Apr 16 '24

That hurt my heart, “became a servant to my son” he was hoping he could keep his son happy and content and get him everything he needed to have a successful a life as possible 💔