Mark Bombara’s daughter breaks silence after he killed a mum and a teenager in Perth
The daughter of the man who murdered a mother and her teenage daughter in Perth before turning the gun on himself tried to warn police about him three times.
Mark James Bombara, 63, shot Jennifer Petelczyc, 59, and her daughter Gretl, 18, after they showed up at their Floreat home, in the city’s west, on Friday afternoon.
He had been looking for his ex-wife, a close friend of the older woman, who had left him weeks ago and had been staying at Ms Petelczyc’s house.
When Bombara couldn’t find his ex, he tied up the mother and daughter with cables and made several threatening phone calls, The West Australian reported, before shooting them both and then killing himself.
Bombara was known to the police, but had no history of violence and was not under surveillance.
Ms Peteczyc and Bombara both died at the Berkeley Crescent residence, while Gretl was rushed to Royal Perth Hospital where she died on Saturday morning.
His daughter, Ariel Bombara, has since issued a devastating statement, detailing her desperate attempts to alert police to her father.
Ariel Bombara has revealed that she contacted police three times to warn them of the threat her father posed
Mark James Bombara, 63, killed a mother and daughter in Perth before turning the gun on himself
Mark Bombara, 63, stormed Jennifer Petelczyc’s home in Floreat, in Perth’s western suburbs, at around 4.30pm on Friday, looking for his estranged wife Rowena. Unable to find her, Bombara instead shot dead her 53-year-old friend Jennifer Petelczyc and her daughter Gretl, 18, (pictured together) before turning the gun on herself.
Mark James Bombara was on the hunt for his former partner, Rowena, who was staying with Ms Petelczyc after their bitter divorce (Bombara and Rowena are pictured together)
Mark Bombara’s daughter, Ariel Bombara, has since issued a devastating statement, detailing her desperate attempts to alert police about her father.
She said she spoke to police three times between March 30 and April 2.
“Each time, I alerted officers to my father’s fun, telling them that my mother and I felt there was a real and immediate threat to our lives,” she wrote.
“I specifically said there was a Glock pistol that was not reported. I understand that this would ultimately be one of the weapons my father used to kill two innocent women.”
Ariel also asked police for a 72-hour temporary protection order, which was denied by police.
“We were told no and that there was nothing the police could do about the situation at that time,” she continued.
Bombara owned 11 guns under a recreational shooting license and two pistols under a collector’s licence, one of which was used to kill Ms Petelczyc and Gretl.
Police Minister Paul Papalia said Bombara had no previous convictions or any form of violence ban against him.
Mr Papalia said Bombara became known to police after his ex-wife asked if officers could be present at the house while she packed up her belongings due to “family domestic violence”. [FDV] related matters’.
“But none of these cases had been reported to police and he was not known to police in any way other than her approaching them at the time,” Papalia said.
Ariel said she and her mother fled the family home on March 28 because they feared for their lives.
Gretl, who recently achieved her P plates, was just getting started in life after completing high school and earning a bachelor’s degree in sport from the University of WA. Her mother had been considering whether to tell her daughters about the threat posed by Bombara
Mark and Rowena’s adult children are (from left to right) Isaac, Eden, Candice and Ariel Bombara
On April 2, when police officers accompanied them to retrieve belongings from their family home, Ariel again raised concerns about the presence of weapons.
“One officer said, ‘Oh, don’t worry, we know all about the weapons,’ and when he called for backup, he warned his fellow officers to wear body armor,” she said.
‘During the three reporting moments we were ignored by five different male officers.
‘At that moment we felt completely helpless and I had to concentrate on getting my mother to safety. I did everything I could to protect my mother, and when my father couldn’t find us, he killed her best friend and her best friend’s daughter.
‘What my father did was an act of domestic violence. My mother and I made it clear that lives were in danger, and we were repeatedly ignored. Failed repeatedly. These failures cost the lives of two incredible women.
“My father must always be held accountable for his actions. They were his and his alone; However, there are authorities who should have helped us stop him, and they failed. I want answers.”
The killer’s gun would have been illegal under the new laws
Bombara would not have had access to the murder weapon under Australia’s strictest gun laws, which are being debated in WA parliament.
Mr Papalia said WA’s proposed laws would be the toughest in the country; that they would have prevented Bombara from obtaining the collector’s license; and that he would have been limited to owning five guns.
“This individual was, unfortunately, a fit and proper person until he committed that act, and he was a law-abiding gun owner until he no longer did so,” he said Monday.
“Under the current law, that is what is happening and that is why we want to make the laws stricter.”
Bombara would also have been forced to undergo a health check with a mental health component.
The government will now consider further measures to strengthen the legislation, including giving police the power to confiscate weapons following incidents of family and domestic violence.
Gun control expert Charles Watson said WA’s proposed gun laws were extraordinary and sophisticated.
“In global terms it will easily be the best gun legislation in the world which is much better than the other states here – I think other states will be forced to look at what WA has done,” Professor Watson told AAP.