A friend of a woman who was fatally stabbed in the Bondi Junction massacre has broken her silence as she shares a message to the men who saved her baby.
Emma Van Der Waal learned of the death of her long-time friend Dr Ashlee Good when her colleagues started posting tributes to the beloved osteopath.
The new mother, 38, was one of six people killed by Joel Cauchi, 40, when he embarked on a stabbing spree inside the Westfield shopping centre on April 13.
Ms Van Der Waal told New Idea she ‘couldn’t believe’ that her friend of 10 years had been caught up in a massacre that sent shockwaves around the world.
‘All Ash ever wanted to do was find her soulmate and have a family,’ she said.
She shared a message to the men who helped Dr Good’s nine-month-old baby Harriet after the mother and daughter were injured.
‘I can’t get past the last bit of what she would be thinking. She would have wanted someone to save her baby. That’s Ash … she was so selfless,’ Ms Van Der Waal said.
Dr Ashlee Good, 38, was one of six people killed by Joel Cauchi, 40, after he embarked on a stabbing spree inside Westfield Bondi Junction on April 13. Her baby was also injured
People are seen hugging at a vigil at Bondi Beach for the victims on Sunday evening
Dr Good died shortly after arriving at St Vincent’s Hospital with her husband Daniel Flanagan making it just in time to say his final goodbyes.
Mr Flanagan then rushed to Sydney Children’s Hospital where his baby daughter was undergoing surgery. She has since been discharged from hospital.
Ms Van Der Waal said she wanted people to remember her friend for the person she was.
‘Everyone had a special bond with her,’ she said. ‘She was like a beacon of light and I think that’s why so many people are hurting. Ash will be so missed.’
A GoFundMe page has raised almost $700,000 for Dr Good’s family.
‘Ash was a ray of sunshine and positivity in every aspect of her life and died a hero saving her little girl from the most unspeakable evil,’ page organiser Steven Foxwell said.
‘These funds are being collected for the benefit of Dan and Harriet to give them the freedom to go forward into the future without financial burden or worry.
‘We know that no amount of money will ever substitute her presence in their lives and thank you for your generous donations to date.’
The six victims who were killed at Bondi Junction (from top left): Yixuan Cheng, Ashlee Good, Pikria Darchia, Jade Young, Dawn Singleton and Faraz Tahir
Shoppers Dawn Singleton, 25, Jade Young, 47, Pikria Darchia, 55, and Yixuan Cheng, 27, along with security guard Faraz Tahir, 30, were the other five victims killed.
Dr Good and her baby were the first to be attacked by Cauchi and the first to be publicly identified in the wake of the massacre.
Cauchi stabbed 12 more innocent shoppers during the terrifying rampage before he was shot dead by NSW Inspector Amy Scott.
Hundreds of people gathered at a candlelight vigil for the six victims at Bondi Beach on Sunday evening, with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in attendance.
Mourners took a minute of silence to remember those killed at a vigil in Bondi Junction
Mr Albanese said Australia was mourning ‘for all the years of joy they should have known and all the memories they should have had the chance to make’.
‘The new life they would have lived here in their new country, the success they would have achieved in whatever career they embraced,’ he said.
‘The happiness they would have created, the care they would have shown. The beautiful children they would have raised with such love.’
Hero policewoman Amy Scott also attended and was met with hugs from her colleagues as she arrived at the emotionally-charged event.
Westfield Bondi Junction resumed trading on Friday, almost a week after the attack.
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