Mert Ney’s family feared he was going to kill himself just days before he allegedly murdered a woman and went on a stabbing rampage, but police were unable to find him because of a monumental administrative blunder.
The accused attacker, 20, stormed through the CBD on Tuesday afternoon brandishing a large kitchen knife and soaked in blood.
Michaela Dunn, 24, was then found dead inside a Clarence Street apartment at 3.15pm, just over an hour after Ney allegedly stabbed Linda Bo, 41, in the back.
Those close to Ney say his ‘steep descent into insanity’ became so clear in the seven days leading up to the attack that police were trying to track him down.
But as police searched for him, they were unaware that Ney was living in government emergency housing and could easily have been located – potentially saving Miss Dunn’s life.
Michaela Dunn, 24, was found dead inside a Clarence Street apartment at 3.15pm, just over an hour after Ney allegedly stabbed Linda Bo, 41, in the back
While many were shocked by the alleged actions of 20-year-old Mert Ney (pictured), those close to Ney say his ‘steep descent into insanity’ became clear
Mert Ney is accused of killing a woman before running through the Sydney CBD with a large knife and stabbing another. He was restrained by civilians and firefighters using a crowbar, a chair and a crate (pictured)
The Australian reported it all began on August 7, when Ney’s mother and sister called police following an alleged intense confrontation at their family home in Marayong, in Sydney’s west.
Earlier that day, he arrived at Blacktown Hospital’s emergency department after suffering a prescription drug overdose.
Melinda Ettery, a patient in the emergency room, told the Seven Network it was clear he was agitated.
‘He was loud and boisterous, being rude to nurses and doctors,’ she said.
Hours later he left the hospital and returned to his family home where he allegedly confronted his sister, Yazel Ney.
The 20-year-old allegedly punched her in the face and choked her before she and her mother contacted police.
Ney managed to escape before officers arrived, leading them on a week-long hunt to find him, holding fears he was going to kill himself.
The sister, who declined to be named, said she wanted her brother to suffer for what he had done, and to be put in the worst (most severe) mental health institution to stop him from hurting anybody else
Stunned onlookers were frozen in the street as the man with a knife (pictured) began his rampage through the streets
Police Commissioner Mick Fuller today revealed that Ney had been reported missing before Tuesday’s dramatic rampage on Clarence Street
Two days later, he went to a local GP on and said he was having suicidal thoughts, worrying the doctor so much he contacted police.
According to police, Ney once again escaped before he was seen again at Blacktown Hospital that same day, but just for a few hours.
In the three days before the rampage through Sydney, Ney was living in government emergency housing at a community house in Blacktown.
A police source told The Australian they had only found out after Ney caused chaos in the city that he was in emergency accommodation.
‘Police were searching for him and we had concerns, but it’s still a mystery to us why we didn’t get a call,’ the source said.
According to The Daily Telegraph, it was the fault of Communities and Justice for not liaising with police or health authorities about Ney’s potential danger.
A sex worker was later found with her throat slashed inside her central city apartment (Pictured, her neighbour’s apartment)
Ms Dunn was then found dead in the apartment in the CBD, with police since saying she was a sex worker and Ney was her client earlier in the day.
Detectives believe he travelled into the city on Tuesday with the intention to ‘kill and be killed by a cop’s gun’.
It is believed the appointment was made for 1.30pm, but Ney only spent 20 minutes in the Clarence Street apartment.
Ney was seen on CCTV footage leaving the building at 1.50pm, and police allege he killed her before fleeing the block in a blood-soaked jumper and causing chaos through the streets of Sydney.
Investigators believe Ney and Ms Dunn had no prior contact before Tuesday but are looking through their phone records to determine the nature of their relationship.
‘From our early investigations it appears the accused never had any intention of paying the victim for services that he had made arrangements for,’ an investigator said.
‘Likewise it seems clear that he wanted to be killed by police.’
Teenage homeless couple Courtney Ridgeway, 19, and Nathan Tgiy, 16, described Ney as ‘agitated’ and ‘scary’ when they stayed in a room next-door to his at the emergency accommodation.
They heard the 20-year-old discussing terrorism on his phone an information he had on USB stick.
Police are seen taking evidence from Ney’s home in western Sydney on Monday night after spending hours inside
Ney stands accused of shutting down Sydney’s CBD during a terrifying rampage that left a 24-year-old sex worker dead. The woman’s body is seen being taken from her home
‘He was talking about terrorism and Allahu Akbar – he loved that word, he was saying it a lot,’ Ms Ridgeway told 9News.
‘I think he had it planned what he was going to do the next day.
‘He just said he had a USB and was researching, studying what was on it.’
Ney was taken down by heroic bystanders after he stabbed 41-year-old Linda Bo in the back in broad daylight.
Shortly after, Ms Dunn was found in dead in the apartment.
Pictures shared to social media showed Ms Dunn travelled through Sri Lanka and the US in the past year, as well as previously holidaying in Europe.
Her mother told Nine News Ms Dunn was a ‘beautiful, loving woman who had studied at university and travelled widely’. She also said the young woman was ‘very much loved’.
‘While her family appreciate the support offered by the community, they have requested their privacy at this difficult time,’ a statement from police read.
‘The investigation into the circumstances surrounding Michaela’s murder is being led by detectives from the Homicide Squad under Strike Force Lalchere.’
Michaela Dunn, 24, was allegedly murdered at a Sydney apartment by Mert Ney on Tuesday
Police believe Ms Dunn was a sex worker, and had arranged to see Ney as a client at 1.30 on Tuesday. Her body was found about 3.15pm – little more than an hour after Ney allegedly stabbed a second woman in the back
Neighbours of the 24-year-old sex worker were shocked when they heard of the gruesome killing, many claimed they did not hear a peep on the day she died
Ms Ridgeway (pictured) said Ney had approached them saying he was ‘homeless’ and had been ‘kicked out’ by his mum
Ney’s sister, who declined to be named, has apologised to the family of his alleged victim, saying: ‘Sorry a million times.. I’m just really sorry to the victim’.
Ms Ney said her brother had a ‘steep descent into insanity’ and she wanted him to ‘suffer’ and be punished severely by the law for what he had allegedly done.
‘I want him to suffer. I want them to just put him in like the worst mental health institution where it’s like jail,’ she said.
The woman said she felt ‘shocked, angry, disgusted – I hate my last name’ in remarkably candid comments near the family home in western Sydney.
‘Mostly I just want to say sorry to (the victims),’ the tearful sister said. ‘She (the slain 24-year-old found dead in a unit) was like, younger than me.
‘She could’ve been like going out in a few hours to go shopping with her mum, eat dinner with her boyfriend, her girlfriends and s***. She can’t do that now, can she?’
‘All the words I could say isn’t ever going to bring her back … I’m really sorry, she was like, defenceless and everything.’