A Perth gunman who shot dead a mother and daughter before taking his own life had become fixated on the breakdown of his marriage, an inquest has heard.
Mark James Bombara, 63, killed Jennifer Petelczyc, 59, and her 18-year-old daughter, Gretl, at their home on May 24, 2024. He then died by suicide.
The deaths are being examined by the WA Coroner’s Court, including the circumstances surrounding Bombara’s separation from his wife, Rowena, and the police response to warnings about him.
Bombara’s friend of more than 20 years, Allan Maher, told the inquest that he had been behaving erratically and repeatedly talking about his estranged wife before the killings.
“He couldn’t get his head around the fact that she had left him and he couldn’t understand why,” Mr Maher said.
The couple had separated in April after 35 years together. Mr Maher said Bombara regarded his marriage as a source of pride and struggled to accept that it had ended.
“He was a short, fat bloke, and he had a trophy wife, tall, blonde, long-legged, good-looking,” Mr Maher said. “He couldn’t cope with the fact he’d lost the trophy.”
He said Bombara believed he had done nothing wrong and was focused on preventing Rowena from gaining access to their money.
Mr Maher recalled Bombara saying: “I’ll get the bitch … I’ll get that c***.” He described him as “rambling” and said Bombara blamed his daughter Ariel for the marriage breakdown.
“Ariel and Rowena were rolled into one unit, and he said he didn’t get on with Ariel,” Mr Maher said. “They were working together to get him.”
Police response to family violence warnings examined
The inquest has heard allegations that Rowena was subjected to coercive control, verbal abuse and physical abuse during the marriage.
Jennifer had been friends with Rowena for years and supported her during the separation. Ariel’s lawyer, Kathryn Kraus, said Rowena and her daughter went into hiding after Rowena left Bombara because they feared for their lives.
“Rowena was fearful that Mr Bombara would kill or injure her,” Ms Kraus said.
Rowena and Ariel reported their concerns to police on several occasions. Officers noted that Bombara was jealous and controlling and had access to multiple firearms, but Ms Kraus said the matter was not escalated sufficiently.
“The WA Police Force had sufficient information to issue a police order and to seize Mr Bombara’s firearms,” she said. “Despite this, neither of those actions occurred.”
The inquest is examining the police response to eight triple-zero calls made before the killings and whether Bombara should have been licensed to possess the 13 firearms he owned.
His medical care will also be considered after he suffered several strokes and began experiencing mental instability. The inquest previously heard he became angrier, moodier and at times “unhinged” following the strokes.
The inquest continues on Tuesday.
