Slain mum, daughter’s killer named

The man who killed a mother and daughter while searching for his ex-partner has been identified, as police continue to piece together what happened in the lead up to the horrific double murder suicide.

Jennifer Petelczyc, 59, was murdered alongside her 18-year-old daughter Gretl, at their Floreat home in Perth by 63-year-old Mark Bombara, who turned the gun on himself.

WA Police believe Bombara attended the property looking for his former partner, however, when he didn’t find her at the home, he shot the mother and daughter.

“The male discharged a firearm, killing the 59-year-old female, and critically injuring the younger female,” WA Police Detective Inspector David Gorton said on Saturday afternoon.

“St John provided emergency treatment to the younger female at the house, she was then taken to Royal Perth Hospital, but unfortunately, she tragically died.”

“The 59-year-old deceased female was a friend of the man’s ex wife.”

The man was a licensed firearms holder and the owner of the firearm used in the blast of violence.

Detective Inspector David Gorton said the police arrived at the scene of the crime and heard a final shot.

“We’re aware that police were on the street when the last shot was fired and we believe the last shot was the male taking his own life,” he said.

He said a family member had alerted the police to the unfolding horror.

“We received phone calls from a family member,” Detective Inspector Gorton said.

“We are still reviewing those particular calls and how they came to know what was going on at the house. That is still the subject of the investigation.”

He said the man’s ex wife and the Ms Petelczyc were “good friends” and the woman and the man were known to each other or had “met previously”.

The police are unclear at this time how many shots were fired.

Detective Inspector Gorton said the police would classify the blast of violence as a double murder suicide.

It will not be classed as a domestic violence incident because the man and the women were not related to one another.

He also said the man was known to the police but he did not have a history of violence and was not being monitored by officers.

Police are investigating whether the women were cable-tied while the gunman made a series of threatening phone calls before the execution-style killings, WA Today reports.

Neighbours told 9 News Perth they saw the suspect driving up and down the typically quiet street multiple times on Friday afternoon before he entered the home.

The victims’ family and the man’s ex-wife are receiving support from the police, he said.

Gretl attended St Hilda’s Anglican School for Girls before studying at the University of Western Australia, according to her Facebook profile.

Ms Petelczyc was a widow after losing her husband Jon in 2019.

Following his death, Ms Petelczyc wrote that she did not know if her heart would “mend or learn to live in pieces” in her husband’s eulogy, according to The Daily Mail.

“Jon, you were the love of my life, I don’t know if my broken heart will mend or learn to live in pieces,” she wrote.

“If I could choose again, I’d still choose you.

“Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can and the wisdom to know the difference. Eternally yours, Jenny.”

The murders come as Australia grapples with an rising crisis of male violence against women,

Independent Curtin MP Kate Chaney, whose electorate takes in Floreat, said she had spoken with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese about the incident on Saturday morning.

“Enough is enough,” she said.

“So many women that I’ve spoken to in my community last night and this morning are feeling exhausted and furious because more women are dying at the hands of a man.

“I spoke to the Prime Minister this morning and he sends his condolences to our community and I again reiterated to him that we need a sense of urgency on this issue.”

WA Police were called to Berkeley Cr in Floreat about 4.30pm on Friday after reports a gunman had fired shots at a home.

Specialist detectives and the Tactical Response Group were just some of the swarm of police sent to the scene.

The investigation into the circumstances surrounding the deaths is ongoing.

Neighbour Archer Beattie told 9News he heard tyres screeching, driving, “lots of sirens, and then the occasional crack”.

The home is on a quiet street and near the Floreat Forum.

“Thinking of the family, neighbours and community in Floreat tonight,” state MP and former social worker Katrina Stratton posted.

Fellow state MP Christine Tonkin said piecing together what happened would take time.

“We don’t know exactly what happened or why it happened but we do know that tragically two people have died and another has been injured in a quiet Floreat street,” she posted before it was announced the third person died.

“We know that the people in this neighbourhood are shocked, confused and grieving. It will take time to make sense of what has happened and for life to return to a semblance of normality. In the meantime, let’s be gentle with each other.”

Floreat is a wealthy suburb, with a median house sale price of $1.83m, nearly three times the wider Perth median.

It sits in a wedge of expensive, established suburbs between the Swan River and Indian Ocean.

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