SYDNEY’S STABBING HORROR
A woman’s tragic death – and the heroes who stood up to her alleged killer
She could have been anybody. Bright and beautiful, with a passion for travel, Sydney woman Michaela ‘Mikki’ Dunn had her future ahead of her. But it was cruelly and viciously taken away from her when the 24-year-old’s throat was allegedly slashed by Mert Ney, killing her prior to a rampage through Sydney streets on August 13. Three days later, NSW police charged 20-year-old Ney with murder, attempted murder, wounding with intent to cause
grievous bodily harm, intentionally choking with recklessness and common assault.
It is alleged Ney visited Dunn in a Clarence Street apartment, where she was a sex worker, and 13 minutes later she was dead. Disturbingly, police allege Ney, who reportedly had a history of mental illness, filmed a short video of Dunn’s lifeless body and sent it to a friend. At 1.50pm, CCTV footage shows him leaving the apartment. It is alleged he then stabbed Linda Bo, 41, in the shoulder at the Hotel CBD.
Shedding light on her daughter, Michaela’s mother, Joanne Dunn, described her as a “beautiful girl from a beautiful family” and “very much loved”. Michaela’s sister, Emily Dunn, told The Daily Telegraph the family was “in shock” and “trying to grieve”. A passionate traveller, Michaela had visited Sri Lanka and the United States, where she attended the Coachella music festival during the past year.
Friend Joan Westenberg, who said she had known Michaela since she was 14, spoke of their special bond, describing Michaela as “an incredible person. In every single way”.
“Her sister and I were together for six years, and Mikki was like my baby sister,” she told Guardian Australia. Heartbroken friend Ashleigh Elise described Michaela as “my other half and the love of my life”. “My world has been taken away from me,” she said.
Dedicated to her studies, Michaela graduated from Catholic Rosebank College in Five Dock, graduating in 2012. Principal Tom Galea said Michaela was remembered as a “highly successful and much valued student”. She went on to study at Notre Dame University’s Sydney campus, graduating from a business course in 2016.
It’s unclear who among her family and friends knew she was a sex worker. According to Scarlet Alliance, Australian Sex Workers Association chief executive officer, Jules Kim, Michaela’s alleged killer had seen sex workers, including Michaela, on multiple occasions. Kim said while Michaela was a sex worker it was a “only a small part of her life”.
Ney’s alleged knife-wielding rampage shut down part of the city. Channel Seven cameraman Paul Walker was stuck in gridlocked traffic in the city when he saw Ney run past his car. “You could see there was blood on his hands and you could see that there was a huge knife he had and he also had a woollen balaclava on,” Walker told WHO. Quickthinking Walker then grabbed his camera and started filming, as Ney allegedly jumped on top of a car. The situation was getting out of hand.
Amid the tragedy of Michaela’s death, and Ney’s allegedly terrifying behaviour, there is a positive story – that of the heroes who risked their lives to stop the stabber.
Around 3pm, Jase Shore, a former soldier with the Australian Army, used a milk crate to pin the accused to the ground. “It was just something there, at my feet, within arm’s reach while I could still see the offender, so it was one of the only things I could grab at the time,” Shore told 9 News.
Lawyer John Bamford, the father of actress Anna Bamford, was also at the scene and subdued the knife-wielding man using a cafe chair, earning him the nickname “chair man”. “When something like this happens on your doorstep out of nowhere, you have no choice. You have to do something about it,” he told Sunrise.
A day after Michaela’s horrific murder and the chaos of the rampage, a small teddy bear and plastic rose were left at the Clarence Street building where her body was found with a note reading: “Rest in Peace.
“You could see blood on his hands” — Paul Walker