Mental Health Facility Escapee Allegedly Stabs Man to Death in Sydney Attack
A family has been left shattered after their brother was allegedly stabbed to death by a man who had absconded from a mental health facility in Sydney's west. The tragic incident has exposed what authorities describe as a critical security crisis within New South Wales' mental health system.
Fatal Stabbing at Merrylands Shops
Setefano Mooniai Leaaetoa, 25, allegedly stabbed three people at shops on Merrylands Road in Merrylands about 10am on Tuesday. Amamuddin Sadar, 38, died at the scene from his injuries, while a 47-year-old woman and a 21-year-old man remain hospitalized receiving treatment for their wounds.
Sadar's siblings spoke to media about their unbearable grief and shock following the sudden loss of their brother. "Deep pain that we cannot express the way it hurts," his sister Meena said through tears. "We'd love to bury him with our own hand."
Victim Remembered as Hardworking Immigrant
The family revealed that Sadar moved to Australia from Afghanistan fifteen years ago in search of a better life. His brother Masoud described him as "a very, very honest and compassionate person towards everyone." A former housemate paid tribute on social media, remembering Sadar as "incredibly hardworking" and noting that "we'd always exchange a simple greeting, and he seemed very sincere."
The family is now seeking government assistance to allow relatives overseas to travel to Australia to say their final goodbyes to Sadar, whose life was cut short in what appears to be a preventable tragedy.
Mental Health System Security Failures
NSW Health confirmed that Leaaetoa fled authorities on February 7 while being transferred between Cumberland Hospital and Westmead Hospital's emergency department. This occurred just two days after he was admitted to the facility. He has since been charged with murder along with two counts of causing grievous bodily harm with intent to murder and will remain behind bars until at least May 13.
Alarmingly, just one day after Leaaetoa's escape, another man, 31-year-old Luke Francis, allegedly absconded from the same facility after overpowering a nurse and stealing her access pass. Francis allegedly stole a car, leading police on an hour-long pursuit before colliding with another vehicle at the intersection of Remembrance Drive and the Old Hume Highway south of Camden on Saturday. Two women—60-year-old Lee Casuscelli and 84-year-old Maureen Crosland—died at the scene of that collision.
System in Crisis
NSW Premier Chris Minns acknowledged that the state's mental health system "has gone badly wrong." He stated, "NSW Health is treating more people with psychiatric illnesses than ever before and the vast majority of those cases end up with the community being kept safe, the individual getting help that they need. But this one has gone badly wrong, and we need to make sure that we're learning the lessons from it."
Nick Howson, NSW Nurses and Midwives' Association Cumberland branch president who works at the hospital, was blunt in his assessment: "The mental health system is broken. There's not enough people to go around, either security, nursing or medical." Howson shared his own traumatic experience, revealing, "I was dragged over a wall by a very large individual and I ended up in a hospital bed on spinal precautions."
Another nurse, Teaghanne Sarina, described a similar violent encounter: "Kicked me in the chest and broke three of my ribs. I was alone in this situation because it was just two nurses to six patients."
Calls for Major Reforms
Cumberland Hospital is one of Australia's largest mental health facilities, dealing with the community's most troubled and sometimes violent patients. The consecutive escapes and resulting tragedies have sparked urgent calls for major changes to better protect staff, patients, and the wider community.
Mental health advocates, nursing unions, and government officials are now demanding comprehensive reforms to address what appears to be systemic failures in security protocols, staffing levels, and patient management within New South Wales' mental health infrastructure.
