Deadly ricochet: Police gunfire killed one of Sydney siege victims, inquest is told

One of two hostages who died after a 16-hour siege at a Sydney cafe in December was killed by ricocheting fragments of police bullets, an inquest into the deadly stand-off heard.

Barrister and mother-of-three Katrina Dawson, 38, died along with cafe manager Tori Johnson, 34, and Iranian-born gunman Man Haron Monis, 50, when police stormed the cafe in Sydney’s financial district in the early hours of December 16.

“Ms Dawson was struck by six fragments of a police bullet or bullets which ricocheted from hard surfaces into her body,” counsel assisting the coroner’s inquest, Jeremy Gormly, said Thursday.

“I will not detail the damage done to Ms Dawson other than to say that one fragment struck a major blood vessel. She lost consciousness quickly and died shortly afterwards.”

The NSW Coroners’ Court inquest will outline what happened in the siege, which involved 17 hostages, investigate the police response and delve into the background and motivations of Monis.

A separate investigation commissioned by the federal and New South Wales governments is set to submit a report in the next few days. The coroner’s inquest will review the report’s findings.