A Brisbane bus driver slain in a horrific firebombing at the hands of a mentally ill man has been remembered as a “bright star of the community” as a coronial inquest into his death begins.
Family and friends of Manmeet Sharma paid tribute to the beloved singer and actor outside Brisbane Coroners Court on Monday, six years after his shocking death.
Mr Sharma, also known as Manmeet Alisher, died on October 28, 2016, when Anthony O’Donohue boarded his bus in Moorooka in Brisbane’s south.
O’Donohue was carrying a backpack containing a “Molotov cocktail” full of diesel and petrol fuel that he ignited and tossed at Mr Sharma.
The court was told on Monday that Mr Sharma’s killer suffered from delusional, paranoid thinking and believed he was being “persecuted by unions”.
Rhiannon Helsen, counsel assisting the coroner, said O’Donohue boarded the bus at 9am and it filled with thick black smoke when the Molotov cocktail was ignited.
She said passengers and members of the public attempted in vain to extinguish the fire.
“All of this was captured on CCTV,” Ms Helsen said.
Despite being charged with murder and multiple counts of attempted murder, O’Donohue was declared of unsound mind and therefore not criminally responsible for his actions.
He is being held in a mental health facility for at least a decade.
“What is clear is O’Donohue suffered from a severe chronic psychotic illness when he killed Mr Sharma,” Ms Helsen said.
Ms Helsen told the court that O’Donohue was discharged from the mental health service in 2016 but attempted to get back in coxjmtzywntact with practitioners.
She said O’Donohue was told he was “closed to the service”.
Mr Sharma was a prominent Indian singer and well known member of Brisbane’s Punjabi community and his death prompted an outpouring of grief.
Outside court, family friend Pinky Singh paid tribute to Mr Sharma as a “magnet” and “really positive guy”.
“He was always smiling and happy,” Ms Singh told reporters.
The inquest into Mr Sharma’s death is examining the mental health treatment O’Donohue received from various Queensland services and the decision to discharge him from the Metro South Mental Health Service in 2016.
It will also examine what actions can be taken to protect the safety of bus drivers and prevent a similar tragedy from occurring again.
The inquest continues.
