Bio

Dimitrious "James" Gargasoulas was 26 years old in January 2017. He lived in the Melbourne suburb of Windsor at his mother's flat. His mother's partner lived in the same block of flats.

He had a brother. His father later said "he's not the Jimmy I used to know" and said he would "scratch his son off his books". His mother told reporters she was ashamed to be his mum and said she wanted her son to "die in hell".

Police records show he was known to police and had a history of illicit drug use, family violence, and mental health problems. He had been involved with police before, including court cases in 2013 and 2014 and a police pursuit in November 2016.

In the days before January 2017 he posted messages on Facebook about religion, God, Satan, heaven and hell. Writers for The Age described those messages as rambling and often nonsensical.

Murder Story

On 20 January 2017 around 1:30 pm AEDT, a car was deliberately driven into pedestrians along Bourke Street in the Melbourne central business district. Six people were killed and twenty-six were seriously injured. The driver was James "Dimitrious" Gargasoulas. He was later found guilty of six counts of murder and sentenced to life in prison with a non-parole period of 46 years.

The maroon 1995 Holden Commodore used in the attack was stolen from his mother's partner. In the early hours of 20 January, Gargasoulas had used methamphetamine at his mother's flat. He attacked his brother that morning, stabbing him in the head and chest and leaving him in critical condition. He later took his pregnant girlfriend hostage before she was released in South Wharf.

CCTV footage showed the car driving and behaving erratically near Flinders Street station. Two men, Tevita Mahina and his cousin Isaac Tupou, tried to stop the car by hitting the windscreen with a baseball bat. The driver continued up Swanston Street on the footpath toward the Bourke Street Mall, then turned left onto Bourke Street and struck more than 20 pedestrians.

The vehicle stopped outside 555 Bourke Street after a combination of mechanical failure and being rammed by a Victoria Police Ford Territory. Victoria Police officers from the Critical Incident Response Team shot the driver in the right arm and tasered him before arresting him. A child and two adults died at the scene. Another man died in hospital the same day, a three-month-old baby boy died the next evening, and a sixth person died on 30 January.

Among the dead were a 10-year-old girl, a three-month-old baby boy, a 25-year-old man, a 22-year-old woman, a 33-year-old man, and a 33-year-old woman. A memorial for the victims was held at Federation Square on 23 January, and floral tributes were left along the Bourke Street Mall. The Victorian Government established a fund to help the families of the deceased and announced plans for a permanent memorial garden.

Police interviewed more than 300 witnesses and said the attack was not an act of terror. The State Coroner announced an inquest into the decision to release Gargasoulas on bail and other events from that day. A 31-day inquest was held between November 2019 and February 2020. On 19 November 2020, the coroner criticised Victoria Police's handling of the incident.

Gargasoulas had a history of illicit drug use, family violence, and mental health problems. In the days before the attack he posted messages on Facebook about religion and other subjects. Medical experts later said that on the day of the offence he was suffering from a drug-induced psychosis and had amphetamine-type substances, barbiturates and benzodiazepines in his system. Experts also said he was aware of his actions and could skilfully avoid fixed obstacles while driving. In November 2018, he was found guilty of six counts of murder and 27 counts of reckless conduct endangering life.