Sly: A very concerning problem that’s getting worse in Victoria

Gabriel Messo’s family begged mental health workers to put him in hospital before he stabbed his own mother and was shot dead by police.

The 30-year-old, who had diagnosed bipolar, asked his mother to come to a park in Melbourne’s north in July 2020, where he repeatedly stabbed her in the head and neck with a wooden stick, leaving her with an acquired brain injury.

A coronial inquest has heard Messo’s family had pleaded with mental health workers to help him before the terrible incident.

A day before he attacked his mother, Messo was taken to the Royal Melbourne Hospital for a mental health assessment before being discharged back into police custody.

John ‘Sly’ Silvester says Victoria is treading a concerning path.

“If we continue down this track, which we clearly are, there will be more and more Gabriel Messo’s,” Sly told Ross and Russel.

Press PLAY below to hear what has Sly deeply concerned