00:00On day three of the inquest, Miss Cannon's family and friends had to hear the harrowing
00:07details of her final moments, grateful she had someone by her side.
00:12One of the hardest things for us throughout this whole ordeal was the thought that Lynn
00:18may have died alone.
00:19Shane Toovey, a St John paramedic, was the first emergency responder to arrive at the
00:24scene in Lansdale in December 2022.
00:27Fifty-one-year-old Lynn Cannon had been repeatedly stabbed by her former husband, Paul.
00:32Mr Toovey told the court he wrestled with the decision to enter the property alone,
00:36knowing an armed man could still be inside.
00:39He said he had his own family and wanted to go home to them.
00:43But after failing in attempts to contact police for backup, he went inside.
00:46We would like to see him nominated for a bravery award because what he did and how hard it
00:53must have been for him to know that she was just metres away.
00:58Mr Toovey attempted to provide aid but said he realised her injuries were too severe.
01:03The ambulance officer told the court he looked at Miss Cannon, brushed the hair out of her
01:08eyes, told her he was sorry and that she was safe now.
01:12She died four minutes before police arrived.
01:14That was more than an hour after Miss Cannon's sister had alerted police Paul had threatened
01:18to kill Lynn earlier that day.
01:21The court heard Mr Toovey was on scene without backup for 15 minutes.
01:25He reassured us that Lynn looked at him and he held her hand and spoke words of comfort
01:32to her and that's just, that has brought us so much comfort.
01:38The WA Police Force have since implemented several changes, including embedding a paramedic
01:43within its emergency call centre to ensure a similar incident doesn't happen again.
01:48Police are also ready to adopt any changes recommended as a result of the inquest.
01:52The coronial inquest process has changed policing for the better over many, many years because
01:58of the recommendations, because of these inquests.
02:00We always improve our processes and our systems to make our community safer and I've no doubt
02:07we will do it on this occasion as well.
02:09The inquest will resume in December.
02:18For more information visit www.fema.gov
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