The estranged wife of alleged Bondi gunman Sajid Akram has reportedly refused to claim his body, as fresh details emerge about his life in the months leading up to the deadly attack that killed 15 people.
Sajid, 50, was shot dead by police on December 14 after he and his 24-year-old son, Naveed Akram, allegedly opened fire at the Chanukah By The Sea event in Bondi, an attack authorities believe may have been inspired by ISIS. Naveed was critically injured in the incident and has been charged with 59 offences, including 15 counts of murder and one count of committing a terrorist act.
A week after the massacre, news.com.au reports that Sajid’s body remains at the coroner’s office.
According to 7News, his estranged wife, Verna, wants “nothing to do with him” and has handed his body over to the government for a destitute burial.
Verna also revealed that Sajid had been homeless in the six months before the attack, moving between short-term Airbnb rentals across Sydney’s southwest. Their last known residence was a property in Campsie, from which the father and son drove to Bondi Beach on the evening of December 14.
Before allegedly opening fire, the pair parked a silver 2001 Hyundai Elantra on Campbell Parade and displayed an ISIS flag in the window, targeting Jewish families celebrating the first day of Hanukkah.
Later that evening, police raided a property in Bonnyrigg, southwest Sydney, previously owned by Sajid and Verna. Naveed reportedly lived there. The Daily Mail reported that the three-bedroom home, originally purchased in 2016 for $700,000, was transferred solely into Verna’s name in February 2024 at a value of $477,500, with its current estimated worth around $1.09 million.
Sajid, who held an Indian passport, had travelled to India six times since migrating to Australia in 1998. Officials in Telangana said his visits were mainly for family matters, and he had no criminal record or known ties to radical groups in India. “The factors that led to the radicalisation of Sajid Akram and his son appear to have no connection with India or any local influence in Telangana,” a police source said.
Sajid’s family, including his elderly mother and a doctor brother, still reside in Hyderabad’s middle-class Muslim neighbourhood of Tolichowki, where neighbours described the area as peaceful with no history of criminal activity.
In November, Sajid and Naveed reportedly travelled to the southern Philippines, where they are believed to have received military-style training in Mindanao, a region known for Islamic State activity. Australian authorities are investigating the claims, which the Philippines government has begun reviewing. The pair returned to Sydney on November 28 after leaving Davao via Manila.
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