Authorities feared Man Haron Monis's missing de facto partner was acting as his accomplice and possibly holding the trigger to bombs planted around the city during the Sydney siege.
Fresh details have emerged of the frantic search by police for Amirah Droudis after Monis told negotiators he had three bombs planted around the CBD soon after taking 18 people hostage on Monday.
After confirming the gunman's identity, police realised Ms Droudis, who shares her partner's extreme views, had been reported missing that morning by her mother.
That sparked serious concerns she was Monis's accomplice and led police to take the gunman's bomb threat more seriously.
They tracked her down several hours later.
Droudis had acted as Monis's spokesperson for many years, delivering YouTube messages on behalf of the self-declared sheikh.
In one video uploaded in 2009, a niqab-clad "Sister Amirah" proclaims she is a terrorist and that she had committed terrorist acts "many times" in Australia.
In a rambling address, she explains anyone who commits a sin is a terrorist, alluding to her previous life as a non-Muslim.
Monis's personal website address is emblazoned on the bottom of the video. The website has since been taken down.
After the siege came to its tragic end on Tuesday, riot police raided the Belmore home in Sydney's southwest at which a hostile Droudis had been living.
It's understood she has refused to talk to or co-operate with police.
That has left officers unclear of how much knowledge, if any, she had of Monis's deadly plans.
A shotgun-bearing Monis spent more than 16 hours holding the hostages inside the Martin Place cafe before it came to a dramatic end.
Police weren't prepared to risk a sniper shot because of fears it would set off a bomb Monis was feared to be carrying.
Wires could be seen hanging from the gunman's backpack but after Monis was shot dead, the bomb squad found an old stereo speaker in the bag.
It is believed the first shot police heard from the cafe after 2am on Tuesday was a warning shot from Monis.
A second shot heard several minutes later was believed to be the execution of 34-year-old cafe manager Tori Johnson.
Barrister and mother-of-three Katrina Dawson also died after being shot and suffered a heart attack.
With Monis's lengthy criminal history and interaction with many levels of the NSW police force, authorities recognised him through the cafe windows in the first few hours of the siege.
"As soon as they saw him through the glass, they knew," a source said.
It's understood Monis had met a lawyer in the CBD shortly before he launched the hostage crisis.
News Corp Australia reports one of Monis's lawyers had bumped into the gunman in the Lindt cafe before the siege started.
Droudis is on bail charged with murdering Monis's ex-partner Noleen Pal in 2013.
He was charged with being an accessory to the murder of Ms Pal, who was stabbed and had her body set alight.
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