At 2:03am on Tuesday, December 16, 2014, six hostages escaped from the Lindt Cafe in Martin Place, where they had been held captive for over 16 hours.

Gunman Man Haron Monis fired shots from his sawn-off shotgun. They did not hit any of the hostages.

Ten minutes later, Monis shot and killed cafe manager Tori Johnson.

Police tactical teams stormed the cafe, killing Monis and fatally wounding barrister and mother-of-three Katrina Dawson.

The final minutes of the siege were studied exhaustively throughout the 18-month inquest: Where was Monis situated in the final minutes? Could he have been disabled with fewer bullets? Should the police have gone in earlier?

Coroner Michael Barnes released his findings last week emphasising that Monis should be the "sole focus" of the public's condemnation.

But he was also critical of many aspects of the police operation and said that police waited "too long" to enter the cafe.

In a two-part special investigation reporter Sarah Ferguson examined exactly what took place on the day of the siege.