A man who doused a baby with a flask of piping hot coffee in a heinous unprovoked attack in Australia last month managed to flee the country, sparking an international manhunt.
The disturbing incident took place on August 27, when the nine-month-old child – named as Luka – was enjoying a picnic with his parents in Hanlon Park in Brisbane, the capital of Australia’s Queensland region.
Witnesses say a ‘strange man’ sidled up to the unsuspecting family and dumped the scalding contents of a thermos flask on the boy’s head before sprinting away.
Baby Luka sustained significant injuries and was forced to undergo multiple surgeries and skin grafts, his parents told Australian media.
Queensland police last week issued an arrest warrant on charges of grievous bodily harm.
But the suspect somehow managed to elude capture and is believed to have boarded a flight out of Sydney airport just 12 hours before investigators confirmed his identity.
A senior investigative official claimed the suspect must have been ‘aware of police methodologies’ and had conducted ‘counter-surveillance activities’ to escape the country, while the victim’s mother told reporters in Brisbane of the family’s heartbreak.
The suspect somehow managed to elude capture and is believed to have boarded a flight out of Sydney airport just 12 hours before investigators confirmed his identity
The suspect (pictured) allegedly poured a thermos of scalding coffee over the infant before fleeing. Luka suffered life-threatening burns to his face, upper body and arms
Little Luka has undergone four surgeries following the sickening, unprovoked attack
Little Luka had been on a picnic with his mother in Hanlon Park, in inner south east Brisban, when the man approached them at about midday on August 27
‘It sounds like they were very, very close (to) catching him,’ the baby’s mother told reporters earlier today.
‘This obviously means that we’re going to have to wait who knows how long to get justice for our son – it’s a bit heartbreaking.’
Detective Inspector Paul Dalton described the case as one of the ‘most complex and frustrating’ he had ever investigated.
Although police now know the suspect’s name and destination, they have refrained from sharing further details to avoid jeopardising the ongoing manhunt.
Police did however confirm that the suspect, who has been described as an itinerant worker, has travelled back and forth to Australia several times since 2019 and has lived in both New South Wales and Victoria.
CCTV and enhanced images of the man who conducted the savage attack on the young baby were obtained by Queensland police shortly after the incident.
But it took investigators five days for police to identify the individual who carried out what they described as a ‘cowardly’ act.
‘He was aware of what we do to find people,’ Det Insp Dalton said.
‘I was in the investigation centre when we put a name to the face and it was a very happy room, only for us to do a check-in 15 minutes and find out we’ve lost him,’ he added.
‘We’ve got 30 detectives working for me. They’re devastated that they missed this person by 12 hours.
‘I was deflated, but that deflation quickly turned into determination and resilience to get the job done.’
The man could face a maximum penalty of life in prison if convicted.
Generous Australians have so far donated over $152,000 to a GoFundMe page, set up to support baby Luka’s ongoing recovery
Detective Inspector Paul Dalton (pictured), who described the incident as a ‘savage attack’, said the accused was ‘aware of police methodologies’ and had been ‘conducting counter-surveillance activities’
Det Insp Dalton said the man drove to New South Wales a day after the alleged attack before flying out of the country from Sydney on August 31.
The baby boy’s mother said that it was some relief that the alleged attacker was no longer in Australia.
‘I had no idea where this person was, I didn’t want to leave this hospital because it became our safe space,’ she said.
‘Returning home I had panic attacks, and still continue to do so.
‘I do feel relief that he’s not in this country, in some sense, but I will always have fear and anxiety being out in public with my son – it’s affected my mental health for the rest of my life.’
Baby Luka’s father believed the police had done everything they could to find the man but the mother wanted answers.
‘I just want to know why, why he did this,’ she said.
‘These are questions that may always be unanswered.’
Det Insp Dalton said he was still scratching his head over a possible motive.
‘There’s not many investigations where you don’t get a clear motive. It’s strange,’ he said.
Luka’s father said his son was in ‘good spirits’ and ‘doesn’t want to sit still’ despite undergoing a ‘pre-skin graft’ today
Baby Luka is pictured in the park in Brisbane prior to the attack
Police said the 33-year-old man had no family or criminal record in Australia and had worked all over the country in Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria.
He had either been on a working or a holiday visa since first coming to Australia in 2019.
Police will now work with international partners to find him.
‘The AFP has already started inquiries in the relevant country, with relevant authorities,’ an Australian Federal Police statement said.
Asked what his message to the man would be, Det Insp Dalton said: ‘We will keep going until we find you – I have not lost that determination.’
The parents said their son was in good spirits following the attack, but may take years to recover from the injuries he sustained.
A GoFundMe page for the child has so far raised more than $150,000.