The mother of a baby who was doused with hot coffee is ‘extremely frustrated’ with police after her son’s attacker was able to flee abroad.
The woman and her son were on a picnic with his mother at Hanlon Park in Brisbane’s south-east on August 27 when a stranger allegedly approached them and tipped a thermos of scalding hot coffee over the baby before fleeing.
The baby suffered severe burns to his face, upper body and arms and has undergone more than five operations at Queensland Children’s Hospital.
He will face multiple more surgeries and some of the scars will be long-lasting.
On Monday afternoon, Detective Inspector Paul Dalton confirmed the family’s worst fears that the suspect had fled Australia.
The 33-year-old flew out of Sydney Airport on August 31 using his own passport, just 12 hours before police confirmed his identity.
Detectives know his name and nationality, but are refusing to reveal it publicly for fear of jeopardizing the investigation.
But Luka’s mother, who asked to remain anonymous, criticised police for keeping her and her partner in the dark.
Little Luka was on a picnic with his mother at Hanlon Park in Brisbane’s inner south-east on August 27 when a stranger (pictured) allegedly approached them and dumped a thermos of scalding hot coffee on the baby before running away.
The nine-month-old baby (pictured with his mother) suffered severe burns to his face, upper body and arms and has undergone more than five operations at Queensland Children’s Hospital. He faces multiple more surgeries and a lifetime of permanent disfigurement.
“They know his name and they know what country he’s from, but they haven’t revealed that to us either, which is extremely frustrating,” Luka’s mother told the Kyle & Jackie O show on Friday morning.
KIIS FM presenter Kyle Sandilands, who is a new father, volunteered to hunt down the attacker abroad and was outraged by the secrecy.
“Why are you protecting this guy who has done one of the most horrendous things a human being could do? Why are you protecting him while you and Luka suffer?” he raged.
Luka’s mother said she felt that revealing the man’s identity would hamper the investigation.
“In some ways, releasing this information would jeopardize the case because they have to work with the country he’s in to extradite him to Australia,” he said.
“I don’t know how it works. Every time they talk to me I don’t understand what they’re saying. I just want justice. I want to know all the information, but they don’t give it to me.”
Daily Mail Australia has contacted Queensland Police for comment.
Jackie O Henderson fought back tears during the interview.
KIIS FM presenter Kyle Sandilands (pictured) volunteered to join a crack team of investigators searching overseas for the attacker and was outraged by the detectives’ secrecy.
Nine-month-old Luka suffered life-threatening burns after being attacked in a Brisbane park
Jackie O Henderson (pictured) held back tears during interview with Luka’s mother
“I can’t even imagine how horrible it must be to know that this guy isn’t even here in the country. How could someone do something so horrible?” she said.
“You can’t imagine that kind of evil and your poor, poor little baby.”
Henderson asked Luka’s mother if she had ever encountered the culprit.
“For the first few days, all I could think was, ‘Have I met this person before? What did I do wrong? What happened?'” Luka’s mother replied.
“Because to me, hurting a baby is beyond anything I could ever imagine doing. He has to be a psychopath or something.”
Sandilands repeated his criticism of the authorities’ vague and “woke” description of the alleged perpetrator, who was reported to have had “tanned” skin rather than being more specific and saying he was of Asian appearance.
The 53-year-old radio host dismissed it as “nonsense” and asked Luka’s mother if she thought it was hampering the search.
“I’ve thought about all the things that have been published and all the things that haven’t been published and maybe if more CCTV footage had been released, someone would have recognised him,” Luka’s mother replied.
She added: “I can’t imagine he can get away with this and live a normal life when it has affected us for the rest of our lives.”
He said the boy was “doing well” despite having to go into hospital for another surgery on Friday morning.
“It will be every four days for the next four weeks and then it will be once a week for two weeks.”
He added: “Unfortunately, there will always be scars.”
Luka’s mother told KISS FM radio presenters that she felt revealing the man’s identity would hamper the investigation (pictured is the nine-month-old baby).
“I’ve thought about all the things that have been published and all the things that haven’t been published and maybe if more CCTV footage had been released, someone would have recognised him,” Luka’s mother replied.
She added: “I can’t imagine he can get away with this and live a normal life when it has affected us for the rest of our lives.”
He said the boy was “doing well” despite having to go into hospital for another surgery on Friday morning.
“It will be every four days for the next four weeks and then it will be once a week for two weeks.”
He added: “Unfortunately, there will always be scars.”
The hosts have pledged to donate $10,000 to the GoFundMe set up to help raise funds for Luka’s hospital treatment, adding to the $160,000 already donated.
Luka’s mother previously told Daily Mail Australia that his “little chirp” was what gave her the strength to carry on.
“That little gurgle of his is what gives me strength to know that he’s going to get through this and he’s going to be OK,” she said.
“Hearing him laugh for the first time melted my heart. It’s what gives me courage and positivity for the future.”
Police were able to track baby Luka’s alleged attacker to the Brisbane suburb of Tarragindi, where he changed clothes outside a church.
Queensland Police Detective Inspector Paul Dalton said the accused was “aware of policing methodologies” and had been “conducting counter-surveillance activities” following the attack.
He then took a rideshare to central Brisbane, before moving to Caxton Street, where his trail initially went cold until it was discovered he had fled the country.
Queensland Police Detective Inspector Paul Dalton said the accused was “aware of policing methodologies” and had been “conducting counter-surveillance activities” in the days following the attack.
He eventually managed to escape from Sydney airport with his own passport without being detected.
“This is probably one of the most complex and sometimes frustrating investigations I have ever been involved in and led,” he said Monday.
Detective Inspector Dalton said the man was clearly “aware of what we (police) do to find people” and that their efforts to catch him had initially been delayed after he was wrongly identified as a different man.
He said the attack was the “most cowardly” he had witnessed in his career.
“A young mother and baby are sitting on the floor and you allegedly approach them from behind,” Detective Inspector Dalton said.
“Can you think of anything more vulnerable than that? And how to take advantage of it? You’re probably right, it’s one of the most disgusting cases I’ve ever seen.”