A man accused of throwing coffee over a nine-month-old baby at a Brisbane park has finally been identified by police – but the foreign national has now fled overseas.
Little Luka Burgic had been on a picnic with his mother, Erna, in Hanlon Park, in inner south east Brisbane, when the man allegedly approached them at about midday on August 27 and poured a thermos of scalding coffee over the infant before fleeing.
The baby suffered life-threatening burns to his face, upper body and arms and has undergone four operations in Queensland Children’s Hospital.
Queensland Police raised fears last week the man may have travelled interstate or overseas before confirming on Monday he had fled the country.
The 33-year-old man was in NSW on August 28 before he flew out of Sydney Airport on August 31 on his own passport – just 12 hours before police confirmed his identity.
A warrant has since been obtained for his arrest for grievous bodily harm, which carries a possible life sentence.
Detective Inspector Paul Dalton, who described the incident as a ‘savage attack’, said the accused was ‘aware of police methodologies’ and had been ‘conducting counter-surveillance activities’.
‘This is probably one of the most complex and sometimes frustrating investigations I’ve had to be involved in and lead,’ he told reporters.
A man accused of throwing coffee on a nine-month-old baby at a Brisbane park has fled overseas with cops issuing a warrant for his arrest
The baby suffered life-threatening burns to his face, upper body and arms
Detective Inspector Dalton said the man was clearly ‘aware of what we (the police) do to find people’ and that cops had been stymied in their efforts when they initially received the wrong name.
‘It wasn’t until the first of September that we were able to put a name to the face in the CCTV,’ he said.
‘Even at that stage, we probably didn’t have enough evidence to obtain a warrant.
‘We’ve since been to New South Wales and Victoria to gather that information, and the warrant has been granted.’
Detective Inspector Dalton said he knew which country the man had fled to but could not share that information while the investigation was still live.
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’.
He said the man had been in and out of Australia since 2019 and had been ‘lawful’ each time.
‘There’s no adverse holdings that we can find on him in Australia,’ Detective Inspector Dalton said.
He said the man was in the country on a visa and had addresses ‘across the eastern seaboard’ but not in Queensland.
The accused had been an ‘itinerant’ worker in Queensland, NSW and Victoria and police had interviewed some of his former colleagues.
Detective Inspector Dalton said the attack was the ‘most cowardly’ he had witnessed in his career.
‘A young mother and a baby sitting on the ground and you are allegedly approaching them from behind,’ he said.
Little Luka has undergone four surgeries following the sickening, unprovoked attack
Detective Inspector Dalton said the attack was the ‘most cowardly’ he had witnessed in his career (pictured: the suspect who has now fled overseas)
‘Can you think of anything more vulnerable than that? And to take advantage of that? You’re probably right, it’s one of the most disgusting ones I’ve come across.’
Detective Inspector Dalton vowed that he would not stop until the man is caught.
‘I’ve got 30 detectives working for me. They are devastated that they missed this person by 12 hours,’ he said.
‘I think only the family would be more upset about that.’
Detective Inspector Dalton encouraged anyone with any information to come forward.
‘People may feel safe now that this person has fled Australia, to actually come forward to police,’ he said.
‘I encourage them to do that. There’ll be no judgement on you whatsoever.’
The man is described as being in his 30s or 40s and of a proportionate build with tanned skin.
He was wearing a black hat, glasses, a shirt and shorts at the time of the attack.
Police have tracked his movements after the attack to the southern Brisbane suburb of Tarragindi, where he changed his clothes outside a church.
He then caught a rideshare car into central Brisbane, before moving onto Caxton Street where the trail went cold.