A worldwide hunt is on for a man who Australian police say severely scalded a baby boy by throwing hot coffee on him before rushing off and eventually fleeing the country. The Guardian and BBC report that, in an incident that took place late last month in Brisbane's Hanlon Park, the suspect allegedly approached a picnic gathering the baby's family was attending and poured the boiling liquid from a flask onto the infant. Despite being rendered first aid and receiving assistance from an off-duty nurse at the scene, the infant sustained "dramatic injuries" to his face, arms, and legs, and "his parents say he is facing a yearslong road to recovery," per the BBC.
The 9-month-old baby is identified only as Luka, per CNN. Police in Brisbane say the man, said to be a 33-year-old foreign national, left Australia on a flight out of Sydney just days later, and that just one day after his departure, detectives were able to identify him as their suspect, after initially being given the wrong name. Police official Paul Dalton says the man was an "itinerant" worker who'd been traveling to and from Australia for the past five years or so, with past addresses listed in Victoria and New South Wales. Investigators are said to be in contact with the man's native country, though police aren't saying what country that is.
The child's father says the boy is now in "good spirits" after multiple surgeries but may need more skin grafts for his recovery, per the BBC. His mother adds that she cries "every single day," and that now, "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," per the Guardian. The suspect, meanwhile, is said to be between 30 and 40 years old and was last seen wearing glasses, a black hat, cargo shorts, and a blue plaid shirt. (More manhunt stories.)
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