Jaye Lee Walton, 42, is accused of throwing his baby son into a pond at a campsite in Queensland, Australia, before falling asleep and then fleeing the tragic scene
A dad is accused of throwing his baby into a pond and committing a shocking act after he realised the child was dead.
Jaye Lee Walton, 42, was charged over his son’s death after he allegedly woke up “laughing” from a drunken nap and tried to flee after he noticed his baby had died. The dad had been camping with his son Reef Hunter Walton and partner Amy Stevenson on July 12 when the tragedy struck. The family had been driving to their home in Innisfail, in Queensland, Australia, but stopped at a campsite for the night – before the dad drank a four-litre cask of wine.
The dad then started to look after his teething baby son on Saturday morning and said he would take the baby with him on a short walk to a toilet, a local court heard on Thursday.
Magistrate Robert Walker said “after about 30 minutes, you failed to return so she (Ms Stevenson) went to check” but she allegedly saw her partner sleeping by the edge of a pond and her baby was “facedown” in the water.
Mr Walker said: “(She) started screaming at you but realised you were asleep. She entered the water, recovered the child, returned to the bank and commenced CPR.”
The court heard that horrified witnesses allegedly saw the dad “smiling or laughing” when he woke up and claimed he seemed unaware of the tragedy that unfolded. Mr Walker said the dad “then fled on foot, but returned due to the actions of bystanders”.
The court also heard an alleged account from a onlooker who claimed to have seen Walton throw his son in the pond. In a statement, Stevenson clamed a woman told her: “The guys were saying they saw him throw him into the water.”
Walton’s lawyer told the court these claims were “hearsay comments” and argued the dad’s actions were manslaughter by criminal negligence.
He added that the dad had no previous run-ins with child services and said: “There is no allegation than my client has been anything other than a loving father.”
The court heard Walton did not had any serious criminal history but had a few alcohol-related incidents against his name – the judge refused the dad’s request for bail stating his alcoholism meant he was likely to “endangering the safety or welfare” of others. He is due to return to court on August 4.
Police prosecutor Senior Sergeant Michael Read said: “There is still a question mark from the officer’s perspective, at least, as to the veracity of the statement of someone saying they saw him (Mr Walton) throw (Reef) in.”