The father of a seven-month-old baby boy who drowned in a lake at a popular camping spot has been identified – as he is charged over the child’s death.
Jaye Lee Walton, 42, did not appear in Ipswich Magistrates Court on Wednesday when his matter was heard for the first time.
His defence lawyer Mark Butler indicated that his client could make a bail application when the matter returns to court on Thursday.
He told Magistrate Robert Walker he would need to determine whether Walton was presumed to be entitled to bail or would have to argue he should not be detained.
‘It’s a discussion with (the prosecutor’s) office about a point of law issue, whether (Walton) finds himself in a show-cause position and if agreement can be reached on that point,’ Mr Butler said.
‘I anticipate an application for bail will be made tomorrow.’
Walton will remain in custody for a second night and will appear in court on Thursday.
He was charged with manslaughter (domestic violence) on Tuesday, three days after a baby boy was pulled from the water at a campsite at Chatsworth, near Gympie, on Saturday morning.
Jaye Lee Walton (pictured during his arrest) was charged with manslaughter on Tuesday
Walton was charged over the death of his seven-month-old son near a campsite on Saturday
Multiple witnesses, including the mother, performed CPR on the baby before he was rushed to Gympie Hospital, where he died later that night.
A makeshift memorial dedicated to ‘Joey’ has been set up at the Chatsworth campsite.
‘RIP little one,’ a large banner decorated with a child’s foot and handprints read.
Queensland Police have released footage of Walton’s arrest in the Ipswich suburb of Bundamba, 213km away from the campground.
The vision showed heavily armed police storming into a home and leading Walton out in handcuffs.
He was seen sitting outside the front door having a cigarette before being bundled into a police vehicle.
Acting Police Commissioner Shane Chelepy described the baby’s death as ‘absolutely tragic’.
‘My heart really does go out to everyone involved in that, including the emergency workers and the police that had to attend that job,’ he told ABC Radio on Wednesday.
Emergency services raced to the Chatsworth Park campsite on Saturday morning after a baby boy was pulled from the nearby lake unresponsive
Jaye Lee Walton will appear in court on Thursday, where he’s expected to apply for bail
Police revealed earlier that the boy’s family was passing through on their way back to far north Queensland when they camped at Chatsworth Park, about 50m from the water’s edge on Friday night.
The mother raised the alarm the next morning when she found the baby unresponsive in the lake.
She was unable to explain how the baby ended up in the water.
‘The mother of the child did retrieve this child from the water. It’s been a very traumatic experience for her, clearly,’ Detective Inspector Craig Mansfield told reporters on Monday.
A post-mortem was carried out on the baby’s body on Monday.
Chatsworth Park is a popular free camping and stopover spot off the Bruce Highway – a major route between Brisbane and Far North Queensland.
Walton was arrested at a home in the Ipswich suburb of Bundamba on Tuesday, 213km from the campground
