A criminal psychologist has suggested the man who poured a thermos of hot coffee on a nine-month-old baby may have acted on a ‘hatred of young children’.
The little boy had been on a picnic with his mother in Hanlon Park in Brisbane on Tuesday when the man approached them at about midday.
He poured the coffee on top of the infant – who immediately began to scream – and was captured on CCTV fleeing the park on foot.
The baby boy has since undergone surgery for burns to his face and chest in Queensland Children’s Hospital.
The nine-month-old has reportedly sustained burns to 60 per cent of his body.
Dr Tim Watson-Munro told Daily Mail Australia that it was likely the man had ‘cognitively rehearsed’ the crime rather than acting on impulse.
‘I suspect there was planning involved, even it was impulsive at the time,’ he said.
‘He knew about the consequences of his actions, hence the escape. It’s more likely that he knew what he was doing, it’s remote that it was a crime of impulse.’
The criminal psychologist also suggested some potential motives.
‘Maybe he had a hatred of young children or a jealousy of young families, maybe he wanted the attention and was seeking notoriety,’ he said.
Criminal psychologist Tim Watson-Munro (pictured) told Daily Mail Australia that it was likely the man had ‘cognitively rehearsed’ the crime rather than acting on impulse
The nine-month-old baby boy (pictured) was attacked in a Brisbane park on Tuesday
Police on Thursday morning released a second photo (pictured) of a man they wish to speak to in relation to the alleged assault in a Brisbane park
‘I think he’s definitely a disturbed individual, this could have ended up in tragedy.’
Dr Watson-Munro said it would be highly traumatic for both the baby’s mother and bystanders to witness such a ‘terrible’ and ‘cowardly’ attack.
‘In my 46 years of dealing with criminals, I’ve seen it all, I’ve seen cruelty to children but I have never seen a baby attacked in a public place.
‘It’s beggars belief… to attack a baby in its early days of life. It turns my blood cold.’
Police on Thursday morning released a second photo of a man they wish to speak to in relation to the alleged assault.
The alleged attacker is described as aged 30-40 with a proportionate build, tanned skin and wore a black hat, glasses, a shirt and shorts.
Police have urged anyone that knows the man or has information to come forward.
The parents are still reeling from the attack, saying they can’t comprehend why someone would hurt an infant.
‘I don’t know who would think that’s okay to harm an innocent little baby,’ the mother told Nine Network.
‘A sick freak,’ the father then said.
The boy’s mother (pictured left) became emotional as she recalled the harrowing experience
The alleged attack occurred at Hanlon Park in inner-city Brisbane on Tuesday afternoon
‘I’m just having flashbacks all the time about what happened and I wish that he had poured the coffee over me.
‘I don’t know who would think it is okay to harm a little, innocent baby.’
A friend of the boy’s mother said she tried to chase after the man but tripped, before rushing back to pour her water bottle over the infant.
‘This man was standing above him, behind him, and poured a Thermos of hot coffee over him. He just started screaming,’ Zara Mazza told The Project.
‘Essentially all I could hear was his mum screaming that ‘It’s hot, it’s hot coffee’, so I ran back, picked up my water bottle and dumped it over him.
‘I removed him from his mum and we laid him down on the picnic rug and we peeled his clothes away, which revealed the peeling of his skin which started to blister.’
Police have released CCTV images of a man they wish to speak to in relation to the incident
A nurse-in-training offered a shower at her nearby apartment so water could constantly be running on the screaming infant.
The little boy will need regular dressing changes under anesthetic over the next few weeks but is in a stable condition, Ms Mazza said.
She has started a GoFundMe page to raise money for the family’s hospital bills.
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