Gold Coast baby death: Father of infant was recently charged with drink driving

The homeless father of a baby found dead on a Gold Coast beach had recently been charged with high-range drink driving and having an unrestrained child in the car.

The man, 48, is expected to be charged this week over the death of his nine-month-old daughter who was found on a Surfers Paradise beach early on Monday.

But Daily Mail Australia can reveal the man was allegedly caught driving last month in New South Wales and charged with multiple offences.  

 

The father (pictured) of a baby found dead on a Gold Coast beach this week had recently been charged with high-range drink driving and having an unrestrained child in the car

The nine-month-old was found dead by the water (pictured) in the early hours of Monday. Paramedics desperately tried to revive the little girl but she was pronounced dead at the scene 

The nine-month-old girl was found dead by the water in the early hours of Monday. Paramedics desperately tried to revive the little girl but she was pronounced dead at the scene (pictured)

The father is due to face both Byron Bay and Tweed Heads local courts over the driving offences. 

On November 26 he is due to face Tweed Heads Local Court before also being listed to front Byron Bay Local Court on December 6.

The man is charged with two counts of driving with a person from six-months to four years old not restrained, driving without a licence and driving with a passenger in a part of the vehicle not permitted.

In a separate matter he is again charged with driving without a licence and also high-range drink driving.

NSW police took control of the investigation into the baby girl’s death on Tuesday as it was revealed the infant is believed to have died at a separate location to where she was found.

Police believe the young girl died at Tweed Heads in NSW, before being found across the border in the shallows of a Queensland beach.

At the hearing in Southport Local Court on Wednesday, approval is expected for the man to be extradited to NSW.

It comes after the horrific living conditions of the baby girl’s family were revealed on Tuesday as locals told how they reported the family to authorities.

The sad living conditions of the family of a nine-month-girl found dead on a Surfers Paradise beach on Monday morning have been revealed (pictured)

The sad living conditions of the family of a nine-month-girl found dead on a Surfers Paradise beach on Monday morning have been revealed (pictured)

Nappies and an empty bucket of KFC (pictured) lie on the ground just metres from the shelter made from sticks and twigs

Nappies and an empty bucket of KFC (pictured) lie on the ground just metres from the shelter made from sticks and twigs

The girl's father faced Southport Magistrates Court (pictured) on Wednesday where approval for his extradition to NSW was expected to be granted

The girl’s father faced Southport Magistrates Court (pictured) on Wednesday where approval for his extradition to NSW was expected to be granted

Prior to her death the young girl had lived with her dad and mum, 23, in a ‘humpy’ – a small shack made from sticks – hidden in the sand dunes of the popular surf beach.

Local residents left shocked by the death of the girl have told how they reported the young family’s living conditions to authorities, yet nothing seemed to be done about it.

‘It was winter and the dunes were freezing every time the sun went down. I didn’t think that was good for a baby or toddler,’ a woman wrote on Facebook.

‘I reported it straight away and monitored the following week. And if authorities did the job correctly this little girl would still be here!’ 

Reverend Jon Brooks, head of a local housing crisis centre, told Daily Mail Australia the family lived ‘as rough as it gets’.

‘Anybody who does it homeless does it poorly, but if it is the family I believe it might be, they were in the worst position you could find yourself in,’ Rev Brooks said.

The tragic reality of the infant's life has been revealed - a far cry from the glitz and glamour that is normally associated with Surfers Paradise (pictured)

The tragic reality of the infant’s life has been revealed – a far cry from the glitz and glamour that is normally associated with Surfers Paradise (pictured)

Strangers left balloons and children's toys near the scene of the infant's death on Monday

Strangers left balloons and children’s toys near the scene of the infant’s death on Monday

Touching tributes were left at the scene on Tuesday, little more than 24 hours after the tragedy unfolded

Touching tributes were left at the scene on Tuesday, little more than 24 hours after the tragedy unfolded

‘I wasn’t aware they’d been living in a humpy – the last I knew they were moving from toilet blocks, to parks, to even under bridges.’

‘They moved up here from down south and we gave them assistance with a different organisation that houses homeless people up here. We also provided them meals at lunch time.’

Emergency services were called to Staghorn Avenue about 12am on Monday after a member of the public reported an unresponsive infant on the sand. 

Paramedics desperately tried to revive the little girl but she was pronounced dead at the scene, with police now treating the death as ‘unnatural’.

An investigation is underway to officially determine her cause of death but there are reports she had been in the water at some point prior to being found on the sand.

Police believe the girl died at Jack Evans boat harbour in NSW, but are yet to determine how her body ended up some 30 kilometres north in Queensland.  

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