A man accused of manslaughter after a baby’s drowning at a lakeside campsite will apply for bail, a magistrate has heard.
Jaye Lee Walton was not required to appear in person in Ipswich Magistrates Court on Wednesday for the first mention of his charge of manslaughter as a domestic violence offence.
The 42-year-old was arrested on Tuesday after the mother of the seven-month-old boy found him in a lake at Chatsworth Park, near Gympie north of Brisbane.
The man was known to the child, police said.
Defence solicitor Mark Butler told Magistrate Robert Walker he would need to determine if 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,” Butler said.
“I anticipate an application for bail will be made tomorrow.”
The boy’s family camped at Chatsworth Park – about 50 metres from the water’s edge – on Friday night as they returned home to far north Queensland, police said.
The mother found her son unresponsive in the lake on Saturday morning, and called emergency services.
People performed CPR before the baby was rushed to hospital. He was declared dead later that night.
Police on Monday said the mother was unable to explain how the infant 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 said.
Walton was arrested after homicide detectives took up the case.
Police prosecutor Sergeant Jo Colston did not oppose Butler’s application on Wednesday to adjourn the matter for one day.
Walker ordered Walton be remanded in custody to appear in person in Ipswich Magistrates Court on Thursday.
Butler declined to comment outside court.
-AAP
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