Alleged child abductor is refused bail, claims mental illness

A Brisbane man accused of kidnapping his ex-girlfriend’s 20-month-old toddler from a home while the family slept has been refused bail and held in custody.

Feb 08, 2021, updated May 22, 2025
(Photo: ABC)
(Photo: ABC)

The 31-year-old man, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, appeared briefly in Richlands Magistrates Court, south-west of Brisbane this morning on charges of child stealing and entering a dwelling at night.

CCTV vision allegedly captured the man taking the boy from his home in Darra in south-west Brisbane, just after 4:00am on Sunday.

The court heard he entered the home wearing a mask and gloves and took the sleeping child from his cot.

Police issued a public alert for the toddler and found him unharmed six hours later at a boarding house in Salisbury on Brisbane’s southside.

The man allegedly told police he had mental health issues with undiagnosed schizophrenia and “heard voices”.

He is next due to appear in court via video link on March 29.

– ABC / © 2020 Australian Broadcasting Corporation. All rights reserved.

Want to see more stories from InDaily Qld in your Google search results?

  1. Click here to set InDaily Qld as a preferred source.
  2. Tick the box next to "InDaily Qld". That's it.
    Archive