A Brisbane father who abandoned his infant son on a boat ramp 12 years ago pleaded guilty to manslaughter on Monday.
Shane Arthur Simpson, 51, was originally charged with murder but the charge was reduced by the Supreme Court in Brisbane.
Prosecutor Danny Boyle said Simpson left his 22-month-old at a boat ramp in May 2007. The child's body has never been found.
"Baden Bond has never been found and therefore no cause of death has been established," Mr Boyle said.
ABC News Australia reported that the toddler's parents referred to Baden as "devil child" and the baby's mother, Dina Colleen Bond, has also been charged with assisting Simpson to hide from authorities.
The court heard Simpson had been suffering with an addiction to methamphetamine at the time the young boy was abandoned.
It is understood Simpson sat on a park bench with his son for 15 to 30 minutes before saying "sorry" and leaving him at the boat ramp, reports ABC News.
The Queensland Department of Child Safety took the child into their care shortly after his birth in 2005 because the boy had drugs in his system.
He was given back to his parents in 2006, and prosecution said a child welfare agency was advised in 2007 that Baden was no longer living with his parents, but no report was filed.
The court was told department officers drove past the house in 2007 but it was vacant, as Simpson and Bond had moved to NSW.
The NSW child safety department began focusing their attention on the missing child in 2015, and when police asked Simpson about it in 2016, he said he "gave him to someone," reports ABC News.
The pair are awaiting sentencing.
Newshub.
