‘Should never have happened’: Family’s pain after baby death

THE family of a six-month-old baby killed in a horrific suspected murder-suicide have spoken of how the courts let the little boy down.

William's body was discovered in a car alongside the body of his 46-year-old father in the Beerwah State Forest on the Sunshine Coast yesterday morning.

The bodies were found by council workers.

Police are treating the deaths as a murder-suicide.

The mother's cousin Katie Buckingham has launched a campaign to raise funds for the baby's funeral.

"This mother needs all the help we can give her so she can grieve for the loss of her child," she said.

"This should never have happened! The courts have let her down and not kept the baby's father away from her son!

"Now this beautiful and innocent baby boy has been taken from her by the man who did nothing but make her life hell.

"This is the saddest day for everyone involved."

Detective Inspector Dave Drinnen yesterday said the baby had been reported missing by his mother after the pair failed to return on Monday but an amber alert had not been issued.

The father had been due bring the baby as part of a custody arrangement.

"It's extremely distressing a very tragic incident," he said yesterday.

"The mother was distraught as you can well imagine."

Det. Insp. Drinnen said the baby and father had "been there for some time".

Support has been made available to the council workers who found the bodies and to the first responders.

A post-mortem of the bodies is being undertaken to determine the cause of death.

If you or anyone you know needs help, contact LifeLine on 13 11 14 or beyondblue.org.au