Death of Bundaberg baby Lucas Young still under investigation

A year after the tragic death of four-month-old Lucas Young, questions surrounding the baby boy’s injuries remain unanswered.

Lucas' parents, Alex List and Dakota Worrall, are co-operating with police investigators.

One year on from the tragic death of four-month-old Lucas Young in Bundaberg West, questions surrounding the baby boy’s injuries remain unanswered.

News of Lucas’s death broke at a media conference on March 5, 2024, through Detective Acting Inspector Wade Lee, who said the baby had died from injuries sustained in Bundaberg on Sunday, February 25, 2024.

A Queensland Police Service spokesman said the following morning, the investigation would likely be “long and protracted”, meaning a concerned public would have to wait before a full account was made available.

Now, almost a year later, a Coroners Court of Queensland spokesperson has responded to inquiries with this statement:

“The death of Lucas Young is currently an open investigation under the carriage of Coroner Megan Fairweather.

“As such, no further information can be released at this time,” he said.

Lucas' parents, Alex List and Dakota Worrall, with Lucas.

Lucas was rushed by ambulance to the Bundaberg Hospital after becoming unresponsive at his home.

His parents Dakota Worrall and Alex List accompanied him in the ambulance.

As with all similar unexplained deaths, the Child Protection Unit was contacted by medical staff shortly after their arrival.

After an initial medical assessment at Bundaberg Hospital, Lucas was flown to Queensland Children’s Hospital for further treatment on February 27.

He sadly died of his injuries days later, on March 3, 2024.

Early police reports said detectives from the Child Protection and Investigation Unit were working alongside specialist officers from the Crime and Intelligence Command’s Child Trauma Unit, in a joint operation investigating the tragic death.

Acting Detective Inspector Lee said in a statement to media on March 5, 2024, “if the child has received medical attention,” and subsequently died, medical practitioners have the solemn task of signing a cause of death certificate.

In cases where the cause of death is undetermined, such as with four-month-old Lucas, Inspector Lee said police involvement became necessary.

Inspector Lee said on March 5, the family was not previously known to Child Protection Services and was co-operating with police investigations.

Neighbours living in the public housing block where Lucas and his parents lived in Electra Street, Bundaberg West, gave a harrowing account of being woken around 1am by Dakota’s screams.

“I heard the mum slamming the door, saying ‘my baby is dying, he’s not opening his eyes, I don’t know what to do,” one neighbour said.

Originally published as Death of Bundaberg baby Lucas Young still under investigation