Burleigh Heads: Father confirms his 22-year-old son’s death after ‘coward punch’ on the Gold Coast

A heartbroken father has confirmed the death of his 22-year-old son, who has spent the last week in hospital after he was bashed walking home following a night out.

Police were called to the intersection of First Avenue and The Esplanade in Burleigh Heads at around 2.30am on September 22nd following reports of a disturbance.

Upon arrival, officers found a young Nerang man suffering from a severe head injury.

The man was transported to Gold Coast University Hospital where he spent seven days before doctors said he “had no chance of any recovery”.

Confirming the news to loved ones on Facebook, the father wrote: “We were fortunate enough to have the time to all say our goodbyes, and his long procession of very good mates as well as all his family and close relatives had the opportunity to come and say goodbye.

The father said his son’s death was the result of a “coward punch”.

Queensland Police have now launched a homicide investigation and are searching for the person responsible.

“We have a number of lines of inquiry that we’ll be pursuing moving forward,” Acting Superintendent Scott Knowles said on Monday.

“My understanding is he’d been out for the night, was assaulted while he was walking out of the precinct, has fallen, struck his head and that’s caused the fatal injuries at the end of the day”.

Police said they were not aware of a possible conflict before the incident that led to the man’s death.

Anyone with information or dashcam footage is urged to come forward by contacting Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.