Cameron Duce identified as man who died after being bashed in Burleigh Heads, dad shares emotional tribute

A young man who was bashed after a night out on the Gold Coast and later died in hospital has been identified, as his father shared an emotional tribute to “the son I never deserved”.

Cameron Duce (22) was on a night out with friends in Burleigh Heads before he was brutally bashed.

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

Officers found Cameron suffering from a severe head injury and transported him to Gold Coast University Hospital (GCUH) where he spent seven days before doctors told his family he “had no chance of any recovery”.

Father Chris Duce confirmed to friends and family on Facebook that the 22-year-old who was hit in the assault “was our son Cameron”.

In a highly emotional post, Mr Duce said he and his family sat with Cameron by his bedside as he received “the best possible care from the highly qualified professional teams”.

Sadly, on Thursday, the family received the devastating news that Cameron would not recover.

“We were informed Sunday that Cameron had no chance of any recovery and the family has decided to let our beautiful boy Cameron pass peacefully in his own time,” Mr Duce wrote.

Cameron died in hospital on Saturday.

“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,” Mr Duce said.

“The amount of love shown for our boy from everyone who was ever lucky enough to have shared his warm, funny, considerate and caring personality was heartwarming to the family.

“Nothing will ever replace the massive hole left in our lives with the passing of our beautiful son, brother, grandson, Uncle, Nephew, and one of the best people anyone could have ever called a mate.

Mr Duce described Cameron as “the son I never deserved”.

“He was so much better than me in so many ways,” Mr Duce said.

“We will all cherish the years we had with Cameron, and grieve for the years we will never get to spend with him, never getting to watch him grow further into the fine young man that he had already become

“Our hearts are broken. Our lives will never be the same.

“The world has lost one of the genuinely good people who brought joy, laughter and love to all of those he met.

“Rest in peace my beautiful son, our beautiful boy. We love you so much and miss you so badly already. Go and be the Angel you already were.

“Fly high Cammy boy, we all love you and miss you so very, very much.”

Police how now launched a homicide investigation and have called for any witnesses to come forward with information.

“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.