The father of two boys allegedly held down in the Murray River by their mother has been slammed for crowdsourcing money to be with his son.
A 27-year-old woman remains in custody charged with attempted murder of her nine-year-old son after allegedly trying to drown him near Moama on Thursday.
His five-year-old brother’s body was recovered from the river on Saturday.
The nine-year-old remains in hospital in after he was taken to hospital in a serious condition, also suffering from injuries sustained during a dog attack.
The man, who says he is the father of both boys and cannot be named for legal reasons, started a fundraising page on GoFundMe on Friday with a goal of $5000.
He explained that he lived in Queensland and was “not in a situation where I can afford” to travel to Melbourne where the nine-year-old is being treated.
“All funds raised will go toward getting me to my older son with all remaining funds going toward burying my little boy,” he wrote.
Listen: Similar tragedies of children killed stops us in our tracks.
However, visitors to the site have slammed the man for his fundraising efforts, citing a recent interview the man gave to the Herald Sun, during which he said hadn’t seen his eldest son in six years and had never met the youngest.
“What hurts most is I’ve never met (the youngest). Now I’ll never meet him,” the father said.
Commenters questioned why the goal was so much higher than the average cost of a domestic flight between Brisbane and Melbourne.
“I’m confused as to why you’re wanting to see them now after so many years? You said yourself in a news article that you have not even met your son but you’re now asking for money to get down there!” a commenter wrote.
"You're a disgrace! And why so much money? It's clear that you haven't bothered with them in the past.... shame on you!"
Others labelled the man "despicable" and accused him of "rorting a tragedy".
"I honestly hope that I am wrong and that you are not using a little boy's death to line your pockets," another wrote.
"After reading full story you disgust me (you) never cared for these boys. You're a stranger they don't know you and you dare ask for money," commented another.
A woman claiming to be the man's mother and the boys' grandmother defended her son, saying she was "disgusted" by the "nasty" comments.
Donations have so far totalled more than $1000, with those making pledges voicing their support for the man.
"I'm so sorry for you and your family for the loss you are going through. My heartfelt prayers are with you all," one comment read.
Top Comments
Could always have a State paid-for funeral if none of the family can afford to pay.
That's what they are there for.
It's sad.
Leave the man alone. Seriously if your child had just been murdered what the hell would you do? You'd need more than the cost of a one-way flight to get things sorted. Think about it, a funeral, travel multiple times, accommodation for who knows how long, paying rent at home when not working, goodness me $5k seems like a very reasonable sum.
If the genders were reverse you'd see the true face of society's misandry, these same hateful people would be falling over themselves as white knights gleefully calling for the male perp's head on a pike because this would proved that all men were evil. We're not, men can be victims too. Whether you believe that or not, this guy is a victim and a human who needs help and consideration, please leave him be.
The children are the victims in this, neither parent.
So the mother of kids killed by a father is not a victim? The difference in public sympathy due to nothing other than gender is just incredibly sad.
Nice attempt to derail the issue. But the issue of this article remains to be about the unrelenting and effective campaign at not only painting this man who has lost one of his sons as a dead beat dad, but to sabotage his attempts at finding funding by whatever means possible to fulfill his rights & duty as the father to these two innocent victims that have suffered at the hands of their mother.
Dear god people twist what you say. We are not talking about a mother from a different event we are talking about this event and these 2 useless parents. In this situation both parents have been hopeless. The mothers eg. Rosie Batty are of course victims as they were good mothers, rearing and caring for the child. Not having NEVER met their child in 5 years. Can you not see the difference here. The mother that was gassed in her home along with the children was obviously a victim, she was an active loving parent of 2 autistic children, when her husband decided the time had come for them to all die. This man at the centre of this article probably is not even 100 percent sure he is the father. There has been zero fatherly contact ie. love, care, birthdays, xmas etc etc. Wake up to yourselves. The whole scenario may never have happened if he had stepped up. The boys were abandoned by him from the start.