A Perth man has admitted murdering his four-month-old son and burying him in a bush grave as new reports emerge of previous brutal offences against children.
John Patrick O'Kane, 41, appeared in the Stirling Gardens Magistrates Court via video link from prison, charged with one count of murder.
He pleaded guilty.
O'Kane was remanded in custody for sentencing on February 2 next year.
The court ordered a psychiatric assessment, which will be presented at sentencing.
O'Kane was charged with his son's murder after he led police to Zach's bushland grave south of Perth in January.
The unemployed truck driver was found with a self-inflicted wound at a truck stop near the small town of Pinjarra after a police appeal for information.
It was later revealed the baby's body was kept in the boot of O'Kane's car for three days while it was parked outside a relative's Langford property.
He had allegedly telephoned de facto Sylvia Schilling five days earlier while she was out shopping, telling her he was taking Zach to stay with relatives in Langford for two nights.
Days later when the father and son were reported missing to police, detectives issued a nation-wide alert for O'Kane and Zach.
Perth Now reports that the convicted felon has a history of violence against kids, including a brutal bashing of another of his children when he was living with his ex-wife in the Sydney suburb of Cronulla.
O'Kane viciously attacked his then-four-month-old son 15 years ago, leaving the infant blinded in one eye and with his arms, legs and ribs broken multiple times.
He was jailed for four years but the sentence was increased to six years on appeal by the Crown.
Perth Now had been prevented from reporting this assault until O'Kane pleaded guilty to the later offence.
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