text: A heartbroken mother has spoken out about her relentless grief after her baby son was brutally murdered in a random attack when a stranger broke into their home. Casey Veal's son Zayden was just 10 months old when he was bludgeoned to death by a drug-crazed burglar who broke into their Bendigo home at random, whilst the baby slept in his cot in June 2012. 'It tortures because it's something that's always like – why me? Why our house? Why our Zayden?' a heartbroken Ms Veal told 60 Minutes. The culprit was 19-year-old Harley Hicks who bashed baby Zayden more than 30 times with a homemade baton during a senseless and unprovoked robbery, fuelled by ice and marijuana. Casey Veal's son Zayden was just 10 months old when he was bludgeoned to death by a drug-crazed burglar who broke into their Bendigo home at random in the middle of the night as the family slept . The culprit was 19-year-old Harley Hicks (pictured) who bashed baby Zayden more than 30 times with a homemade baton during a senseless and unprovoked robbery, fuelled by ice and marijuana . Heartbroken mother Casey Veal (pictured) has spoken out about her relentless grief after her baby son was brutally murdered in a random attack when a stranger broke into their home . 'My son was murdered so he could get a hit of ice. That's it,' Ms Veal told 60 Minutes. Hicks left the home with nothing more than a wallet and a pair of sunglasses. He unplugged the baby monitor before unleashing the vicious attack on the defenceless baby while Ms Veal and Zayden's brother Xavier, then aged three, slept. When Ms Veal woke she realised they'd been robbed. She was then faced with the horror of discovering the brutal attack on her son, leaving him almost beyond recognition. 'When I walked over to the cot, I pulled the blankets back and that's when I saw his face and there was blood everywhere underneath him,' she said tearfully. Zayden had been repeatedly bashed before he was stabbed 32 times with a homemade copper baton. The happy baby with a beautiful smile suffered a crushed skull, broken collar bone and a broken rib. He was rushed to hospital but couldn't be saved. The drug-fuelled killed unplugged the baby monitor before unleashing the vicious attack on the defenceless baby Zayden (left) while Ms Veal and Zayden's brother Xavier (right), then aged three, slept . The happy baby with a beautiful smile suffered a crushed skull, broken collar bone and a broken rib . The baby was a victim of a random attack yet his mother remains wracked with guilt. 'He was gone so I asked if I could have him, I just wanted to hold him,' she told 60 Minutes. 'I just sat and I cried. I just said 'I am so sorry.' 'I'm so sorry that I failed. My only job as your mum was to look after you and I didn't.' The new interview coincides with the federal government's announcement of the introduction of a task force to combat the 'national ice epidemic'. Assistant Health Minister Fiona Nash says the best way to reduce demand for ice is to educate the community, not just police its use. 'We can't arrest our way out of this problem,' she told ABC TV. The health and education campaign will warn Australians about the dangers of the drug. Its key message would be that a momentary high would lead to a lifetime of pain and suffering, Mr Abbott said. He declared the drug worse than heroin, LSD, cocaine or ecstasy. Justice Kaye said the murderer Hicks had at no point shown remorse.'Nor was there even the slightest indication by you of any pity or sympathy for the baby... or for his family' The baby was a victim of a random attack yet his mother Casey Veal (pictured) remains wracked with guilt . 'It's much more addictive, much more dangerous, much more damaging,' he told reporters in Sydney. Asked if the campaign would be as confronting as the infamous Grim Reaper AIDs ads of the 1980s, Senator . Nash said: 'We're going to do what's most effective.' The campaign will get underway 'well before' June 30, Mr Abbott later added. Ice is known for its intense comedowns and can make a person feel paranoid, hallucinate, aggressive and extremely violent. As for his motivation, Hicks has offered no explanation for why he committed the horrific act. The murder weapon, a homemade baton, was later discovered at Hick's home with his DNA on one end and Zayden's on the other. The murder weapon, a homemade baton, was later discovered at Hick's home with his DNA on one end and Zayden's on the other . Casey Veal says her now five-year-old son Xavier (left) remains deeply affected by the death of his baby brother Zayden (right) Yet after his arrest, Hicks tried to blame the murder on another person and reportedly lied throughout investigations. Harley Hicks has been sentenced to life in prison with 32 years non parole for the brutal murder of baby Zayden Veal-Whitting. 'It is almost unthinkable that any human being could have carried out such a sickening crime that you have committed,' Supreme Court Justice Stephen Kaye said in sentencing Hicks. 'What you did was totally and utterly evil.' Justice Kaye said he could not say for sure if Hicks had viciously snuffed out Zayden's cry in a bid to silence the baby during the robbery. 'If that constituted your motive for killing Zayden, then you murdered an innocent child so that you could escape the premises with the valuable items that you had stolen from it,' he said. 'On the other hand, if that was not your motive, then your murder of Zayden was simply an act of unmitigated evil committed by you for the sheer sake of it.' After his arrest, Hicks tried to blame the murder on another person and reportedly lied in investigations . Zayden had been repeatedly bashed before he was stabbed 32 times with a homemade copper baton . Zayden's mother Casey Veal arriving at the Supreme Court in Bendigo to see her son's killer sentenced . Justice Kaye said Hicks perpetrated an extraordinarily violent bashing on Zayden involving multiple blows with the baton to the head, face and other parts of his body. 'He was utterly harmless, defenceless and helpless,' he said. 'Any human being with even a shred of decency and humanity could only feel compassion, tenderness and protectiveness towards an infant in those circumstances. 'By contrast, you inflicted a brutal bashing, with a lethal instrument, on that baby. 'You crushed his skull, you savagely beat him with at least 30 blows. In court before the sentencing in 2014, Ms Veal delivered a powerful impact statement, detailing the devastating impact of Zayden's murder on herself and her family's life forever . Justice Kaye said Hicks perpetrated an extraordinarily violent bashing on Zayden involving multiple blows with the baton to the head, face and other parts of his body . The judge also described the English language as being 'entirely inadequate' to describe the horror and grief Zayden's mother, Casey Veal, and her family went through . Justice Kaye said Hicks, of North Bendigo, had shown no remorse. 'At no stage of the trial could I detect from you any sign of remorse. Nor was there even the slightest indication by you of any pity or sympathy for the baby, whose life you had taken, or for his family, whose lives you have shattered. 'Rather, you seemed totally oblivious and impervious to such human feelings.' The judge also described the English language as being 'entirely inadequate' to describe the horror and grief Zayden's mother, Casey Veal, and her family went through. In court before the sentencing in 2014, Ms Veal delivered a powerful impact statement, detailing the devastating impact of Zayden's murder on herself and her family's life forever. 'Since the crime occurred I have lost my outlook and determination in life I once had. I may stand before you alive and breathing but I'm but a shadow of my former self.' 'I am serving a life sentence... all I have is memories and most of them are tainted by this crime,' the statement read. Harley Hicks has been sentenced to life in prison with 32 years non parole for the brutal murder of baby Zayden Veal-Whitting (pictured) Hicks left the home with nothing more than a wallet and a pair of sunglasses during his ice-fuelled attack .
target: Heartbroken mother speaks out about the brutal murder of her baby son .
  Baby Zayden was murdered as his family slept during a random robbery .
  Harley Hicks, 19, attacked the 10-month-old baby in an ice-fuelled rampage .
  Casey Veal opened up about the pain she lives with since her son's death .
  It comes as the federal government announced a task force this week to combat the 'national ice epidemic'