Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are warned the following article contains names and images of the deceased.
A man has been charged over the death of a five-year-old Northern Territory girl after her suspected abduction.
The child, known as Kumanjayi Little Baby, was found dead on Thursday.
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Jefferson Lewis, 47, was charged on Saturday night with one count of murder, NT Police said on Sunday.
“This remains a deeply distressing matter,” Northern Territory Police Force Martin Dole said.
Lewis was arrested at a town camp in Alice Springs on Thursday night after being assaulted by a group of people.
He was found unconscious and taken to Alice Springs Hospital before being transferred to Darwin for safety reasons.
The arrest came after Kumanjayi Little Baby was found dead on Thursday, five days after she disappeared last Sunday.
She was last seen by her family at a home on Marshall Ct in Old Timers Camp on Saturday night after being put to bed.
Lewis was staying at the home where Kumanjayi Little Baby disappeared and is believed to have gone missing around the same time.
A number of items were located on the banks of the Todd River behind Old Timers Camp, including a pair of children’s underwear, a yellow shirt believed to have been worn by Lewis, and a doona cover.
Police to release footage after riots break out
After the arrest, riots broke out in Alice Springs, outside the hospital where Lewis was taken under police custody.
Shops were looted and rocks thrown at officers, who responded with tear gas.
According to ABC reports, some of those involved in the riots accused police of protecting the suspect, and were chanting for “payback” — a term that refers to traditional punishment under Aboriginal law in Central Australia.
But as NT Police are set to release footage of the riots and looting, Dole said that “what you will see in this footage, is not people processing grief over the death of Baby Kumanjayi.”
“What you will see is not people trying to practice traditional law.
“What you will see is criminal behaviour, plain and simple.”
Police urged anyone who recognises people pictured in the footage, to report them to police, and asked anyone involved in the rioting to “hand yourself in before we come for you”.
A number of people have already been identified from hundreds of hours of footage currently being reviewed by police.
Two people have already handed themselves in, and there have now been about 11 people charged in relation to the riots.
Aggravated burglary and stealing are the “principal charges” in relation to the matter.
One woman, who allegedly used a lighter and dried grass to start a fire beneath a police car and causing $20,000 worth of damage to the vehicle, was charged with one count of attempt arson and one count of taking part in a riot.
NT Chief Minister Lia Finocchiaro said that attacks on frontline workers are “never acceptable”.
“While we appreciate and understand that people are very angry and grieving, there is never an excuse or acceptability of violence as a response,” she said.
Finocchiaro said she was hopeful the violent outbreak was an “isolated incident” and should “not define what was an incredible community effort this week”.
Source: https://7news.com.au/news/jefferson-lewis-charged-with-murder-after-death-of-missing-nt-girl-kumanjayi-little-baby-c-22226721.
