1 day ago
Harry Sekulich
Man charged with murder of 5-year-old Australian girl
The girl's death sparked an outbreak of violence in the central Australian town from where she disappeared.
BBC News - Asia
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Reuters
The girl's death sparked an outbreak of violence in the central Australian town from where she disappeared.
1 day ago
Harry Sekulich
Reuters
Warning for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers: This article contains references to someone who has died. This note has been added to respect cultural beliefs of these readers during mourning.
A man has been charged with murder following the death of a five-year-old girl in Australia.
The body of the girl, who is identified only as Kumanjayi Little Baby, a pseudonym given to her by her family for cultural reasons after her death, was discovered on Thursday following several days of a major police search.
Jefferson Lewis, 47, was charged with her murder on Saturday night and has been scheduled to appear in a Darwin court on Tuesday.
Five people have been arrested over violent riots in Alice Springs sparked by the child's death.
Northern Territory Police Commissioner Martin Dole announced the charges against Lewis on Sunday morning.
"This remains a deeply distressing matter and our thoughts are firmly with Kumanjayi's family, loved ones and the wider community that have been deeply impacted by these events," he said.
Dole asked for the community to respect the judicial process.
Lewis was reportedly attacked in the central Australian town before he was arrested on Thursday.
Northern Territory Police
In a statement on Thursday, Kumanjayi Little Baby's mother - who was not named - said her daughter was loved and missed.
"It is going to be so hard to live the rest of our lives without you," she said.
"We know you are in heaven with the rest of the family and Jesus. Me and your brother will meet you one day."
Kumanjayi Little Baby's grandfather called for calm on Friday.
"What has happened this week is not our way," Robin Granites, a senior Yapa (Warlpiri) elder, said in a statement.
"Our children are precious, of course we are feeling angry and hurt at what has happened.
"This man has been caught, thanks to community action, and we must now let justice take its course while we take the time to mourn Kumanjayi Little Baby and support our family."
Violent riots outside the Alice Spring hospital where Lewis was being treated for injuries led police to move him to the city of Darwin approximately 1,500km (930 miles) north of the town.
Video shows dozens of people gathering outside the town's hospital on Thursday night, some throwing projectiles, with police using tear gas.
Protesters are also seen attacking police vehicles, with at least one van appearing to be set ablaze.
Dole called the riots "disgusting" and "abhorrent".
Police released further footage appearing to show crowds swarming a petrol station near the hospital and collecting items from the shelves before leaving hastily.
Ahead of the release, Dole told reporters: "What you will see in this footage is not people processing grief in relation to the death of Baby Kumanjayi.
"What you will see is criminal behaviour, plain and simple."
Property damage and stolen items from a petrol station and supermarket is estimated to cost more than A$180,000 ($130,000; £95,000), police said.
Australia's national broadcaster, the ABC, reported that some in the crowd outside the hospital yelled that Lewis needed to face "payback" and accused the police of protecting him.
"Payback" is a term for traditional punishment under Aboriginal customary law in Central Australia and is usually carried out by elders to try and achieve harmony between Indigenous families and groups.
Kumanjayi Little Baby disappeared last Saturday after she was put to bed at an Aboriginal town camp near Alice Springs just before midnight.
After her body was found, she was given a pseudonym by her family for use during their mourning period.
This is a cultural practice among Australia's Indigenous Warlpiri people, who believe that, during this period, using the name of a loved one who has died may disturb their spirit.
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