Jefferson Lewis, 47, has been charged with murder. Photo / Supplied / NT Police
Jefferson Lewis, 47, has been charged with murder. Photo / Supplied / NT Police
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people should be aware that this story contains the image and name of a deceased Indigenous person.
A man accused of abducting and killing a 5-year-old girl has been remanded into custody after being excused from his first court appearance.
Jefferson Lewis was arrested onSaturday and later charged with the murder of Kumanjayi Little Baby, whose disappearance on Anzac Day sparked widespread searches around the Northern Territory’s Old Timers town camp.
He had been due to appear in court in Alice Springs on Tuesday morning, with members of the girl’s grieving family also expected to be in attendance.
With the heart-breaking case having sparked severe unrest in the surrounding areas, a heightened police presence was put in place outside the courtroom, with more than a dozen officers gathering outside the building ahead of the hearing.
However, the 47-year-old accused, who was due to appear via video link, was not presented to the court.
Kumanjayi Little Baby was allegedly murdered on Anzac Day. Photo / Supplied / NT Police
Instead, the hearing was adjourned, with Lewis remanded into custody and scheduled to appear at court on July 30.
Family members who had travelled to attend the hearing also did not enter the courtroom, instead being briefed by staff in a separate part of the building.
During the brief hearing, Judge Anthony Hopkins said: “I’ll begin by acknowledging the deep loss of Kumanjayi Little Baby and of the family’s call for justice to take its course in this, now, time of deep sorrow.”
Following the hearing, members of Kumanjayi’s family gathered for sorry business, with the youngster’s grandmother among those in attendance.
Several of her relatives wore white ochre pigment spread across their faces and bodies.
Lewis, who was taken to Darwin under heavy police guard after his arrest as hundreds of people rioted in Alice Springs, will appear via audiovisual link.
The 47-year-old allegedly took 5-year-old Kumanjayi Little Baby from her home on the outskirts of the Outback town late in the evening on Anzac Day before allegedly killing her.
It is understood Lewis had only recently returned to the community after spending time in jail for unrelated offences.
Police have confirmed he was unconscious at the time of his arrest and taken to hospital before charges were laid.
He was charged with one count of murder and two other charges, which can’t be published for legal reasons.
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