Police in Australia’s Northern Territory have charged a man with murder following the death of a five-year-old Indigenous girl, an incident that sparked violent clashes in an outback town just days ago.
Jefferson Lewis, 47, faces a murder charge along with two other offences, which cannot be publicly disclosed for legal reasons. The victim is known as Kumanjayi Little Baby, in line with Indigenous custom, police confirmed in a statement.
“This is an horrific event and an horrific set of circumstances, and our thoughts remain strongly with the family,” Northern Territory Police Commissioner Martin Dole said in televised remarks from Alice Springs.
Lewis, who had presented himself to one of the camps on the outskirts of the outback town, was charged on Saturday evening. He is scheduled to appear in court in Darwin, the territory’s capital, on Tuesday.
The girl’s killing and the subsequent capture of the suspect, who was found and beaten unconscious by locals, ignited protests involving approximately 400 Indigenous people near Alice Springs late on Thursday. Lewis has past convictions for physical assault and had recently been released from prison.
During the demonstrations, some individuals threw projectiles and lit fires, resulting in injuries to several police officers and medical workers, and causing damage to police vehicles, ambulances, and fire trucks. Televised footage showed members of the crowd calling for “payback” – a traditional, mostly physical, form of punishment in Aboriginal societies.
Police used tear gas to disperse the protesters, while Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, local officials and a spokesperson for the victim’s family appealed for calm.
Australia has struggled for decades to reconcile with its Indigenous people, who have inhabited the land for some 50,000 years but were marginalised by British colonial rule. Indigenous Australians account for 3.8% of the population and face disadvantages including discrimination, poor health and education outcomes and high incarceration rates.
Thousands, including the victim and her family, live in camp communities where housing and services are often inadequate. A fifth of Alice Springs citizens are Indigenous.
The victim’s body was located on Thursday by one of hundreds of people searching the dense bushland around the town, a popular tourist destination that has previously had problems with alcohol-fuelled violence.
