Jefferson Lewis excused from appearing in court over alleged murder of Kumanjayi Little Baby

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Lewis, 47, did not appear at first hearing since being charged over death of girl, 5, who was allegedly abducted from an Alice Springs town camp

• Warning: This article contains references to Indigenous Australians who have died

Jefferson Lewis, the man accused of murdering five-year-old Kumanjayi Little Baby near a town camp on the outskirts of Alice Springs in the Northern Territory last week, has been excused from his first court appearance.

Lewis, 47, was expected to appear in the Alice Springs local court via video link on Tuesday morning, charged with murder and two other charges that cannot be published for legal reasons.

Instead, he was excused from appearing the request of his lawyer, Mitchell Donaldson from Legal Aid NT.

Donaldson did not apply for bail for his client and asked for Lewis to be excused from the next hearing, which was granted.

In court, Judge Anthony Hopkins began the hearing by acknowledging Little Baby’s family.

“I will just begin by acknowledging the deep loss of Kumanjayi Little Baby, and of the family’s call for justice to take its course in this time of deep sorry,” he said.

Lewis was arrested on Thursday night last week, after a five-day manhunt following the alleged murder of the Warlpiri girl whose body was found 5km from the Old Timers town camp where she was taken.

In court, prosecutor Patrick Williams requested an adjournment to allow time for a extensive brief of evidence to be compiled.

“Your honour will appreciate there’s already been a very substantial police investigation into this matter,” he said.

“But there is going to be a very large amount of material on this brief that will necessarily comprise a volume of civilian statements, forensic evidence and other evidence.”

Kumanjayi Little Baby, the name used after her death at her family’s request in line with cultural protocols, went missing on Saturday 25 April from a bed at the town camp, 5km south of Alice Springs.

After her disappearance, hundreds of volunteers searched for five days through kilometres of buffel grass near the town camp, before her body was found just before noon on Thursday.

Later that night, police were called to Charles Creek camp near the Alice Springs town centre, where they found Lewis unconscious and badly beaten by a group of people in a “sustained attack”, police said on Friday.

He was taken to a hospital in Alice Springs, where an angry crowd clashed with police. Lewis was transported to Darwin for safety concerns and further treatment before he was formally charged by police on Saturday.

The case will return to court on 30 July.

• Indigenous Australians can call 13YARN on 13 92 76 for information and crisis support; or call Lifeline on 13 11 14 or Mensline on 1300 789 978
  

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