Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised that this article contains the image of an Indigenous person who has died, used with the permission of her family.
The man accused of murdering five-year-old Kumanjayi Little Baby has been excused from appearing in court in the Northern Territory.
Jefferson Lewis was expected to face Alice Springs Local Court on Tuesday morning via a video link from Darwin, but his lawyer, Mitchell Donaldson from Legal Aid NT, requested he be excused.
The five-year-old’s family has requested that she be referred to as Kumanjayi Little Baby. (Supplied: NT Police)
Mr Lewis is charged with one count of murder and two other charges that cannot be disclosed for legal reasons.
Judge Anthony Hopkins began court proceedings by acknowledging the child’s family.
“I begin by acknowledging the deep loss of Kumanjayi Little Baby and the family’s call for justice to take its course,” he said.Live stream cancelled, matter adjourned
Earlier this morning, the courtroom was closed to the public and journalists to allow some time for legal discussions between defence and prosecution.
The public and a large contingent of local and interstate media were granted access to the gallery after those private discussions, but no members of Kumanjayi Little Baby’s family were present in the courtroom.
However, as lawyers and media were leaving the courtroom, several of the girl’s family members were seen arriving.
Due to a high level of national interest in the case, today’s court appearance was supposed to be broadcast live via a link shared by the NT Courts social media account — however, due to technical difficulties, the public live stream was cancelled.
“It is unfortunate that this has happened at late notice, but staff have been unable to fix issues this morning that were unforeseen,” an NT Courts spokesperson said in a statement.
Mr Lewis’s court mention follows his arrest on Saturday, with NT Police Commissioner Martin Dole saying detectives had been working “around the clock” to lay charges.
It comes after the five-year-old girl went missing from an Alice Springs town camp last month, sparking an extensive search. Her remains were discovered after five days.
In court today, prosecutor Patrick Williams requested a lengthy adjournment to allow time for an extensive brief of evidence to be put together.
Today’s proceedings took place in Alice Springs. (ABC News: Hamish Harty)
“Your Honour will appreciate there has been a very substantial police investigation into this matter, but there will be a very large amount of material on this brief,” he said.
Mr Williams told the court the brief would include “a whole lot” of citizen statements and forensic evidence.
The case will return to court on July 30.
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