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 father of Kumanjayi Little Baby will remain in prison for aggravated assault, despite calls from his lawyers for his release to attend cultural grieving for his daughter.
Raphael Granites, 26, faced Alice Springs Local Court on Thursday via video link from prison, for a hearing for aggravated assault and domestic violence matters.
Mr Granites was charged with aggravated assault from an incident that allegedly occurred on April 23.
Vigils have been held across the country for Kumanjayi Little Baby. (ABC News: Xavier Martin)
His daughter, Kumanjayi Little Baby, was allegedly abducted on April 25 while Mr Granites was in prison and her body was found in bushland near Alice Springs five days later.
Her disappearance and death has triggered shock and anguish across Australia.
A lawyer for Mr Granites, Sage Wilson-Short, said her client had been deemed suitable for a supervised suspended sentence by NT Corrections, but Judge Jonathan Bortoli said he would not be released.
Judge Bortoli said he “took into account” the “absolutely very tragic” circumstances Mr Granites faced following the death of his daughter, but the nature of his offending was “serious” and involved “an unprovoked assault on the complainant”.
He said Mr Granites was alleged to have been “standing over the top of her, striking her with a closed fist twice” with so much force that it broke skin and caused bruising.
“This comes in a history of an ongoing pattern of domestic violence to the same complainant,” he said.
“And also a pattern of not obeying court orders that includes domestic violence orders.
“It includes various breaches of suspended sentences and there’s quite a history of those.”
Mr Granites is being held at the Alice Springs Correction Centre. (ABC News: Hamish Harty)
On Thursday, the court did not hear what the relationship was between the complainant and the accused.
Prosecutor Sandra Morey said she also strongly opposed Mr Granites being released or given a suspended sentence, and said the ongoing domestic violence offending was against the same victim repeatedly.
A letter tended to the court from Mr Granites’ family said he “had suffered and was still suffering from immense loss” and that he was missing “sorry business” in Yuendumu.
Kumanjayi Little Baby’s body was found on April 30 in bushland on the outskirts of Alice Springs.
Five-year-old Kumanjayi Little Baby went missing from a town camp near Alice Springs. (Supplied: NT Police)
Jefferson Lewis, 47, has been arrested and charged with her murder and two other charges, which cannot be cited for legal reasons in the NT.
Suppression order for naming Mr Granites denied
An application for a suppression order seeking to stop Mr Granites’ name from being published was denied.
Another lawyer for Mr Granites, Sandy Leonard, argued that an order to suppress his name and details of his offending was necessary to prevent further violence and “exacerbate” community tensions.
The matter was heard in court at Alice Springs on Friday. (ABC News: Hamish Harty)
“[Media reporting] potentially creates more fuel to an already volatile, incredibly sensitive situation,” she said.
“We say that the existing levels of unrest and recent events show that any lesser measures from a suppression order will not sufficiently mitigate the risk … there’s a real prospect of further escalation.”
Ms Leonard added that she was concerned for the safety of her client, including the risk of violence being used against him.
Judge Bortoli denied the application on the grounds of open justice and proceeded with the hearing.
Mr Granites faces a sentence of 18 months with a non-parole period of six months if he pleads guilty.
The matter is adjourned until May 15 when Mr Granites will enter his plea.