The individual suspected of kidnapping and murdering five-year-old Kumanjayi Little Baby has been relocated from Alice Springs to Darwin, prompted by concerns for his safety amidst growing calls for ‘mob justice’ from the local community.
Northern Territory Police Commissioner Martin Dole stated that 47-year-old Jefferson Lewis, the accused, was transferred early this morning due to these escalating safety issues.
“We have significant safety concerns regarding the hospital and medical personnel, our police force, and ultimately Mr. Lewis himself,” Commissioner Dole explained.
“Our officers are committed to serving and protecting all individuals, regardless of the circumstances. Ensuring Mr. Lewis’s safety is part of that duty,” he added.
Commissioner Dole also revealed that police anticipate filing charges against Lewis in the near future.
However, the local community, fueled by anger, is demanding that authorities relinquish custody of Lewis to allow for mob justice.
‘If Alice Springs police don’t hand him over to mob, rioting will get worse, if they don’t – Alice Springs town will start turning into war,’ one said on social media.
Another said: ‘Mob will be waiting for him in Darwin’.
The body of five-year-old Kumanjayi Little Baby (above) was found on Thursday, five days after she went missing on Anzac Day
Jefferson Lewis (above) was taken to hospital under police guard on Thursday night
Commissioner Dole urged locals to let police do their job.
‘We’ve seen that in the last five days, we’ve seen this community come together, and, as I said, stand shoulder to shoulder.
‘And now is not the time to step away from the collegiality that we’ve seen across this community.
‘This man is now in custody, and please do not do anything to jeopardise a future prosecution.’
Lewis is suspected of taking Kumanjayi Little Baby from a house at Old Timers Camp, 6km south of Alice Springs, where he was staying five days ago. Authorities had been searching for him since before he was found on Thursday night.
A local told Daily Mail a group of vigilantes beat Lewis after spotting him lying low at Charles Creek Camp, located near the centre of town.
‘A group of young boys saw him walking down the street and they noticed him as the man on the news,’ the local said.
‘They ran up to him and started beating him viciously. He was trying to get under a shipping container; he might have been sleeping there or just trying to get away from the mob.
A police car was set on fire outside the hospital Jefferson Lewis was staying at after riots broke out
‘He has been beaten badly and is in a bad way. But this won’t be enough, people want tribal punishment and want to keep going.’
Police intervened and arrested Lewis before rushing him to Alice Springs Hospital, where he arrived before 10pm local time. More than 100 people then gathered outside the hospital, throwing rocks at the windows as the furious crowd screamed for Lewis to be brought outside.
They only dispersed when police deployed tear gas, but dozens remained on the street behind the hospital, with one woman claiming some attendees had ‘smashed a cop car up’ in retaliation. Others were seen throwing projectiles at officers.
‘That crowd [outside Alice Springs Hospital] turned on police, throwing rocks and weapons at police,’ Commissioner Dole said.
‘Four ambulances out of the five ambulances in Alice Springs were damaged, making them inoperable.
‘One police vehicle was burnt to the ground.’
The arrest came just hours after police discovered Kumanjayi Little Baby’s remains and confirmed Lewis’s DNA was found on her clothing.
The shattering discovery was made on day five of one of the Northern Territory’s biggest searches, located just 5km from where the young girl was allegedly abducted at Old Timers Camp on Anzac Day.
Kumanjayi Little Baby went missing from a camp near Alice Springs
Lewis had been found by a vigilante group and was beaten before being brought to Alice Springs Hospital (above)
Police earlier issued a chilling warning to Lewis as they ramped up their manhunt, telling him they were closing in.
While on the run, Lewis did not have a vehicle, a phone or even a bank card, rendering modern-day investigation techniques used by police effectively useless.
Assistant Commissioner Malley earlier on Thursday warned Lewis’s relatives against helping him.
‘To the family of Jefferson Lewis: we believe he has murdered this child – do not assist him. Get him to the police station and we’ll look after him. And I’ll say to Jefferson Lewis: we’re coming for you.’
Mary Lewis, who is understood to be Lewis’s aunt, said she hadn’t seen her nephew since he was last in jail.
‘I’m sad. We are grieving. I don’t know what has happened,’ she told Daily Mail on Thursday.
Police previously said there were people in the community who ‘absolutely knew’ where Lewis was.
They warned that anyone sheltering him would face charges.
Locals place flowers on the fence at the camp where Kumanjayi Little Baby lived
People looking for Kumanjayi Little Baby are pictured on day five of one of the Northern Territory’s biggest searches
Lewis was sentenced to 64 months in prison, between 2016 and 2025, for offences including aggravated assaults, breaching domestic violence orders, bail and resisting police.
It’s understood Lewis was known to the victim’s family who have shared a tribute in the wake of her death.
‘I know you are in heaven with the rest of the family,’ her mother, Jacinta White, said in a statement.
‘Me and your brother will meet you one day. We are giving our lives to Jesus.
‘It’s going to be so hard to live the rest of our lives without you.
‘Ramsiah wants to tell you that when he sees you in heaven, he is going to give you the biggest hug ever.’
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese followed with a tribute to Kumanjayi Little Baby, who was ‘just at the start of life’s adventure’.
‘This is the tragic outcome we were all desperately hoping against,’ Albanese wrote in a statement.
‘No words can measure up to the immensity of the grief her family is going through. In their time of terrible loss, all Australians hold them in our hearts.
‘This is devastating for the whole Alice Springs community, which came together to find her. We wish them strength, and also to the police in their difficult work as they pursue answers and, ultimately, justice.
‘May Kumanjayi Little Baby live on in every heart she ever touched.’
1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732)
National Sexual Abuse and Redress Support Service 1800 211 028
13YARN 13 92 76
