Man ‘who abducted and killed’ girl, 5, airlifted out of town after he was hunted by vigilantes

The prime suspect in the abduction and murder of a five-year-old girl had to be airlifted out of a remote Australian town for his own safety during a night of rioting on the streets.

Jefferson Lewis, 47, was relocated after hundreds of locals clashed with police demanding ‘payback’ for the killing of the indigenous youngster, referred to by her family as Kumanjayi Little Baby.

Kumanjayi disappeared from a community camp in Alice Springs on Saturday night, sparking a days-long search on foot and by air that gripped much of the country.

After her body was found around three miles from the camp, police named Lewis as her suspected killer and urged him to surrender.

He later handed himself in to Indigenous community members, who beat him unconscious while meting out ‘vigilante justice’.

In an update, Northern Territory Police Force Commissioner Martin Dole told reporters: ‘He presented himself to one of the town camps in Alice Springs last night.

‘As a result of presenting himself, members of that town camp decided to inflict vigilante justice upon Jefferson.’

When police and emergency services intervened, they too came under attack before Lewis was taken to hospital, Mr Dole said.

He added that a large crowd of around 400 people gathered outside the hospital and then tried to force their way inside.

Footage from the ABC showed Indigenous people calling for ‘payback’, which refers to traditional, mostly physical, punishment in Aboriginal societies.

Police fired tear gas to disperse the crowd, who threw projectiles and lit fires, injuring a number of police officers and medical workers, and damaging police vehicles, ambulances and fire trucks.

Mr Dole said: ‘We called out all the resources we had available to quell that violent disturbance.

‘And just let me say that the behaviour that we saw last night cannot be explained away, excused or accepted.’

One woman was being investigated for allegedly trying to set a police car alight.

Police said they removed Lewis for his safety from hospital to the Northern Territory capital of Darwin, where he was being held in custody.

He is expected to face charges in the coming days.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said he understood ‘people’s anger and frustration’ but urged the community to come together.

Northern Territory Chief Minister Lia Finocchiaro said Kumanjayi’s death was the realisation of ‘our worst nightmares’.

But it was no excuse for violence, she said, recalling how the community had united to search for the missing child.

‘This week, we’ve seen this town come together like never before – hundreds of people walking shoulder to shoulder through the long buffel grass, through the bush, to make sure we left no stone unturned,’ Ms Finocchiaro said.

‘I don’t want last night to take away from that extraordinary effort.’

Robin Granites, a spokesman for the family and an elder of the Warlpiri Indigenous group, called for calm in the community.

‘It is time now for sorry business, to show respect for our family and have space for grieving and remembering,’ he said in a statement.

‘We need to be strong for each other, we must respect family and cultural practice.’

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