Suspect is arrested in the death of Kumanjayi Little Baby, 5, who went missing from her Northern Territory home five days ago – as local reveals how vigilantes discovered him
Police have arrested Jefferson Lewis, suspected of kidnapping and murdering a five-year-old girl in the Northern Territory.
Little Baby Kumanjayi was taken from a house at Old Timers Camp, 6 kilometers south of Alice Springs, where Lewis had been staying five days earlier, and authorities had been searching for him ever since.
The little girl’s family wanted her to be known as Kumanjayi Little Baby. Kumanjayi is a substitute name that the Warlpiri people use for a deceased person to avoid the taboo of saying their name after death.
A local described to the Daily Mail how Lewis was beaten by a group of vigilantes who spotted him hiding out at Camp Charles Creek near the town centre.
‘A group of teenage boys saw him walking down the street and realized he was the man from the news,’ the local source said.
‘They rushed to him and started beating him brutally. He was trying to crawl under a shipping container; He might be sleeping there or just trying to get away from the crowd.
‘He was beaten very badly and is in a bad state. But that won’t be enough, people want tribal punishment and want to continue.’
Lewis was taken to Alice Springs Hospital under police guard and arrived just before 10pm local time. More than 100 people later gathered outside the hospital and threw rocks at the windows as the angry group screamed for Lewis to be let out.
They dispersed when police used tear gas, but dozens remained in the street behind the hospital; one woman claimed some participants ‘smashed a police car’ in retaliation. Some of them were also seen throwing bullets at the police.
The body of five-year-old Kumanjayi Toddler (above) was found on Thursday, five days after she went missing on Anzac Day.
Jefferson Lewis (above) was hospitalized under police guard on Thursday night
A large crowd (above) gathered outside the hospital and threw rocks at its windows.
NT Police confirmed his arrest in a statement: ‘Recently the Northern Territory Police Force located and arrested Jefferson Lewis at a residence in Alice Springs.’
Footage of the arrest showed Lewis lying on the ground and officers handcuffing him.
The arrest came just hours after police discovered Little Baby Kumanjayi’s remains and confirmed that Lewis’ DNA was found on his clothing.
The shocking discovery was made on the fifth day of one of the Northern Territory’s biggest searches, just 5 kilometers from where the girl was allegedly kidnapped. Old Timers Camp on Anzac Day.
Police earlier issued a chilling warning as they stepped up the manhunt, saying they were closing in on Lewis.
While on the run, Lewis did not have a vehicle, a phone or even a bank card, making the modern investigative techniques used by the police virtually useless.
Deputy Commissioner Malley warned Lewis’ relatives early Thursday not to help him.
‘To the family of Jefferson Lewis: We believe he killed this child, do not help him. Take him to the police station, we’ll take care of him. And I’ll tell Jefferson Lewis: We’re coming for you.’
Little Baby Kumanjayi disappeared from a camp near Alice Springs
Lewis was found by a vigilante group and beaten before being taken to Alice Springs Hospital (above)
A police car was set on fire after community members clashed with police outside Alice Springs Hospital, where a man accused of kidnapping and murdering five-year-old Kumanjayi Little Baby was taken after his arrest.
Mary Lewis, who appears to be Lewis’ aunt, said she had not seen her nephew since he was last incarcerated.
‘I am sad. We are suffering. I don’t know what happened,’ he told the Daily Mail on Thursday.
Police have previously said there were people in the area who “certainly knew” Lewis’ whereabouts.
They warned that anyone harboring him would face charges.
Lewis was sentenced to 64 months in prison between 2016 and 2025 for offenses including aggravated assault, breaching a domestic violence order, breaching bail and resisting police.
Lewis is understood to have been known to the victim’s family, who held a memorial service following his death.
“I know he is in heaven with the rest of his family,” his mother, Jacinta White, said in a statement.
‘Me and your brother will meet you one day. We give our lives to Jesus.
Local people leave flowers on the fence of the camp where Kumanjayi Little Baby lives
People searching for Kumanjayi Little Baby are photographed on the fifth day of one of the biggest searches in the Northern Territory
‘It will be very difficult to live the rest of our lives without you.
‘Ramsiah wants to tell you that when he sees you in heaven he will give you the biggest hug ever.’
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese paid tribute to Little Baby Kumanjayi, who was ‘just at the beginning of his life adventure’.
“This was the tragic outcome we all desperately hoped for,” Albanese wrote in a statement.
‘No words can describe the magnitude of the pain his family is going through. All Australians hold them in our hearts in this time of terrible loss.
‘This is a devastating incident for the entire Alice Springs community who have come together to find him. We wish them and the police strength in their difficult work in pursuit of answers and ultimately justice.
‘May Little Baby Kumanjayi live on in every heart he touches.’
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