00:00Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander viewers are warned that this story
00:03includes references to an Indigenous person who has died.
00:07Just before midday today, police members of the search party located the body of a young
00:14Aboriginal girl. The body was found about five kilometres south of the crime scene
00:19at Old Timers Camp. This is an incredibly distressing development.
00:24A five-day manhunt has concluded with the arrest of a 47-year-old man after the body of an
00:31Indigenous
00:32child was found on the outskirts of an Aboriginal town camp near Alice Springs.
00:37Violent protests broke out after the arrest of Jefferson Lewis as hundreds of community members
00:43congregated outside the Alice Springs hospital where it is believed Jefferson had been taken
00:49by police and paramedics. It's understood Jefferson had been beaten and was unconscious when police
00:55located him at a camp outside Alice Springs. Jefferson Lewis was identified at one of the
01:02town camps at about 10 30 last night. My understanding is that he identified himself to community members
01:07there after intense pressure and media pressure calling for him to make himself known. We had
01:14several calls that he was being assaulted at that time and we turned up and intervened in that assault
01:20and took him into custody. It's my understanding at that time he was unconscious. Our police officers
01:25were attacked at that time as were the St John ambulance crew that attended to assist. They were turned
01:30on by about 200 people. They were able to get out of there and get Mr Lewis to hospital and
01:37then we saw
01:37about 400 people, angry people, gather at the Alice Springs hospital and try and get inside and get to
01:43Jefferson Lewis. So we deployed all of the police resources available to that Alice Springs hospital
01:49and we ensured that that didn't didn't occur and nobody got to him and he's still safety and peace
01:54custody now but in Darwin. Jefferson is accused of abducting and murdering a five-year-old girl.
02:01Her family has asked that she be known as Koemanjai little baby. It really hurts me to saying it but
02:08she was
02:08just a little queen for us. She was a little woman. She was just a little lady.
02:14The girl went missing late on Saturday April 25th,
02:182026 from a home in the old-timers Illipirenye Aboriginal town camp. Her body was found just before
02:27midday on Thursday April 30th. The support shown during this time has been overwhelming
02:34and this is the worst possible outcome. It is very important that Alice Springs community
02:41continues to support one another and it's equally important that the police be allowed to continue to
02:48do their job.
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