Police have arrested Jefferson Lewis, the man suspected of abducting and killing a five-year-old girl in the Northern Territory.
Kumanjayi Little Baby was taken from a house at Old Timers Camp, 6km south of Alice Springs, where Lewis was staying five days ago, and authorities had been searching for him since.
The little girl’s family asked she be referred to as Kumanjayi Little Baby. Kumanjayi is a substitute name used by Warlpiri people for a deceased person, to avoid the taboo of speaking their name after death.
A local has revealed to Daily Mail how 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.
‘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.’
Lewis was rushed to Alice Springs Hospital under police guard, arriving before 10pm local time. More than 100 people then gathered outside the hospital and threw rocks at the windows as the furious group 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.
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
A large crowd (above) gathered outside the hospital and threw rocks at its windows
NT Police confirmed his arrest in a statement: ‘A short time ago, the Northern Territory Police Force located and arrested Jefferson Lewis at a residence in Alice Springs.’
Footage of the arrest showed Lewis on the ground, appearing seriously injured as officers handcuffed him.
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.
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.’
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)
A police vehicle is set alight after community members clashed with police outside Alice Springs Hospital, where a man accused of abducting and killing five-year-old Kumanjayi Little Baby was taken after being arrested
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.
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.
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
‘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.’
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