Authorities are now looking for a 47-year-old former inmate, who had recently been released and became the main suspect, after his DNA was detected on the victim’s underwear.
Australian police said on Thursday they had found a body believed to be that of a missing five-year-old indigenous girl. Authorities add that she was looking for the man who allegedly murdered her.
The child, identified by family as Kumanjayi Little Baby, was reported missing from her home in a remote community in central Australia late on Saturday. The body was found shortly before noon on Thursday (local time), approximately five kilometers from where she had been taken.
The main suspect is Jefferson Lewis, 47, who had recently been released from prison and was in the region at the time of the disappearance. “The focus at this time is on locating Jefferson Lewis. That is our only task in this investigation at this time,” Northern Territory Police Assistant Commissioner Peter Malley said at a press conference.
“I tell Jefferson Lewis’ family that we believe he murdered this child. Don’t help him. Take him to the police station and we’ll deal with him. And I tell Jefferson Lewis, ‘We’re going after you,'” he said.
The official also added that the police seized objects at the crime scene, including a pair of children’s underwear. Forensic analysis of the child’s underwear detected DNA profiles belonging to the missing girl and Jefferson Lewis.
Police said an autopsy would be scheduled to confirm the cause of death and that a coroner’s investigation would also be carried out. The news of Kumanjayi Little Baby’s disappearance made national news and hundreds of people have taken part in ground and air searches across inhospitable desert terrain.
Australia has struggled for decades to reconcile with its indigenous population, who have inhabited the territory for around 50,000 years but were marginalized by British colonial rulers. Thousands live in communities known as camps on the outskirts of Alice Springs, where housing and services are often inadequate. Old Timers Camp, where little Kumanjayi Little Baby and her family lived, is a small community with only about 40 residents.
According to Reuters, indigenous Australians represent about 3.8% of the Australian population of around 27 million, but they are near the bottom of the table in almost all economic and social indicators, and have disproportionately high rates of suicide and arrests.
