Emotional scenes as Kumanjayi Little Baby's family attend first court appearance for her alleged killer as he is EXCUSED from appearing

Published: 02:47, 5 May 2026 | Updated: 02:54, 5 May 2026 The man charged with the murder of five-year-old Kumanjayi Little Baby has been excused from appearing before court, just minutes before her heartbroken family turned up to attend the matter. Jefferson Lewis, 47, was due to appear before Alice Springs Local Court on Tuesday morning via an audio-visual link, however he was excused from the hearing. The court was only open to the public for around 20 minutes before it was wrapped up, with Judge Anthony Hopkins adjourning the matter to July 30. It's believed lawyers representing Lewis, who remains in custody, asked for him to be excused from the July hearing. There were emotional scenes outside court after Kumanjayi Little Baby's family turned up to witness the hearing, only to realise they had missed it. An Elder woman could be seen sobbing as she walked up the court steps, with Kumanjayi Little Baby's brother flanked by Aunties. They had white ochre on their faces, which is worn by Indigenous people during sorry business. The Daily Mail understands the family were taken to a private room where the court proceedings were explained. There were emotional scenes outside court after Kumanjayi Little Baby's family turned up to witness the hearing, only to realise they had missed it The family were taken to a private room where the court proceedings were explained Kumanjayi Little Baby, five, is believed to have been snatched from a house at Old Timers Camp, 6km south of Alice Springs, on April 25 Around 15 minutes later, the family left the courthouse and were seen gathered in a park across the road.  It marks the first time since they have been seen in public since Kumanjayi Little Baby went missing.  Lewis is suspected of taking Kumanjayi Little Baby from a house at Old Timers Camp, 6km south of Alice Springs, where he was staying last month. Police allege Lewis crept into the room on Anzac Day where the five-year-old girl had been put to bed on a mattress, before sneaking her out via the side door sparking a massive manhunt for the pair. After an extensive five-day search, her body was found near the riverbed about 5km away on Thursday, April 30. 'This is a horrific event and a horrific set of circumstances and our thoughts remain strongly with the family and the community as everyone processes the impact of these horrific events,' NT Police Commissioner Martin Dole told reporters on Sunday morning.  'This has been an extensive and detailed investigation. Our detectives have been working around the clock to come up with this outcome.'  Jefferson Lewis, 47, has been charged with her murder and remains in custody No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.