The shattered family of Kumanjayi Little Baby faces fresh anguish as fears grow over the deteriorating health of the little girl’s grieving grandmother.
Karen White, who is in a wheelchair, has been getting sicker since her five-year-old granddaughter went missing from her home in the Old Timers Camp on the outskirts of Alice Springs ten days ago.
The child’s mother, Jacinta White, who has been staying in a safe house, broke cover for the first time on Sunday to be by Karen’s side, amid concerns she is becoming overwhelmed by trauma.
‘She is sick but also it’s sadness,’ a family member told the Daily Mail.
‘She is sick in her heart. It’s grief and it’s not good and it is making her more unwell. Now she is very sick.’
At about 1.30am on April 26, Warlpiri girl Kumanjayi Little Baby – the name used after her death at her family’s request in line with cultural protocols – was reported missing.
It is alleged that 47-year-old Jefferson Lewis had crept into the room where she had been put to bed on a mattress on Anzac Day and taken her out via the side door.
For five days, police and volunteers combed the surrounding land, moving across red dirt tracks and dry riverbeds, hoping to find her alive.
Kumanjayi Little Baby’s grandmother Karen White is said to be ‘very sick’. Her daughter, Jacinta White – Kumanjayi Little Baby’s mother – left the safe house where she has been staying to be by Karen’s side on Sunday
Kumanjayi Little Baby’s body was found south of Alice Springs on Thursday, April 30. Through tears, Karen said she remains haunted by images of what happened to the five-year-old
But on April 30, her body was found about 5km from the home where she was last seen – and her distraught family fled the house they had lived in for about seven years, vowing never to return.
Through tears, Karen White told the Daily Mail she remains haunted by images of what happened to Kumanjayi Little Baby.
‘It’s too much. I cannot go back there. I never can again. She was just so beautiful and such a good girl and I miss her,’ she said.
Now staying with friends as the family mourns during what is known as ‘sorry business’, Karen said she is in constant pain, refusing to sleep on a proper bed after leaving hers behind.
That mattress is the one Kumanjayi Little Baby was laid down on by her mother Jacinta on Anzac Day at about 11pm – the last time she was seen alive.
Karen White says she simply cannot bring herself to go near it again.
Visibly frail, Karen winced as she lifted her blanket to reveal a heavily bandaged leg, explaining she had sought medical treatment for a suspected infection and was now on medication.
Family members say she is barely sleeping and has lost her appetite, taking only ice water or cold drinks at mealtimes.
Jefferson Lewis is in police custody after surviving a vigilante attack
This is the squalid factory where Lewis, the man charged with murdering five-year-old Kumanjayi Little Baby, is believed to have been hiding out in the days before his arrest
The floor was littered with discarded food packaging and empty bottles of alcohol
Photos taken by the Mail show the words ‘LIKE TO… HURT KIDZ’ scrawled on a surface beside the entryway, presumably by a vandal who entered the premises after Lewis’ arrest
Lewis, 47, was arrested after he was hunted down by an angry crowd of vigilantes
By Sunday, her condition had worsened so significantly that Kumanjayi Little Baby’s mother Jacinta made a desperate dash to be by her side.
Having been placed in a secure facility, Jacinta has been under around-the-clock protection amid concerns for her mental health and fears for her physical safety after rioting broke out in the aftermath of Lewis’s arrest.
It was a group of boys who initially spotted Lewis, creeping through their camp under the cover of darkness.
The chaos that followed unfolded quickly – more than 30 people joined in on a violent assault on Lewis.
After a struggle, Lewis was taken to Alice Springs Hospital with severe head injuries.
But the violence did not stop there. Within hours, about 400 people gathered outside the hospital, demanding he be handed over for ‘payback’ under customary law.
Lewis was taken to Alice Springs Hospital with severe head injuries. Within hours, about 400 people gathered outside, demanding he be handed over for ‘payback’ under customary law
With tensions rising and fears over where that retribution might fall, Jacinta has remained in the safe house under constant protection.
While still coming to terms with the loss of her daughter, she did briefly emerge to spend time with her mother and young son, Kumanjayi Little Baby’s brother, offering comfort to them both.
It was revealed yesterday that a total of six child protection reports were made about Kumanjayi Little Baby shortly before she was allegedly murdered.
The Northern Territory’s Department of Children and Families received the reports about the five-year-old living in a ‘dangerous environment’ from mid-March until two days before she disappeared from the Old Timers town camp in Alice Springs.
More than a dozen child protection reports centred on Kumanjayi Little Baby since her birth, but none of the six recent reports were investigated.
The latest report was in connection with an alleged aggravated assault on the girl’s mother on April 22. Her father was charged and remains in custody.
Karen White spoke to the Daily Mail for the first time about these details being made public, in yet another blow to the family as they grieve the loss of their child.
She claimed that Jacinta was a victim of alleged domestic violence, but wished for the details to remain private during the ongoing investigation and because of safety concerns, adding: ‘I know it’s really hard for me and Jacinta.’
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