An outback town is exhausted and heartbroken after a young girl's death and a chaotic night triggered an accused murderer's evacuation, an Elder says.

Jefferson Lewis, 47, had to be airlifted to Darwin after an angry crowd attacked him then tried to storm an Alice Springs hospital on Thursday night, where he was taken following his arrest.

'Payback': The local Indigenous custom that led cops to take Jefferson Lewis out of Darwin - as elder Warren Mundine shares a blunt message https://t.co/tRi8nb304C

— Daily Mail (@DailyMail) May 1, 2026

He is expected to be charged with the murder of the five-year-old girl, referred to as Kumanjayi Little Baby at her family's request and in line with cultural traditions.

Aboriginal Elder Michael Liddle said the unrest was an explosion of rage that ignored the consequences and undermined the community's united response to the girl's disappearance.

"What took place yesterday was an incident of anger that turned into violence that had no thinking about the consequence,"…