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Updated August 15, 2026 \u2014 5:09pm,first published 5:08pm<\/p>\n
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Remove items from your saved list<\/a> to add more.<\/p>\n AAA<\/p>\n Warning: This story contains the name and images of an Indigenous person who has died.<\/p>\n The Warlpiri word Jintangka was the theme of Kumanjayi Little Baby\u2019s funeral held in central Australia on Saturday, as family and friends mourned the young girl and called on the nation to come together following her alleged murder earlier this year.<\/p>\n Jintangka means \u201ctogether as one\u201d, and Alice Springs locals from all walks of life, dressed in pink, descended on the Desert Life Church to mourn the five-year-old girl, who was allegedly abducted and murdered by Jefferson Lewis in April.<\/a><\/p>\n Lewis is alleged to have taken her from a home in Old Timers Camp, sparking an extensive search by hundreds of community members, emergency services, police and specialist trackers until her body was found on the banks of the Todd River days later.<\/a><\/p>\n Her death sparked a national outcry<\/a> and broke the hearts of millions of Australians. About 400 mourners gathered at the outdoor church service on Saturday morning to walk with the hearse as it travelled down to the chapel, and later, to the bush graveyard where she was buried.<\/p>\n Those paying their respects included nuns from the Missionaries of Charity, bikies, state emergency service volunteers and the mayor of Alice Springs.<\/p>\n Mourners were dressed in all shades of pink \u2013 Kumanjayi Little Baby\u2019s favourite colour \u2013 and pictures of the young girl with angel wings and holding up a peace sign adorned the front page of a ceremonial booklet handed out to attendees.<\/p>\n Elder and family member Robin Granites welcomed Alice Springs locals and visitors alike to the girl\u2019s funeral, and thanked the mourners for wearing pink.<\/p>\n \u201cThe pink reminds us of the clothes that [Little Baby] used to wear,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cYou see the pink in the sunset, and even in the early morning \u2013 that will remind us [of her].\u201d<\/p>\n He later went on to deliver the eulogy for his granddaughter in a mix of Warlpiri and English, and said his family would be opening their arms to anyone who wanted to mourn with them.<\/p>\n \u201cToday is a very sad day,\u201d he said. \u201cWe are all here as one.\u201d<\/p>\n He said he was grateful for the Alice Springs community for coming out and helping to search for the young girl,<\/a> and for everyone who donated to the funeral celebrations.<\/p>\n Related Article Pastor Rejieli Paulo-Smith, speaking on behalf of Kumanjayi Little Baby\u2019s mother Jacinta, said she wished to emphasise who her little girl was, rather than how her life came to an end.<\/p>\n \u201cShe was precious. She was a gift. She was everyone\u2019s beautiful baby girl \u2026 as a mother, my heart breaks into a million pieces. I miss her,\u201d the statement read.<\/p>\n \u201cKumanjayi wasn\u2019t simply a little girl who was known by the community; she was Mum\u2019s baby too. She was the little girl whose presence filled their home, and whose absence has left an enormous space. Mum remembers the things that made Kumanjayi uniquely herself. She loved playing games on Mum\u2019s phone.<\/p>\n \u201cShe learned to play Minecraft because she watched her big brother Ramsiah playing Minecraft too. She loved watching Masha and the Bear and Bluey, and when she was very little, she would smile when she watched Coco Melon.<\/p>\n \u201cShe loved cuddling puppies. She loved the colour pink, which many of you are wearing today, and we say thank you. She loved the colours of the rainbow. She loved music. She loved going to kindy, and Mum called her what she was \u2013 her little princess.\u201d<\/p>\n Paulo-Smith said Jacinta\u2019s faith had helped her deal with the pain from her daughter\u2019s death, and she acknowledged the girl had \u201cleft an imprint on the hearts of many people who had never met her\u201d.<\/p>\n Another family member showed a painting he had completed before the service, featuring a tree of life and a shield which he said emphasised the need for the community to come together.<\/p>\n Rain began to fall as a choir sang a Christian hymn in Warlpiri as part of the service.<\/p>\n Mourners also included Northern Territory politician and aunty Jacinta Nampijinpa Price, who offered Kumanjayi Little Baby an emotional address in the federal parliament shortly after her death.<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t want to be here right now, to have to stand in this chamber to deliver a condolence speech for a little girl in my family,\u201d she said at the time.<\/p>\n \u201cMy niece\u2019s life was taken senselessly … and the hardest truth of all is that for many in my hometown, none of this came as a surprise.\u201d<\/p>\n Nampijinpa Price called for an inquiry about the conditions in town camps, although the call was not seconded by opposition indigenous affairs spokesman Julian Leeser.<\/a><\/p>\n At the service, both Kumanjayi Little Baby\u2019s family and priests, pastors and representatives from many different faiths across the Alice Springs community again echoed their calls for unity, saying photos of her flashing the peace sign should be a message going forward.<\/p>\n \u201cShe made such a simple gesture, yet it spoke so loudly and speaks loudly now, of peace, of innocence, of a spirit that touched so many hearts in such a short time,\u201d Paulo-Smith said.<\/p>\n \u201cMum says that Kumanjayi Little Baby will be remembered as a peacemaker for her people. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God, peace to her people.\u201d<\/p>\n Start the day with a summary of the day\u2019s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter<\/a>.<\/p>\n Save<\/p>\n You have reached your maximum number of saved items.<\/p>\n![\"Mourners](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/66b5cf144fddb40deaa1c9bfb50a1150968763e6.jpeg\")
Mourners heard how Kumanjayi Little Baby loved to flash the peace sign.Justin McManus<\/p>\n![\"Attendees](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/f366de0e963829f0f8b5281beef03e9b1d942db0.jpeg\")
Attendees wore pink, Kumanjayi Little Baby\u2019s favourite colour.Justin McManus<\/p>\n![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/c7516d3a1279ed2d87fd8962bce0c612ed62c877.jpeg\")
The service focused on who the girl was rather than how her life came to an end.Justin McManus<\/p>\n![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/d7fd5fc43535354b6adc79fef178dc76fc5ef0f0.jpeg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n![\"Mourners](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/555ffaa8c77fe5474836b6d040f4633b117b3b95.jpeg\")
Mourners from all walks of life gathered for the service on Saturday.Justin McManus<\/p>\n![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/ba94a6587a4e2698e3e8834e0db7e943fc267ea9.jpeg\")
The five-year-old was found dead after hundreds of people spent days searching for her.Justin McManus<\/p>\n![\"Jacinta](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/a274817806282425a6f3d488c22c6b393cd1326f.jpeg\")
Jacinta Nampijinpa Price was among those attending the service on Saturday.Justin McManus<\/p>\n