SYDNEY (dpa): A man has been charged with murder in Australia in connection with the killing of a 5-year-old girl in a case that prompted serious unrest in the small central town of Alice Springs.
Broadcaster 7News reported on Sunday that the 47-year-old has been charged over the incident and is due to appear in court in Darwin on Tuesday.
The child's family posthumously named the child Kumanjayi Little Baby in keeping with Indigenous traditions, Australian media reported.
Hundreds of emergency personnel, volunteers and Indigenous trackers searched the hostile outback around Alice Springs for five days after she disappeared from a house in an Indigenous settlement where the suspect is said to have also been staying.
Riots broke out in the town shortly before the man's arrest, with media reporting that he was attacked by local people and taken to hospital with injuries. He was reportedly released from prison just six days earlier.
Up to 400 people were involved in the riots, with some accusing the police of protecting the suspect. Officers were injured and police cars and ambulances damaged.
Police have said the situation has since calmed down, with investigations under way following the unrest.
"This is a horrific event and a horrific set of circumstances," police chief Martin Dole said in Australian media.
The suspect also reportedly faces two further charges that have not been made public. Investigations are also under way to determine whether the man had any accomplices.
The case has sparked widespread sympathy for the girl's family, with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese among those offering his condolences. - dpa
