Vigils to be held across Australia for murdered 5-year-old girl

Warning for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers: this article contains references to and images of someone who has died.

Vigils are to be held across Australia on Thursday to remember a 5-year-old girl who was allegedly murdered two weeks ago.

The body of the girl, known as Kumanjayi Little Baby for cultural reasons, was found on 30 April, five days after she went missing from an Aboriginal town camp near Alice Springs.

Jefferson Lewis, 47, has been charged with her murder, which sparked riots in Alice Springs amid an outpouring of grief and anger.

The public has been invited to join candlelit vigils in the Northern Territory (NT) town and other state capitals and cities late on Thursday afternoon. Her family has encouraged those attending to wear pink, Kumanjayi Little Baby's favourite colour.

The vigil in Alice Springs will be held at the Anzac sports oval at 17.30 local time.

It will create "a space for everyone to channel their grief and show their support to family", town mayor Asta Hill said in a social media post.

Vigils will also be held in Sydney, Melbourne, Perth, Darwin, Canberra, Adelaide, Brisbane and Hobart, as well as many other smaller towns.

There were few people out and about on Thursday ahead of the vigil in Alice Springs, which has a small population of 30,000. One resident described the atmosphere as subdued.

Outside the Old Timers Camp, where Kumanjayi Little Baby went missing on 25 April, there was a growing tribute of flowers, cuddly toys and messages in front of the chain link fence on Thursday.

One read "Our hearts break when we heard you were gone." Nearby, a large painted pebble was left, painted with the message "May justice be done."

Knitted koalas, cuddly toys, candles and cards were also piling up. Every so often, a car would stop along the busy road and another mourner would step out - some had come to read the tributes and reflect, others to add to the sea of pink gifts.

Kumanjayi Little Baby was last seen when she was put to bed just before midnight at the camp - a site set aside by the government for Aboriginal people to stay in when in Alice Springs.

She was reported missing several hours later, prompting a large-scale search for the child, who was non-verbal.

Police found her body several kilometres from the camp five days later. Hours later, Lewis - who had been attacked by community members - was arrested and taken to a hospital in Alice Springs for treatment.

A riot erupted outside the hospital, with police later arresting five people over the violence.

Kumanjayi Little Baby's family called for calm amid the unrest.

Family member and senior Yapa (Warlpiri) elder Robin Granites called for the public to allow justice to take its course and to show respect for the family as it observed "sorry business", a period of collective mourning within Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.

On Wednesday, three child protection workers were stood down after an investigation into the circumstances leading up to Kumanjayi Little Baby's disappearance and death.

Using the name of deceased people, as well as broadcasting their image or voice, breaches cultural protocols around mourning in many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities and cannot be done without the permission of their families.