Kim Jamie Keith Kellett to reappear in May after he did not apply for bail in Darwin Local Court

A Katherine man who allegedly told police a bullet fired into the chest of another man was a “warning shot” for the reported intruder did not apply for bail on Thursday morning.

A KATHERINE man who allegedly told police a bullet fired into the chest of another man was a “warning shot” for the reported intruder blew kisses to his family in court via video link on Thursday morning.

Kim Jamie Keith Kellett, 38, appeared in Darwin Local Court charged with murder and manslaughter after the shooting death of a 26-year-old Indigenous man at the accused’s home near the Cutta Cutta Caves, 30km southeast of Katherine, early on March 17.

For the accused on Thursday, Peter Maley said his client would not be applying for bail before the matter was adjourned until May 25.

“I understand negotiations are continuing,” Mr Maley told the court as Kellett blew kisses to his family members before the link was terminated.

Police guard the gates to Cutta Cutta Caves. Picture: (A)manda Parkinson.

He has not yet entered a plea to the charges.

Earlier, the NT News was told that Kellett allegedly informed police he was attempting to scare off a man who had startled his wife in the early hours of March 17.

It is understood Kellett, his wife Danielle and two children, aged two and seven, were at their home at the ranger station on the Cutta Cutta Caves Nature Park when a man was found in their home.

Ms Kellett, an NT park ranger, reportedly called police at 4.08am on March 17 after she spotted the male stranger as she walked into the kitchen to prepare a bottle for her youngest child.

The matter was first heard in the Katherine Court earlier this month.

Triple-0 details of lead-up to Katherine shooting revealed

THE details of the triple-0 call made in the lead-up to the fatal shooting of an Indigenous man near Katherine can now be revealed.

Kim Kellett, 38, was charged with murder and manslaughter after the shooting death of a 26-year-old ­Indigenous man at the accused’s home near the Cutta Cutta Caves, 30km southeast of Katherine.

The police’s statement of facts, released to the NT News, detail the alleged conversations with operators and officers before and after they arrived at the scene.

On March 17 at 4.08am, it is alleged Kellett’s wife Danielle, an NT park ranger, called police after she went to prepare a bottle for her youngest child when she spotted the stranger standing in the middle of her kitchen.

The statement claims her screams woke her husband, who barged into the kitchen to scare off the man.

On the phone to police, the operator asked Ms Kellett if anyone was hurt.

“Not yet, but someone will be because he is weird,” Ms Kellett allegedly replied.

“But I’m sitting in my room, if he comes in here he won’t be walking out. I’ll tell you that.

“I’m sitting in the room with my gun.”

Police will allege in the background of the call, her husband was heard yelling “tell them to hurry up because he’s going to get shot, mate”.

“My kids are here,” it’s alleged Kellett said. The couple are parents to two children, aged two and seven.

Near the Cutta Cutta Caves where the incident occurred. Picture: (A)manda Parkinson

It’s alleged Ms Kellett told operators her husband had locked the doors, with the intruder outside around parked cars. Ms Kellett is alleged to have called her neighbours after hanging up from emergency services, with police ­arriving 18 minutes later.

It was then they found a deceased man lying on his back in the driveway, 33m away from the Kellett’s home. “On initial inspection there appeared to be a single bullet wound to the top of the male’s chest,” the police report said.

It is alleged Kellett approached the officer and said “Oh sh-t, I only just fired a warning shot”. Ms Kellett allegedly told investigators, after calling police, her husband took the gun and went outside. She then allegedly heard a single gunshot.

Kellett is alleged to have told officers that after he chased the man out of his home, the 26-year-old “shaped up” to him as if to fight, but then turned and ran away. Kellett allegedly told police he went back inside when he heard further noises outside and grabbed his gun and went to the corner of the house.

“I came out and I heard him and I just went ‘boom’ like to scare him off and say we had a gun and f--k off,” Kellett allegedly said.

He is alleged to have said that he did not see the victim when firing the gun.

Kellett was arrested on suspicion of murder and taken to the Katherine Police Watch House. Kellett fired the fatal shot at the 26-year-old, despite having “various other options available to him”, according to the statement of alleged facts.

“If he intended to fire a warning shot he could have fired into the air or into the garden bed next to him,” the statement of alleged facts said. “The defendant chose to fire in the direction of the victim, knowing that if he hit him he may cause his death.”

A preliminary examination mention will be held in Darwin on May 25. Kellett will remain remanded in custody until the next hearing.

GoFundMe for man accused of murder may be rebooted

A GoFundMe page for a Katherine man charged with murder has been “temporarily suspended” while the platform reviews how the funds raised will be spent.

Since kicking off on Tuesday, the organiser had raised more than $35,000 to “help pay the legal bills” for 38-year-old Kim Jamie Keith Kellett, who allegedly shot an intruder who was on his property near Katherine last Thursday.

The page was taken down from the platform less than 48 hours after first appearing.

In a statement to the NT News, a GoFundMe spokesman said the platform had paused the fundraiser while they work with the organiser to determine how they intend to use the funds.

“The trust and safety of our global community is our top priority,” the spokesman said.

“That is why the GoFundMe page in question has been temporarily suspended to allow our Trust and Safety team to complete its standard verification process.

“We are continuing to work directly with the organiser to gather information about how funds are being distributed, this is part of a standard process to ensure the protection of all donors, and compliance with the law and our Terms of Service.”

Last Friday, Mr Kellett was charged with murder and manslaughter after he allegedly shot a 26-year-old male intruder at his home at the ranger station in the Cutta Cutta Caves Nature Park.

Kellett allegedly told police he only intended to fire a warning shot and was attempting to scare off a man who had startled his wife in the early hours of last Thursday morning.

It is understood the man was found naked with the exception of a pair of dark coloured boxers stuffed with grass and a single bullet wound at the top of his chest.

$35k collected in fundraiser started for murder accused

MORE than $35,000 has been raised to help pay the legal bills for a man charged with the shooting murder of another.

Started by Lorretta Gibson, the GoFundMe is raising money for Kim Jamie Keith Kellett, 38, — who is facing murder and manslaughter charges after he allegedly shot an intruder who was on his property — and his partner Danni, and two children, aged 2 and 7.

So far, the fundraising page has received more than 120 donations, with some totalling more than $5000 a piece.

In a post on the GoFundMe, Ms Gibson thanked supporters for their donations as she increased the ultimate fundraising goal following the many donations.

“Any support, no matter how much, will take some pressure off this young family,” she said.

“This is a tragic situation that nobody should ever go through.”

The shooting of a 26-year-old Indigenous man occurred in the early hours of Thursday at Kellett’s home near the Cutta Cutta Caves.

The NT News has been told Kellett allegedly told police he was trying to scare off a man who had startled his wife.

Ms Kellett, an NT park ranger, reportedly called police at 4.08am on March 17 after she spotted the male stranger as she walked into the kitchen to prepare a bottle for her youngest child.

Police allege Katherine shooter fired ‘warning shot’ to the chest

A KATHERINE man allegedly told police a bullet fired into the chest of another man was a ‘warning shot’ for the reported intruder.

Kim Jamie Keith Kellett, 38, has been charged with murder and manslaughter after the shooting death of a 26-year-old Indigenous man at his home, near the Cutta Cutta Caves 30km southeast of Katherine.

The NT News has been told that Kellett allegedly told police he was attempting to scare off a man who had startled his wife in the early hours of last Thursday morning.

It is understood Kellett, his wife Danielle and two children, aged two and seven, were at their home at the ranger station on the Cutta Cutta Caves Nature Park when a man was found in their home.

Ms Kellett, an NT park ranger, reportedly called police at 4.08am on March 17 after she spotted the male stranger as she walked into the kitchen to prepare a bottle for her youngest child.

Police will allege her screams woke her husband, who barged into the kitchen to scare him out of their home.

It will be alleged a call to police overheard the couple warning emergency services to rush over to their home as they would shoot the 26-year-old man.

Ms Kellett allegedly told the operator that her husband had locked the doors and the intruder was outside hanging around the cars.

After ending the call with triple-0, Ms Kellett allegedly called her neighbours to warn them about the stranger.

Eighteen minutes after the initial triple-0 call, police arrived at the rural property.

Police will allege a deceased man was found lying on his back in the driveway, 33m away from the Kellett’s home.

It is understood the man was found naked with the exception of a pair of dark coloured boxers stuffed with grass and a single bullet wound at the top of his chest.

Kellett allegedly told police he only intended to fire a warning shot.

He reportedly told officers that after he chased the man out of his home the 26-year-old shaped up to him as if to fight, but then turned and ran away.

It will be alleged Kellett told police he went back inside when he heard further noises outside and grabbed his gun and went to the corner of the house and fired a single shot.

Kellett was arrested on suspicion of murder and taken to the Katherine Police Watch House.

Police will allege Kellett fired the fatal shot at the 26-year-old, despite having various other options available to him such as firing into the air or at a nearby garden bed.

Police further alleged Kellett was reckless when firing in the general direction of his neighbour’s property, as they may have left their home to investigate the incident.

The NT News has not received permission from the 26-year-old’s family to name him, but police have previously confirmed he was a client of the Venndale drug rehabilitation facility.

It is understood staff told police the man was acting in a highly irrational state in the days before the incident, and left the centre on foot around 11pm, Wednesday.

The rehabilitation centre is 4km from the Kellett’s home.

The first hearing was heard by Judge Greg Cavenagh in the Katherine Local Court on Monday and was adjourned for a bail application on March 31 in the Darwin Local Court.

A preliminary examination mention will be held in Darwin on May 25.

Kellett will remain remanded in custody until the next hearing.

EARLIER, TUES MAR 22: A 38-YEAR-OLD man charged with murder over a shooting death near the Cutta Cutta Caves has had his case adjourned.

Kim Kellett, who is named for the first time, did not appear in the Katherine Local Court where his case was heard for the first time.

Kellett has been charged with murder and manslaughter after the shooting death of a 26-year-old Indigenous man.

The alleged murder took place last week on Thursday morning, 30km south of Katherine, where the man was fatally shot near a ranger’s home.

Kellett was not required to appear in court and instead remained in custody in the police watch house.

He was represented by Darwin solicitor Peter Maley, who called in to the hearing via phone.

The details of the alleged murder have not yet been revealed in court.

The matter was adjourned for a bail application on March 31 in the Darwin Local Court.

The first hearing was heard by Judge Greg Cavenagh in the Katherine Local Court.

The matter has also been adjourned for a preliminary examination mention in Darwin on May 25.

He will remain remanded in custody until the next hearing.

At the time of the shooting near the ranger’s house, the accused’s partner and two children were home.

It is not suggested that they had any involvement in the alleged murder.

Police charged Kellett with murder late on the Friday night.

It is understood the man who was shot had been a client at Venndale Rehabilitation Centre as part of mandatory bail conditions.

The centre is run by Kalano Community Association Aboriginal Corporation and offers voluntary and mandated residential programs.

Since the incident police have interviewed Kalano staff and neighbours of the property in Venn, the suburb where Cutta Cutta Caves is located.

Alleged murderer to appear in court today

THE 38-year-old man charged with murder over the shooting death which occurred on a property near the Cutta Cutta Caves will appear in court on Monday.

The alleged murder, which took place on Thursday morning, outside a rangers home 30km south of Katherine, resulted in the death of a 26-year-old Indigenous man after he was fatally shot.

The incident remains mostly a mystery to Top End residents, with potentially more detail to be disclosed in the Katherine Local Court on Monday.