Jerry Robertson charged with Alice Springs bush camp murder

The 51-year-old man charged with the murder of his partner in an Alice Springs bush camp has appeared in court. Read what the Chief Minister had to say.

A 51-year-old man has been charged with the alleged murder of his female partner.

Jerry Robertson has appeared in the Alice Springs Local Court charged with the murder of his 47-year-old partner at an Alice Springs bush camp over the weekend.

Robertson appeared before the court on Monday charged with murder, engaging in conduct that contravenes a domestic violence order and being armed with an offensive weapon at night.

Police were called to the bush camp just outside Alice Springs’ central business district at 9.50am on Saturday following reports of a woman allegedly being assaulted with a blunt weapon.

An NT Police spokeswoman said resuscitation attempts were made but the woman was declared dead at the scene at 10.45am.

A crime scene was established with police roping off a large section of bushland between Sadadeen Rd and Stott Tce.

Police were searching and photographing the scene into Saturday afternoon.

The roped off area appeared to be empty other than a tent hanging from a tree towards the centre of the bushland.

The case was adjourned to September 14 for a preliminary examination mention and Robertson was remanded in custody.

Chief Minister Natasha Fyles said the NT government was advocating for needs-based domestic violence funding from the federal government. Picture: Sierra Haigh

While not commenting directly on this case, Chief Minister Natasha Fyles said today that domestic violence was “utterly unacceptable”.

“When someone is meant to love someone and they are the perpetrator of horrific crimes against them, it makes you stop and really wonder what is going so wrong that we see this type of violence at unacceptable levels in the Northern Territory,” she said.

“As a government we’ve invested significantly and we saw an additional $20 million in the Northern Territory government budget.

“I again call on the commonwealth to fund this sector at a needs base, not a population base because of the circumstances here.”

Ms Fyles said the NT government had been in conversations with the federal government about the importance of needs-based funding.

“We’ve strengthened legislation to protect those victims of domestic and family violence,” she said.

“We’re always working in this space, acknowledging that a large part of it is resourcing towards supports and programs but also making sure that our legislative process works to support those victims.”

Man charged with murder after violent Alice Springs attack

A 51-year-old man has been charged with the alleged murder of his female partner in a bush camp just outside the Alice Springs central business district.

An NT Police spokeswoman said the man was also charged with breaching a domestic violence order and being armed with an offensive weapon at night.

The charges were laid a day after police said they received reports a 47-year-old female had allegedly been assaulted with a blunt weapon at a bush camp near Stott Tce about 9.50am on Saturday.

The spokeswoman said resuscitation attempts were made but the woman was declared dead at 10.45am.

She said the man was arrested at the scene and is set to front the Alice Springs Local Court on Monday.

A crime scene was established with police roping off a large section of bushland between Sadadeen Rd and Stott Tce.

A small group of police still appeared to be searching and photographing the scene into the afternoon.

There were four police vehicles at the scene which is on the opposite side of the Todd River from the CBD.

The roped off area appeared to be empty other than a tent hanging from a tree towards the centre of the bushland.

Detectives are asking anyone with information, particularly those who may have witnessed the alleged assault, to contact police on 131 444 and quote reference 10399663.