Kumanjayi Walker ‘in love, despite violence’, inquest hears

Kumanjayi Walker committed serious acts of violence against his girlfriend Rakeisha Robertson, but they were still in love, an ­inquest has been told.

Kumanjayi Walker and Rakeisha Robertson.

Kumanjayi Walker committed serious acts of violence against his girlfriend Rakeisha Robertson, but they were still in love, an ­inquest has been told.

The inquest, being held in Alice Springs, has been exploring the life of Walker, who was shot dead by Constable Zachary Rolfe during a botched arrest attempt at Yuendumu on November 9, 2019.

Counsel assisting the Coroner, Peggy Dwyer, told the inquiry Walker had begun a relationship with Ms Robertson in February 2016, when they were both visiting Alice Springs.

“I expect you will hear evidence that Kumanjayi and Rakeisha were in love,” she said.

“I anticipate your honour will read in the evidence that perhaps because Kumanjayi had suffered trauma himself, he was unable to self-regulate at times, and he lashed out at times, including at Rakeisha.

“I expect there will be evidence that Kumanjayi was sometimes very jealous and could not easily control his emotions and your honour will hear about the efforts of people to help him with that and what resources there are for young people in the community like Kumanjayi.”

In August 12, 2016, Walker, then aged 15, was arrested for assaults on Ms Robertson, then 14, and refused bail, the inquest was told. In late 2016 and early 2017, attempts were made to have Walker live in Papunya and attend support services, but his relationship with Ms Robertson drew him back to Yuendumu.

“He wanted to be with her in Yuendumu and that’s a consistent theme throughout the evidence,” Dr Dwyer said.

She said that on April 10, 2018, Walker and Ms Robertson were accepted into the Family Safety Network, “a multi-agency approach to high-risk domestic violence offenders and victims likely to experience risk of harm”.

Earlier, Dr Dwyer had detailed how Walker had borne witness to the abuse suffered by his adoptive mother Leanne Oldfield at the hands of a violent partner.

“Unfortunately, when Kumanjayi was young, Leanne was the victim of serious domestic violence from her former partner who she and Kumanjayi stayed with,” she said. “And I say that not, of course, to shame anybody, but just to try to understand what it was like for Kumanjayi growing up and some of the challenges he had, even though there was a lot of love there.

“There is likely to be evidence in this inquest that the early exposure to some of that violence and alcohol from some people in the community had a negative effect on Kumanjayi.”

She said Walker’s trauma was likely made worse due to his treatment in the Northern Territory’s youth justice system, including one incident where he was bitten by a police dog after ­escaping from the Alice Springs Youth Detention Centre.

Walker was in and out of custody for various offences between 2013 and 2019. On October 21, 2019, He began an eight-week program at an alcohol rehabilitation facility in Alice Springs after being released from prison. But he absconded on October 30, removing an electronic monitoring bracelet from his ankle.

Some time between November 1 and 5 he travelled back to Yuendumu. He was with Ms Robertson at her grandparents’ house on November 6 when local police tried to arrest him. He threatened those officers with an axe before running away.

Three days later, Constable Rolfe – a member of the police Immediate Response Team sent to Yuendumu from Alice Springs – shot Walker three times after Walker stabbed him in the shoulder with a pair of surgical scissors as he tried to arrest him. Walker died at the Yuendumu Police ­Station a short time later.

Constable Rolfe was found not guilty of Walker’s murder.

The hearing before Coroner Elisabeth Armitage continues.

Matt Cunningham is the Sky News Northern Australia Correspondent