Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander listeners are advised that this episode names a person who has died and includes descriptions of violence. In line with Warlpiri custom, he is referred to as Kumanjayi Walker.

In November 2019, 19-year-old Warlpiri and Luritja man Kumanjayi Walker was shot three times during an attempted arrest at his grandmother’s home in Yuendumu, a remote community north-west of Alice Springs. He died at the Yuendumu police station that night, while his family waited outside asking to be let in. They didn’t learn of his death until the next morning.

NT Police Constable Zachary Rolfe was charged with murder and acquitted by a jury. It was the beginning of a six-year legal process, ending in a coronial inquest that shook the Northern Territory Police to its core.

Journalist and author Kate Wild features in the new SBS and NITV documentary series 2.6 Seconds: Death in the Outback and has written a book on the case, The Red House. In this episode, she takes Gemma through what happened in Yuendumu that night, the trial and the inquest, and the questions about justice, policing and race that the case continues to raise.

Stream 2.6 Seconds: Death in the Outback on SBS On Demand now, with the final two episodes available next week.

Purchase Kate's book The Red House by Kate Wild here.

GET IN TOUCH

Follow us on Instagram and TikTok @truecrimeconversations

Want us to cover a case on the podcast? Email us at truecrime@mamamia.com.au or send us a voice note.

MAMAMIA OFFERS:

• Subscribe here for 30% off your annual Mamamia subscription for Black Friday with code BLACK30. Code applied at the checkout. Offer ends November 30.

Make sure to leave us a rating and review on Apple & Spotify to let us know how you're liking the episodes. 

CREDITS

Host & Executive Producer: Gemma Bath

Guests: Kate Wild

Produced by Ella Maitland

Video Editor: Lisa Chen

Mamamia acknowledges the traditional owners of the land on which we have recorded this podcast.