A 49-year-old man has been charged with murder over the death of a 51-year-old Indigenous woman in Mparntwe/Alice Springs.
On Tuesday evening, detectives from the Major Crime Squad and Southern Investigations charged Patrick Jungala Nolan with one count of murder and one count of breaching a domestic violence order.
Nolan remains in custody and is due to face the local court on Wednesday.
The woman, who remains unnamed, was found in an Alice Springs riverbed on Monday morning. Emergency services were called to the scene, but the woman was declared deceased. Nolan was arrested by police at a nearby location.
Police allege the woman was the partner of Nolan. Her death is being reported as the first alleged domestic violence-related homicide of the year.
The Northern Territory has the highest rates of domestic, family and sexual violence in the country, with the rate of intimate partner homicide in the territory sitting at seven times that of the national average.
The issue is so dire that, on average, there are 61 domestic and family violence incidents per day and four domestic and family violence related homicides per 100,000 people per year. Aboriginal women are particularly affected, accounting for 89 per cent of all DFSV victims in the Northern Territory.
In April 2024, a Senate Inquiry investigated the situation, and the findings were released two months ago.
Northern Territory coroner Elisabeth Armitage warned that more funding and specialist training for frontline workers and organisations was desperately needed.
Judge Armitage handed down 35 recommendations, with one of the key recommendations being to boost funding for frontline services, emergency service responders and women’s shelters.
The Senate committee heard that the NT receives just 1.8 per cent of Australia’s domestic violence funding.
“This is not just an unfolding tragedy for those families most directly affected,” Judge Armitage said.
“It is an existing tragedy for our community and our agencies and institutions that work to serve our community. It affects the Northern Territory every single day.”
As of Thursday morning, the total number of women killed in 2025 in Australia is a heartbreaking three, according to The Australian Femicide Watch, run by journalist Sherele Moody.
Only three hours after the death of the woman in the Northern Territory, Moody has reported that a 56-year-old woman and her 81-year-old mother were killed in Perth by a man driving a car into their taxi.
“Police say the male deliberately and consciously decided to drive onto a Perth highway in the wrong direction and at speed into oncoming traffic. It’s suspected he was out to kill,” writes Moody.
Throughout Australia, on average, one woman is killed every nine days by a current or former partner. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women experience disproportionally high rates of violence, and are 31 times more likely to be hospitalised due to family violence–related assaults.
If you or someone you know is experiencing, or at risk of experiencing, domestic, family or sexual violence, call 1800RESPECT on 1800 737 732, text 0458 737 732 or visit 1800RESPECT.org.au for online chat and video call services.
If you are concerned about your behaviour or use of violence, you can contact the Men’s Referral Service on 1300 766 491 or visit http://www.ntv.org.au.
Feeling worried or no good? No shame, no judgement, safe place to yarn. Speak to a 13YARN Crisis Supporter, call 13 92 76. This service is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.