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Murder charge after clan feuding in remote community

April 20, 2026
By LLOYD JONES

A man has been charged with murder after a suspected fatal stabbing amid clan feuding at a remote island community.

A 26-year-old man was found dead after police responded to violent confrontations involving bladed weapons at Northern Territory’s Aboriginal community of Milingimbi on April 14.

He had “at least one puncture-like injury” to his back following the large-scale disturbance, police said.

NT Acting Commander Mark Grieve gives an update on the death of a man at a remote island community. (Lloyd Jones/AAP)

Extra officers were flown to the island, about 450km east of Darwin, along with major crime squad detectives and forensic officers.

A 20-year-old man was charged with murder and remanded in custody to appear in Darwin Local Court on Monday, police said.

NT Police Acting Commander Mark Grieve said last week the death came on the back of a build-up of tensions and ongoing unrest between family groups in the past few weeks.

In recent months, there has been a series of violent confrontations sparked by clan tensions in remote NT Aboriginal communities and involving spears, bows and arrows and bladed weapons.

Milingimbi is the largest of the Crocodile Islands group off the coast of Arnhem Land and was the site of a church mission and an RAAF base.

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Peter Rowe

Peter Rowe leads First Nations News as Editor, with over three decades of experience across international newsrooms, digital platforms and media strategy roles. For the past 20 years, he’s worked in Australia – reporting, editing and advising on stories that shape public debate.