Man sentenced to 10 years in jail for stabbing death of niece in Darwin

Andrew Mungatopi sentenced to 10 years in jail for stabbing death of Tiwi Islands sistergirl Thu 11 Jun 2026 at 5:03pm In short: Andrew Mungatopi has been sentenced to 10 years and two months in prison for the fatal stabbing of his niece in the backyard of a Malak home in October 2024. He was found not guilty of murder, but guilty of manslaughter, following a week-long trial in the Northern Territory Supreme Court in April. What's next? Mungatopi will be eligible for parole in 2030. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised that this article contains the name and image of an Indigenous person who has died, used with the permission of their family. It also contains references to self-harm. A 36-year-old man who fatally stabbed his niece through the heart in Darwin's northern suburbs two years ago has been sentenced to more than 10 years behind bars by the Northern Territory Supreme Court. In April a jury found Andrew Mungatopi not guilty of murder, but guilty of manslaughter, over the death of 37-year-old Lina, a sistergirl from the Tiwi Islands. Sistergirl is a term used by some Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to describe gender-diverse people who have a female spirit. Lina's family has requested that she be referred to by her first name. In October 2024, the pair were among friends and family, drinking at an apartment in Malak, when an argument between Lina and Mungatopi's wife broke out and escalated. Mungatopi intervened and slapped Lina, who went outside and began making empty threats of killing him. In sentencing Mungatopi, Justice John Burns told the court Mungatopi had not intended to kill or seriously harm his niece when he then said: "I'm going to get a knife and I'm going to stab you". "The Crown submits that I should find that in stabbing the deceased with a large kitchen knife, you were aware that there was a substantial risk that stabbing her would cause her death," Justice Burns said. "If the jury had accepted that these were the facts, it is difficult to see how any verdict, other than guilty of murder, could have been returned by the jury. "The jury's verdict is best reconciled with the evidence … that you intended to stab the deceased, but in such a way that did not involve causing death or serious harm." Justice Burns said Lina had been a "loving, caring and supportive person", including to Mungatopi. "She was not a violent person," he said. Character references for Mungatopi provided to the court described a man who had had no relationship with his biological father and was left to the care of a relative, at a young age, by his biological mother. Justice Burns noted Mungatopi also had a "significant" history of self-harm, with his first recorded attempt at 14 years old, and three suicide attempts between his 18th and 26th birthdays. "It is probable, in my view, that your longstanding pattern of abuse of alcohol is to some degree related to your history," Justice Burns said. Justice Burns sentenced Mungatopi to 10 years and two months in prison, with a six-year non-parole period. He said the sentence accounted for his cooperation with authorities during the trial. A number of Lina's family members were present in court for the sentencing. As Mungatopi was led out from the dock, one family member said the sentence was "bulls***", as another called out: "I hope you see [Lina's] face every night before you go to bed". Mungatopi will be eligible for parole in 2030.