Andrew Mungatopi entered a not guilty plea for murder but admitted to manslaughter on the opening day of his trial at the Northern Territory Supreme Court, nearly two years after he allegedly fatally stabbed a sistergirl from the Tiwi Islands in Darwin.

The defense attorney for the 34-year-old Mungatopi contended that there was no prior hostility between him and the Indigenous woman, who remains unnamed for cultural reasons.

Throughout the anticipated two-week trial, the jury will hear testimonies from various family members, law enforcement, and first responders.

On the first day of the proceedings, the jury learned that Mungatopi had “no bad blood” with the sistergirl prior to witness accounts describing him running toward her with a knife.

Andrew Mungatopi, aged 34, faced the Northern Territory Supreme Court, where he pleaded not guilty to the murder of the unnamed sistergirl in October 2024, while also accepting responsibility for the lesser charge of manslaughter, a plea that the prosecution did not accept.

The term sistergirl is used by certain Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities to refer to gender-diverse individuals who embody a female spirit.

In the opening statements, Crown prosecutor Neil Kumar informed the jury that Mungatopi had been staying at a Malak apartment with the 37-year-old sistergirl, along with his partner and their child, during a visit to Darwin, alongside several others.

Kumar indicated that the jury would hear evidence from several minors, aged between 13 and 15 at the time, who witnessed the incident.

One boy, who referred to Mungatopi as his uncle, reported to police that he observed a dispute between the two over remarks made regarding Mungatopi’s partner, during which Mungatopi allegedly threatened the sistergirl.

A second child testified to seeing Mungatopi take a knife and stab the sistergirl. Additionally, a neighbor reported hearing someone repeatedly declare, “I’m going to kill you.” Kumar stated that a recording of a 000 emergency call made by a neighbor would be presented in court, featuring Mungatopi claiming that the sistergirl was intoxicated and “ran into my knife” while he was preparing dinner.

Defense counsel Ambrith Abayasekara acknowledged that his client accepted responsibility for the death of a family member, noting that there was “no excuse for his actions.” However, he maintained that Mungatopi could not be convicted of murder due to a lack of intent to inflict serious harm.

“What transpired on the night of October 7, 2024, was a family tragedy,” he stated. “There was no prior animosity between the individuals involved, which makes the sistergirl’s death so shocking and difficult to comprehend.” Abayasekara emphasized that the incident arose from “nothing of real consequence” amid a gathering where alcohol was consumed, arguing that Mungatopi’s statements to police during a time of “high trauma” were not an accurate reflection of the events.

During the trial, Tracey Burke, a close friend of the sistergirl, expressed her disbelief at the news of the woman’s death, stating that she had never witnessed any arguments between them. Burke recounted being present in the apartment on the day of the alleged murder, drinking with the victim and other family members until a disagreement arose when she attempted to limit the sistergirl’s alcohol intake.

Burke described the sistergirl’s reaction as aggressive, with the latter threatening to physically assault her. Under cross-examination, Burke acknowledged that the sistergirl could become difficult when drinking but clarified that it had never escalated to physical violence. “Typically, we would just laugh and enjoy each other’s company… sometimes she struggles to know when to stop,” Burke remarked, adding that alcohol often heightened tensions among everyone involved.

Another witness, Marlees Mungatopi, the sistergirl’s aunt and the apartment owner, testified that she had observed Mungatopi drinking rum throughout the day, noting that he appeared to be “very drunk.” Later that evening, she described seeing him rush out the back door with an object and engage in a “scuffle” with the sistergirl, moving his arm toward her multiple times as she fell to the ground.

However, during cross-examination, Marlees Mungatopi conceded that her nephew had merely “walked fast” rather than running and admitted she did not have a clear view of the sistergirl. When asked whether she had been more intoxicated than she realized, she firmly replied, “No, I wasn’t.”

Shanika Mungatopi, Marlees’ daughter, also testified, stating she witnessed an argument between the sistergirl and Mungatopi’s partner, which led to him intervening and slapping the sistergirl. She recounted that the sistergirl went outside to call the police, at which point she saw Mungatopi retrieve “a big sharp knife with a black handle” from the kitchen and pursue her. “I saw him running,” she stated. “He was swearing at my missus… saying he was going to stab her.” Shanika Mungatopi is anticipated to undergo cross-examination when the trial resumes in Darwin on Thursday.