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

Andrew Mungatopi was sentenced over the death of Tiwi Islands sistergirl Lina. (Supplied: Facebook)

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.

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.

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.

Lina died after being stabbed in the chest by Andrew Mungatopi in 2024. (Supplied)

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.

The unit block in Malak where Lina was fatally stabbed on October 8, 2024. (ABC News: Dane Hirst)

"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 family of a beloved Tiwi Islands sistergirl has pleaded for the man who killed her to be handed a life sentence, describing more than a year of sleepless nights and grief.

Justice Burns said Lina had been a "loving, caring and supportive person", including to Mungatopi.

Justice John Burns said his sentencing of Andrew Mungatopi accounted for his cooperation with authorities. (ABC News: Che Chorley)

Chara