WARNING: This story contains distressing content and the name and image of an Aboriginal person who has passed.
Her name is Kumanjayi Nungarrayi Dixon.
An Anmatyerre woman, a grandmother, a free spirit who loved her family and was much-loved in return.
On the night of Monday, May 30, Ms Dixon caught a bus to Darwin's southeastern outskirts. She was going to visit family in Coolalinga.
But soon after, her life was cut short.
She was struck by a car in the vicinity of the Stuart Highway. Her family is attempting to piece together how it happened.
They've set up a roadside memorial for their loved one - a white wooden cross surrounded by a generous amount of flowers and a small fence.
A beautiful tribute as they try and make sense of a horrific situation.
While all the answers are not yet clear, what they do know is what has been reported about how Ms Dixon was treated following the collision.
They are also aware that her story may not have been told unless it started the way it did - with the discovery of her leg the day after she was hit.
Kumanjayi Dixon was a much loved grandmother. Source: Supplied: Dixon family
'I was in disbelief'
Ms Dixon's sister (cousin), Carol, was almost 4000 kilometres away in Newcastle, New South Wales, when she heard about the find.
"I actually heard it on TV, and look I heard it and I just thought it’s tragic what happens in the NT, it dumbfounds me actually," she told The Point.
While appalled at the story, her feelings quickly shifted after she received a phone call from her family in the Territory.
"I was in disbelief I just couldn’t believe it was her. Through your head you play it out, is it really her?
"[I] just couldn't believe it was her," she said.
She speaks through tears and is devastated by the loss, but she's also angry about what happened after Kumanjayi died.
Carol Dixon (R) with her daughter Kalarnna Hardy (L) and Kumanjayi Dixon. Source: Supplied: Carol Dixon
'And then they went home'
Police allege that 23-year old Josh Mason was the driver of the ute that hit her.
They say that following the collision, he searched for a body but was unsuccessful. He then called his mother Deborah, and they found Ms Dixon's body after she came to assist.
It's alleged the pair then put Ms Dixon into the ute, took her to bushland 15 kilometres south of the site, and buried her.
It has also been alleged that Josh Mason moved Ms Dixon's body one more time.
The pair are currently in front of the courts facing a number of charges including hit and run, destroying evidence, and attempting to pervert the course of justice.
On June 3 at the NT Local Court, Mr Mason’s lawyer Peter Maley indicated he would likely plead guilty to all the charges, and that it was a tragic accident.
Ms Dixon died after she was struck by a car on the Stuart Highway. Source: NITV: The Point
Judge Therese Austin said text messages between Deborah Mason and her daughter potentially showed there had been a callous disregard for Ms Dixon’s death.
"They disposed of the body and then they went home. It's a very serious incident. They've done a very poor job by the sound of it of disposing of any evidence. It was all over the ute. Forensics were not properly cleaned up," she told the court.
Deborah Mason has been granted bail on Tuesday with strict conditions, while her son remains in custody. They will both face court again on the 27th of July
Carol Dixon is determined to get answers for her family. Source: The Point: Jodan Perry
'A right to be safe'
NT Police data shows that Ms Dixon is the 12th pedestrian to die on NT Roads in the past 18 months, while there has been three fatal hit and runs in the Territory until May 27 this year.
Carol Dixon says changes need to be made to make roads safer for pedestrians. She’s been researching other road fatalities and reaching out to services to try and fill in the gaps.
She points to the distances of current pedestrian walkways from the highways and also the level of lighting.
"Alot of families won't walk on these pathways because they arent lit up, they are tucked away," she said.
"I'm really hoping that we can move forward in just making it safer for our people to get to and from their town camps because they don’t have a vehicle that they have a right to be safe."
In her sister's (cousin's) case, she says there are still many questions about the night.
"I think we need CCTV because we want to sort of track her movements," she said.
"So that as a family we know what headspace she was in, where was she going, why did this occur and why did it play out the way it did. That’s what we need."
Janita Dixon sits at a memorial that has been set up for her mother, Kumanjayi. Source: Supplied: Dixon family
'She's not no one'
Carol and Kumanjayi are of a similar age and they shared a special bond. She reminisces about her bubbly personality and being a consistent and comforting presence every time she travelled home.
"She was beautiful," she said.
"[She was] very proud of us and you know, proud of us being family and our journey where we’d come from.
"There was always that close connection to family, teaching her grandkids language and connection to Country."
It's this connection that now drives Carol to keep searching for answers to enable some closure for her family.
"We’re all angry but we’re looking at I guess a bigger picture of what needs to be done, as well as to make sure that you know, my cousin gets the justice that she needs, but we stay strong in doing that as well," she said.
"We are lucky there was evidence there and we can grieve as a family and she's not reported just as a missing person.
"She means something to us, to all of her family.
"She's not no one."
For more on this story, tune into NITV’s flagship current affairs program The Point, Tuesday 7.30pm on Channel 34, or later on SBS or SBS On Demand.
Kumanjayi Nungarrayi Dixon. Source: Supplied: Dixon family
