‘Want answers’: Family’s heartbreak after suspicious death of Christine Marshall Hunter, 27, on remote Northern Territory highway

A woman found dead on an isolated stretch of highway in the Northern Territory has been identified, as a man believed to be her boyfriend is charged with her murder. Christine Marshall Hunter was found dead about 5.50am on Sunday by emergency services. They were told a woman was not breathing, in the driver’s seat of a car near Barly Homestead on the Barkly Highway. Police said a 33-year-old man was with the woman in the dark-coloured Jeep at the time of the incident, and allegedly claimed that they had struck a kangaroo while driving. The man claimed the 27-year-old woman suffered harm as a result of that strike, police allege. However, in a twist, police said they found no evidence of the car hitting a kangaroo and would be treating the woman’s death as suspicious. “At this point in time we haven’t been able to locate any evidence of that particular strike occurring,” Acting Commander Mark Grieve said. The woman was found dead at the scene with apparent facial injuries unable to be revived, he said. The 33-year-old man – believed to be her boyfriend – was charged with her murder on Thursday night and is due to face an Alice Springs court on Friday. Police allege the woman was the victim of an assault perpetrated by him earlier in the morning. According to police, the pair were parked on the side of intersection of Barkly and Tablelands Hwy in a dark coloured Jeep Cherokee between the hours of 1.30am and 5.30am. Police believe the couple to have used the vehicle to drive from Gympie, Queensland, through to Barkly Homestead, NT between the dates of April 1 to 5. They are thought to have passed though Ban Ban Springs, Emerald, Winton, Cloncurry, Mt Isa and Camooweal in Queensland. Ms Hunter’s heartbroken family are now demanding answers about the woman’s death. Sister Jazmyne has launched a GoFundMe to bring her body back to Queensland. She remembered her sister as a “funny, loud” and “protective” person who was “truly loved by so many”. “She had a very hard past, but no matter what she went through, she stayed strong and continued to care for others,” her sister wrote. “She came from a big, loving family of eight siblings, and losing her has left a space in our lives that can never be filled.” The family are now working to return her body to Queensland and are waiting for answers about the woman’s mysterious death. “Police are continuing to investigate her death, and our family is still trying to process and understand everything that has happened,” the GoFundMe read. “We just want answers, and in time, we hope for justice for her.”