Mantamornappa had previously worked for Struve’s employer, James Coutts. And all four men were known to Struve. They pleaded guilty to feloniously assaulting him, and taking flour and meat from his hut. They were sentenced to six months hard labour.
(See 'The South Australian Frontier and its Legacies' for more details.)

Ngurkilli, Partko and Mantamornappa feloniously assaulted Henry James Brown and stole a gun from him, valued at fifteen shillings. In court, Brown stated that the men often pilfered from the hut when he was not there, and that they had taken his meat the previous day. Mantamornappa said that he could not use the gun, and that he took it for fear of the hutkeeper using it against them.
(See 'The South Australian Frontier and its Legacies' for more details.)