Azaria Chamberlain disappearance
Encyclopedia
Azaria Chantel Loren Chamberlain (born 11 June 1980 in Mount Isa, Queensland
) was a nine-week-old Australia
n baby girl, who disappeared on the night of 17 August 1980 on a camping trip to Uluru (also called Ayers Rock)
with her family. Her body was never found. Her parents, Lindy and Michael Chamberlain
, reported that she had been taken from their tent by a dingo
. An initial inquest, highly critical of the police investigation, supported this assertion. The findings of the inquest were broadcast live on television—a first in Australia. Subsequently, after a further investigation and second inquest, Azaria's mother, Lindy Chamberlain
, was tried for murder. Lindy was convicted of murder on 29 October 1982 and sentenced to life imprisonment. Azaria's father, Michael Chamberlain
, was convicted as an accessory
after the fact and given a suspended sentence.
The media focus for the trial was extraordinarily intense and sensational. The Chamberlains made several unsuccessful appeal
s, including the final High Court
appeal. After all legal options had been exhausted, the chance discovery of a piece of Azaria's clothing in an area full of dingo lairs led to Lindy Chamberlain's release from prison, on "compassionate grounds". She was later exonerated of all charges. While the case is officially unsolved, the report of a dingo attack is generally accepted. Recent deadly dingo attacks in other areas of Australia have strengthened the case for the dingo theory.
The story has been made into a TV movie, a feature film, a TV miniseries, a play by Brooke Pierce, a concept album by Australian band The Paradise Motel
and an opera
by Moya Henderson
. There have also been numerous books written about the case.
inquest
into the disappearance was opened on 15 December 1980 before magistrate
Denis Barritt. On 20 February 1981, in the first live telecast of Australian court proceedings, Denis Barritt reported that the likely cause was a dingo attack. In addition to this finding, Mr. Barritt also concluded that subsequent to the attack, "the body of Azaria was taken from the possession of the dingo, and disposed of by an unknown method, by a person or persons, name unknown".
The Northern Territory Police
and prosecutors were dissatisfied with this finding. Investigations continued, leading to a second inquest which was held in September 1981. Based on ultraviolet photographs
of Azaria's jumpsuit, Dr. James Cameron
of the London Hospital Medical College
alleged that "there was an incised wound around the neck of the jumpsuit – in other words, a cut throat", and that there was an imprint of the hand of a small adult on the jumpsuit, visible in the photographs.
Following this and other findings, the Chamberlains were charged with Azaria's murder.
The key evidence supporting this allegation was the jumpsuit, as well as a highly contentious forensic report claiming to have found evidence of fetal haemoglobin
in stains on the front seat of the Chamberlains' 1977 Torana
hatchback
. Fetal haemoglobin is present in infants six months and younger, and Azaria Chamberlain was nine weeks old at the time of her disappearance.
Lindy was questioned about the garments that the baby was wearing. She claimed that the baby was wearing a jacket over the jumpsuit, but the jacket was not present when the garments were found. She was questioned about the fact that the baby's singlet, which was inside the jumpsuit, was inside out. She insisted that she never put a singlet on her babies inside out and that she was most particular about this. The statement conflicted with the state of the garments when they were collected as evidence. The garments had been arranged by the investigating officer for a photograph.
In her defence, eyewitness evidence was presented of dingoes having been seen in the area on the evening of 17 August 1980. All witnesses claimed to believe the Chamberlains' story. One witness, a nurse, also reported having heard a baby's cry after the time when the prosecution alleged Azaria had been murdered. Evidence was also presented that adult blood also passed the test used for fetal haemoglobin, and that other organic compounds can produce similar results on that particular test, including mucus from the nose, and chocolate milkshakes, both of which had been present in the vehicle where the baby was allegedly murdered.
Engineer Les Harris, who had conducted dingo research for over a decade, said that, contrary to Cameron's findings, a dingo's carnassial
teeth can shear through material as tough as motor vehicle seat belts. He also cited an example of a captive female dingo removing a bundle of meat from its wrapping paper and leaving the paper intact. His evidence was rejected, however.
Evidence to the effect that a dingo was strong enough to carry a kangaroo was also ignored. Also ignored was the removal of a three-year-old girl by a dingo from the back seat of a tourist's motor vehicle at the camping area just weeks before, an event witnessed by the parents.
An Aboriginal man gave evidence that his wife had tracked the dingo and found places where it had put the baby down, leaving the imprint of the baby's clothing in the soil. This evidence was discounted, because the man spoke on behalf of his wife, but in the first person, according to Aboriginal custom.
The defence's case was rejected by the jury. Lindy Chamberlain was convicted of murder on 29 October 1982 and sentenced to life imprisonment with hard labour. Michael Chamberlain was found guilty as an accessory to the murder, and was given an 18-month suspended sentence.
was made to the High Court in November 1983. Asked to quash the convictions on the ground that the verdicts were unsafe and unsatisfactory, in February 1984 the Court refused the appeal by majority.
during an evening climb. Because of the vast size of the rock and the scrubby nature of the surrounding terrain, it was eight days before Brett's remains were discovered, lying below the bluff where he had lost his footing, in an area full of dingo lairs. As police searched the area, looking for missing bones that might have been carried off by dingoes, they discovered a small item of clothing. It was quickly identified as the crucial missing piece of evidence from the Chamberlain case—Azaria's missing matinée jacket.
The NT Chief Minister
ordered Lindy's immediate release, and the case was reopened. On 15 September 1988, the NT Court of Criminal Appeals unanimously overturned all convictions against Lindy and Michael Chamberlain. The exoneration was based on a rejection of the two key points of the prosecution's case—particularly the alleged fetal hemoglobin evidence—and of bias and invalid assumptions made during the initial trial.
The questionable nature of the forensic evidence in the Chamberlain trial, and the weight given to it, raised concerns about such procedures and about expert testimony in criminal cases. The prosecution had successfully argued that the pivotal haemoglobin tests indicated the presence of fetal hemoglobin in the Chamberlains' car, and that it was a significant factor in the original conviction. But it was later shown that these tests were highly unreliable, and that similar tests conducted on a 'sound deadener' sprayed on during the manufacture of the car had yielded virtually identical results.
Two years after they were exonerated, the Chamberlains were awarded A$1.3 million in compensation for wrongful imprisonment, a sum that covered only approximately one quarter of their legal expenses.
The findings of a third coroner's inquest were released on 13 December 1995. The coroner found that
Public and media opinion during the trial was polarised, with "fanciful rumours and sickening jokes" and many cartoons. In particular, antagonism was directed towards Lindy Chamberlain for reportedly not behaving as a "stereotypical" grieving mother. Much was made of the facts that the Chamberlains were Seventh-day Adventists
(including false allegations that the church was in fact a cult that killed babies
as part of bizarre religious ceremonies), that the family took a newborn baby to a remote desert location, and that Mrs. Chamberlain showed little emotion during the proceedings.
One anonymous tip was received from a man, falsely claiming to be Azaria's doctor in Mount Isa, that the name Azaria meant "sacrifice in the wilderness" (it actually means "blessed of God") ("Azazel
" is the name of a wilderness demon to whom a goat was "sent out" in the Jewish
holy day of Yom Kippur
). Others claimed that Lindy Chamberlain was a witch
.
The press appeared to seize upon any point that could be sensationalised. For example, it was reported that Lindy dressed her baby in black dress. This provoked negative opinion, despite the fact that in the early 1980s, black and navy cotton girls' dresses were in fashion, often trimmed with brightly coloured ribbon, or printed with brightly coloured sprigs of flowers.
The Chamberlains' claim that a dingo had taken Azaria was originally greeted with skepticism by many. Several factors led to this, including a lack of knowledge about dingoes and their behaviour, and the fact that these animals generally live in remote areas and are therefore rarely seen by most Australians. Possibly because of the historical human partiality for domesticated dog
s, dingoes were not regarded as a dangerous species.
Since the Chamberlain case, proven cases of attacks on humans by dingoes have brought about a dramatic change in public opinion. It is now widely accepted that, as the first inquest concluded, Azaria probably was killed by a dingo, and that her body could easily have been removed and eaten by a dingo, leaving little or no trace.
Crucial to the change in public opinion was a string of dingo attacks during the late 1990s on Fraser Island off the Queensland
coast, the last refuge in Australia for isolated pure-breed wild dingoes. In the wake of these attacks, it emerged that there had been at least 400 documented dingo attacks on Fraser Island alone. Most were against children, but at least two were on adults.
In April 1998, in a scenario strikingly similar to the story told by Lindy Chamberlain, a 13-month old girl was grabbed by a dingo and dragged from a picnic blanket at the Waddy Point camping area. In this case, the child was dropped when her father intervened.
In 2008, the Holden Torana
that was tested for Azaria's blood in the original court case was used in the wedding of Aidan Chamberlain, Azaria's brother, who was six when his sister disappeared. Aidan's bride arrived at the ceremony in the car. Aidan's father Michael Chamberlain
said he was proud the couple had chosen to use the car that was the centrepiece of the case.
In August 2005, a 25-year old woman named Erin Horsburgh claimed that she was Azaria Chamberlain, but her claims were rejected by the authorities and the ABC
's Media Watch program, who stated that none of the reports linking Horsburgh to the Chamberlain case had any substance.
The Chamberlains divorced in 1991 and Lindy Chamberlain has since remarried. She and her new husband lived for a time in the United States but have since returned to Australia.
The National Museum of Australia
has in its collection over 250 items in relation to the disappearance of Azaria Chamberlain, which Lindy Chamberlain-Creighton has helped document in relation to her ordeal. Items include courtroom sketches by artists Jo Darbyshire and Veronica O'Leary, camping equipment, a piece of the dashboard from the Chamberlain family's car, outfits worn by Lindy, the number from her prison door, and the black dress worn by Azaria, which was the cause of so many rumours. The National Library of Australia
has a small collection of items relating to Azaria, such as the birth detail record for Azaria Chamberlain and her hospital identification bracelet, as well as a manuscript collection that includes some 20,000 documents, including some of the Chamberlain family's correspondence as well as a large number of letters from the general public.
John Bryson's book Evil Angels was published in 1985. In 1987, Australian film director Fred Schepisi adapted the book into a feature of the same name (retitled A Cry in the Dark
outside of Australia and New Zealand). It starred Meryl Streep
as Lindy and Sam Neill
as Michael Chamberlain. There was some criticism at the time of the casting of an American as Lindy, however most critics were impressed with Streep's performance and ability to master an Australian accent, and Lindy commended the accuracy of the movie and Streep's portrayal. It gave Streep her eighth Academy Award nomination. The story had already been told in an earlier Australian TV docu-drama, Who Killed Baby Azaria? (1983), with Elaine Hudson as Lindy and John Hamblin as Michael, and has since been dramatised as a TV miniseries, Through My Eyes (2004), with Miranda Otto
and Craig McLachlan
as the Chamberlains. This miniseries was based on Lindy's book of the same name.
In 1990, the Rank Strangers
' recording of their song "Uluru", which supported the Chamberlains and called for compensation to be paid to them, finished in the final five of the Australian Country Music Awards in Tamworth, New South Wales. In 2002 Lindy
, an opera
by Moya Henderson
, was produced by Opera Australia
at the Sydney Opera House
.
The incident has been referred to several times in notable television programs, including:
The incident was also referred to in the 1994 film, The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert
, in which the young boy, Benji, acts out Lindy Chamberlain in a game of charades, as well as the 2008 feature film comedy, Tropic Thunder
. Oz's band in Buffy the Vampire Slayer was named Dingoes Ate My Baby.
Australian neoclassical
noir band The Paradise Motel
's album, Australian Ghost Story, is a concept album
based on the disappearance and subsequent case. It was released on 11 June 2010, the 30th anniversary of Azaria's birth.
Richard Davey
wrote the play A Cry From The Heart in 1986 - a dramatization of the police interview of Sally Lowe who had been in with the Chamberlains on the night that Azaria disappeared.
Queensland
Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
) was a nine-week-old Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n baby girl, who disappeared on the night of 17 August 1980 on a camping trip to Uluru (also called Ayers Rock)
Uluru
Uluru , also known as Ayers Rock, is a large sandstone rock formation in the southern part of the Northern Territory, central Australia. It lies south west of the nearest large town, Alice Springs; by road. Kata Tjuta and Uluru are the two major features of the Uluṟu-Kata Tjuṯa National Park....
with her family. Her body was never found. Her parents, Lindy and Michael Chamberlain
Michael Chamberlain
Michael Leigh Chamberlain is an Australian writer, retired teacher and former pastor, best known due to the 1980 disappearance of his daughter Azaria whilst camping near Uluru/Ayers Rock in the Northern Territory. When Chamberlain's then-wife Lindy was found guilty of the baby's murder in 1982, he...
, reported that she had been taken from their tent by a dingo
Dingo
The Australian Dingo or Warrigal is a free-roaming wild dog unique to the continent of Australia, mainly found in the outback. Its original ancestors are thought to have arrived with humans from southeast Asia thousands of years ago, when dogs were still relatively undomesticated and closer to...
. An initial inquest, highly critical of the police investigation, supported this assertion. The findings of the inquest were broadcast live on television—a first in Australia. Subsequently, after a further investigation and second inquest, Azaria's mother, Lindy Chamberlain
Lindy Chamberlain
Alice Lynne Chamberlain-Creighton was at the centre of one of Australia's most publicised murder trials, in which she was convicted of killing her baby daughter, Azaria. The conviction was later overturned.-Early life:...
, was tried for murder. Lindy was convicted of murder on 29 October 1982 and sentenced to life imprisonment. Azaria's father, Michael Chamberlain
Michael Chamberlain
Michael Leigh Chamberlain is an Australian writer, retired teacher and former pastor, best known due to the 1980 disappearance of his daughter Azaria whilst camping near Uluru/Ayers Rock in the Northern Territory. When Chamberlain's then-wife Lindy was found guilty of the baby's murder in 1982, he...
, was convicted as an accessory
Accessory (legal term)
An accessory is a person who assists in the commission of a crime, but who does not actually participate in the commission of the crime as a joint principal...
after the fact and given a suspended sentence.
The media focus for the trial was extraordinarily intense and sensational. The Chamberlains made several unsuccessful appeal
Appeal
An appeal is a petition for review of a case that has been decided by a court of law. The petition is made to a higher court for the purpose of overturning the lower court's decision....
s, including the final High Court
High Court of Australia
The High Court of Australia is the supreme court in the Australian court hierarchy and the final court of appeal in Australia. It has both original and appellate jurisdiction, has the power of judicial review over laws passed by the Parliament of Australia and the parliaments of the States, and...
appeal. After all legal options had been exhausted, the chance discovery of a piece of Azaria's clothing in an area full of dingo lairs led to Lindy Chamberlain's release from prison, on "compassionate grounds". She was later exonerated of all charges. While the case is officially unsolved, the report of a dingo attack is generally accepted. Recent deadly dingo attacks in other areas of Australia have strengthened the case for the dingo theory.
The story has been made into a TV movie, a feature film, a TV miniseries, a play by Brooke Pierce, a concept album by Australian band The Paradise Motel
The Paradise Motel
The Paradise Motel are a critically and commercially successful independent Australian band from Hobart, Tasmania, first active from 1995–2000, who reformed in 2008.-Formation and early releases 1994–1998:...
and an opera
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
by Moya Henderson
Moya Henderson
Moya Henderson is an Australian composer.A graduate of the University of Queensland, Henderson also studied in Germany with Karlheinz Stockhausen after which she became a lecturer at the University of Sydney...
. There have also been numerous books written about the case.
Coroner's inquests
The initial coronialCoroner
A coroner is a government official who* Investigates human deaths* Determines cause of death* Issues death certificates* Maintains death records* Responds to deaths in mass disasters* Identifies unknown dead* Other functions depending on local laws...
inquest
Inquest
Inquests in England and Wales are held into sudden and unexplained deaths and also into the circumstances of discovery of a certain class of valuable artefacts known as "treasure trove"...
into the disappearance was opened on 15 December 1980 before magistrate
Magistrate
A magistrate is an officer of the state; in modern usage the term usually refers to a judge or prosecutor. This was not always the case; in ancient Rome, a magistratus was one of the highest government officers and possessed both judicial and executive powers. Today, in common law systems, a...
Denis Barritt. On 20 February 1981, in the first live telecast of Australian court proceedings, Denis Barritt reported that the likely cause was a dingo attack. In addition to this finding, Mr. Barritt also concluded that subsequent to the attack, "the body of Azaria was taken from the possession of the dingo, and disposed of by an unknown method, by a person or persons, name unknown".
The Northern Territory Police
Northern Territory Police
The Northern Territory Police is the police body that has legal jurisdiction over the Northern Territory of Australia. This police service has 1302 gazetted police positions made up of 55 Senior Sergeants, 200 Sergeants, 741 Constables, 159 Auxiliaries, and 84 Aboriginal Community Police Officers...
and prosecutors were dissatisfied with this finding. Investigations continued, leading to a second inquest which was held in September 1981. Based on ultraviolet photographs
Ultraviolet photography
Ultraviolet photography is a photographic process of recording images by using light from the ultraviolet spectrum only.-Overview:Light which is visible to the human eye covers the spectral region from about 400 to 750 nanometers. This is the radiation spectrum used in normal photography...
of Azaria's jumpsuit, Dr. James Cameron
James Cameron (scientist)
James Malcolm Cameron was a British forensic scientist. He was born in Swansea and attended Glasgow High School. After graduating from Glasgow University, he held appointments in general medicine, general surgery, orthopaedic surgery and paediatric orthopaedics, before specialising in pathology,...
of the London Hospital Medical College
Barts and The London, Queen Mary's School of Medicine and Dentistry
Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry is the medical school of Queen Mary, University of London. The school was formed in 1995 by the merger of the London Hospital Medical College , the Medical College of St Bartholomew's Hospital Barts and The London School of Medicine and...
alleged that "there was an incised wound around the neck of the jumpsuit – in other words, a cut throat", and that there was an imprint of the hand of a small adult on the jumpsuit, visible in the photographs.
Following this and other findings, the Chamberlains were charged with Azaria's murder.
Case against Lindy Chamberlain
The Crown alleged that Lindy Chamberlain had cut Azaria's throat in the front seat of the family car, hiding the baby's body in a large camera case. She then, according to the proposed reconstruction of the crime, rejoined the group of campers around a campfire and fed one of her sons a can of baked beans, before going to the tent and raising the cry that a dingo had taken the baby. It was alleged that at a later time, while other people from the campsite were searching, she disposed of the body.The key evidence supporting this allegation was the jumpsuit, as well as a highly contentious forensic report claiming to have found evidence of fetal haemoglobin
Fetal hemoglobin
Fetal hemoglobin, or foetal haemoglobin, is the main oxygen transport protein in the fetus during the last seven months of development in the uterus and in the newborn until roughly 6 months old...
in stains on the front seat of the Chamberlains' 1977 Torana
Holden Torana
The Holden Torana is a car which was produced by General Motors–Holden's , the Australian subsidiary of General Motors from 1967 to 1980. The name comes from an Aboriginal word meaning "to fly". The first Torana appeared in 1967 and was a four-cylinder compact vehicle that had its origins in the...
hatchback
Hatchback
A Hatchback is a car body style incorporating a shared passenger and cargo volume, with rearmost accessibility via a rear third or fifth door, typically a top-hinged liftgate—and features such as fold-down rear seats to enable flexibility within the shared passenger/cargo volume. As a two-box...
. Fetal haemoglobin is present in infants six months and younger, and Azaria Chamberlain was nine weeks old at the time of her disappearance.
Lindy was questioned about the garments that the baby was wearing. She claimed that the baby was wearing a jacket over the jumpsuit, but the jacket was not present when the garments were found. She was questioned about the fact that the baby's singlet, which was inside the jumpsuit, was inside out. She insisted that she never put a singlet on her babies inside out and that she was most particular about this. The statement conflicted with the state of the garments when they were collected as evidence. The garments had been arranged by the investigating officer for a photograph.
In her defence, eyewitness evidence was presented of dingoes having been seen in the area on the evening of 17 August 1980. All witnesses claimed to believe the Chamberlains' story. One witness, a nurse, also reported having heard a baby's cry after the time when the prosecution alleged Azaria had been murdered. Evidence was also presented that adult blood also passed the test used for fetal haemoglobin, and that other organic compounds can produce similar results on that particular test, including mucus from the nose, and chocolate milkshakes, both of which had been present in the vehicle where the baby was allegedly murdered.
Engineer Les Harris, who had conducted dingo research for over a decade, said that, contrary to Cameron's findings, a dingo's carnassial
Carnassial
Carnassials are large teeth found in many carnivorous mammals, used for shearing flesh and bone in a scissor- or shear-like way. In the Carnivora, the carnassials are the modified last upper premolar and the first molar, but in the prehistoric creodonts, the carnassials were further back in the...
teeth can shear through material as tough as motor vehicle seat belts. He also cited an example of a captive female dingo removing a bundle of meat from its wrapping paper and leaving the paper intact. His evidence was rejected, however.
Evidence to the effect that a dingo was strong enough to carry a kangaroo was also ignored. Also ignored was the removal of a three-year-old girl by a dingo from the back seat of a tourist's motor vehicle at the camping area just weeks before, an event witnessed by the parents.
An Aboriginal man gave evidence that his wife had tracked the dingo and found places where it had put the baby down, leaving the imprint of the baby's clothing in the soil. This evidence was discounted, because the man spoke on behalf of his wife, but in the first person, according to Aboriginal custom.
The defence's case was rejected by the jury. Lindy Chamberlain was convicted of murder on 29 October 1982 and sentenced to life imprisonment with hard labour. Michael Chamberlain was found guilty as an accessory to the murder, and was given an 18-month suspended sentence.
Appeals
An appealAppeal
An appeal is a petition for review of a case that has been decided by a court of law. The petition is made to a higher court for the purpose of overturning the lower court's decision....
was made to the High Court in November 1983. Asked to quash the convictions on the ground that the verdicts were unsafe and unsatisfactory, in February 1984 the Court refused the appeal by majority.
Release and acquittal
The final resolution of the case was triggered by a chance discovery. In early 1986, English tourist David Brett fell to his death from Ayers RockUluru
Uluru , also known as Ayers Rock, is a large sandstone rock formation in the southern part of the Northern Territory, central Australia. It lies south west of the nearest large town, Alice Springs; by road. Kata Tjuta and Uluru are the two major features of the Uluṟu-Kata Tjuṯa National Park....
during an evening climb. Because of the vast size of the rock and the scrubby nature of the surrounding terrain, it was eight days before Brett's remains were discovered, lying below the bluff where he had lost his footing, in an area full of dingo lairs. As police searched the area, looking for missing bones that might have been carried off by dingoes, they discovered a small item of clothing. It was quickly identified as the crucial missing piece of evidence from the Chamberlain case—Azaria's missing matinée jacket.
The NT Chief Minister
Chief Minister of the Northern Territory
The Chief Minister of the Northern Territory is appointed by the Administrator, who in normal circumstances will appoint the head of whatever party holds the majority of seats in the legislature of the territory...
ordered Lindy's immediate release, and the case was reopened. On 15 September 1988, the NT Court of Criminal Appeals unanimously overturned all convictions against Lindy and Michael Chamberlain. The exoneration was based on a rejection of the two key points of the prosecution's case—particularly the alleged fetal hemoglobin evidence—and of bias and invalid assumptions made during the initial trial.
The questionable nature of the forensic evidence in the Chamberlain trial, and the weight given to it, raised concerns about such procedures and about expert testimony in criminal cases. The prosecution had successfully argued that the pivotal haemoglobin tests indicated the presence of fetal hemoglobin in the Chamberlains' car, and that it was a significant factor in the original conviction. But it was later shown that these tests were highly unreliable, and that similar tests conducted on a 'sound deadener' sprayed on during the manufacture of the car had yielded virtually identical results.
Two years after they were exonerated, the Chamberlains were awarded A$1.3 million in compensation for wrongful imprisonment, a sum that covered only approximately one quarter of their legal expenses.
The findings of a third coroner's inquest were released on 13 December 1995. The coroner found that
Azaria Chantel Loren Chamberlain died at Ayers Rock on 17 August 1980. As to the cause of her death and the manner in which she died the evidence adduced does not enable me to say. I therefore return an open finding and record the cause and manner of death as unknown.
Media involvement and bias
The Chamberlain trial was the most publicised in Australian history. Given that most of the evidence presented in the case against Lindy Chamberlain was later rejected, the case is now used as an example of how media and bias can adversely affect a trial.Public and media opinion during the trial was polarised, with "fanciful rumours and sickening jokes" and many cartoons. In particular, antagonism was directed towards Lindy Chamberlain for reportedly not behaving as a "stereotypical" grieving mother. Much was made of the facts that the Chamberlains were Seventh-day Adventists
Seventh-day Adventist Church
The Seventh-day Adventist Church is a Protestant Christian denomination distinguished by its observance of Saturday, the original seventh day of the Judeo-Christian week, as the Sabbath, and by its emphasis on the imminent second coming of Jesus Christ...
(including false allegations that the church was in fact a cult that killed babies
Blood libel
Blood libel is a false accusation or claim that religious minorities, usually Jews, murder children to use their blood in certain aspects of their religious rituals and holidays...
as part of bizarre religious ceremonies), that the family took a newborn baby to a remote desert location, and that Mrs. Chamberlain showed little emotion during the proceedings.
One anonymous tip was received from a man, falsely claiming to be Azaria's doctor in Mount Isa, that the name Azaria meant "sacrifice in the wilderness" (it actually means "blessed of God") ("Azazel
Azazel
Azazel or Azazael or Azâzêl is a term used three times in the Hebrew scriptures, and later in Hebrew mythology as the enigmatic name of a character....
" is the name of a wilderness demon to whom a goat was "sent out" in the Jewish
Judaism
Judaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...
holy day of Yom Kippur
Yom Kippur
Yom Kippur , also known as Day of Atonement, is the holiest and most solemn day of the year for the Jews. Its central themes are atonement and repentance. Jews traditionally observe this holy day with a 25-hour period of fasting and intensive prayer, often spending most of the day in synagogue...
). Others claimed that Lindy Chamberlain was a witch
Witchcraft
Witchcraft, in historical, anthropological, religious, and mythological contexts, is the alleged use of supernatural or magical powers. A witch is a practitioner of witchcraft...
.
The press appeared to seize upon any point that could be sensationalised. For example, it was reported that Lindy dressed her baby in black dress. This provoked negative opinion, despite the fact that in the early 1980s, black and navy cotton girls' dresses were in fashion, often trimmed with brightly coloured ribbon, or printed with brightly coloured sprigs of flowers.
Subsequent events
In July 2004, Frank Cole, a Melbourne pensioner, claimed that he had shot a dingo in 1980 and found a baby in its mouth. After interviewing Mr. Cole on the matter, police decided not to reopen the case. He claimed to have the ribbons from the jacket which Azaria had been wearing when she disappeared as proof of his involvement. However, Lindy claimed the jacket had no ribbons on it. Cole's credibility was further damaged when it was revealed he had made further unsubstantiated claims about another case.The Chamberlains' claim that a dingo had taken Azaria was originally greeted with skepticism by many. Several factors led to this, including a lack of knowledge about dingoes and their behaviour, and the fact that these animals generally live in remote areas and are therefore rarely seen by most Australians. Possibly because of the historical human partiality for domesticated dog
Dog
The domestic dog is a domesticated form of the gray wolf, a member of the Canidae family of the order Carnivora. The term is used for both feral and pet varieties. The dog may have been the first animal to be domesticated, and has been the most widely kept working, hunting, and companion animal in...
s, dingoes were not regarded as a dangerous species.
Since the Chamberlain case, proven cases of attacks on humans by dingoes have brought about a dramatic change in public opinion. It is now widely accepted that, as the first inquest concluded, Azaria probably was killed by a dingo, and that her body could easily have been removed and eaten by a dingo, leaving little or no trace.
Crucial to the change in public opinion was a string of dingo attacks during the late 1990s on Fraser Island off the Queensland
Queensland
Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
coast, the last refuge in Australia for isolated pure-breed wild dingoes. In the wake of these attacks, it emerged that there had been at least 400 documented dingo attacks on Fraser Island alone. Most were against children, but at least two were on adults.
In April 1998, in a scenario strikingly similar to the story told by Lindy Chamberlain, a 13-month old girl was grabbed by a dingo and dragged from a picnic blanket at the Waddy Point camping area. In this case, the child was dropped when her father intervened.
In 2008, the Holden Torana
Holden Torana
The Holden Torana is a car which was produced by General Motors–Holden's , the Australian subsidiary of General Motors from 1967 to 1980. The name comes from an Aboriginal word meaning "to fly". The first Torana appeared in 1967 and was a four-cylinder compact vehicle that had its origins in the...
that was tested for Azaria's blood in the original court case was used in the wedding of Aidan Chamberlain, Azaria's brother, who was six when his sister disappeared. Aidan's bride arrived at the ceremony in the car. Aidan's father Michael Chamberlain
Michael Chamberlain
Michael Leigh Chamberlain is an Australian writer, retired teacher and former pastor, best known due to the 1980 disappearance of his daughter Azaria whilst camping near Uluru/Ayers Rock in the Northern Territory. When Chamberlain's then-wife Lindy was found guilty of the baby's murder in 1982, he...
said he was proud the couple had chosen to use the car that was the centrepiece of the case.
Current status
The cause of Azaria's disappearance has not been officially determined. The last official inquest listed the cause of her death as "undetermined". A body has never been found, only various items of bloodstained clothing. The Chamberlains, who were originally convicted, have been officially exonerated by the Court and eventually received some financial compensation. It is estimated that their legal fees exceeded five million Australian Dollars. A fourth inquest is expected to open in 2011.In August 2005, a 25-year old woman named Erin Horsburgh claimed that she was Azaria Chamberlain, but her claims were rejected by the authorities and the ABC
Australian Broadcasting Corporation
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly referred to as "the ABC" , is Australia's national public broadcaster...
's Media Watch program, who stated that none of the reports linking Horsburgh to the Chamberlain case had any substance.
The Chamberlains divorced in 1991 and Lindy Chamberlain has since remarried. She and her new husband lived for a time in the United States but have since returned to Australia.
The National Museum of Australia
National Museum of Australia
The National Museum of Australia was formally established by the National Museum of Australia Act 1980. The National Museum preserves and interprets Australia's social history, exploring the key issues, people and events that have shaped the nation....
has in its collection over 250 items in relation to the disappearance of Azaria Chamberlain, which Lindy Chamberlain-Creighton has helped document in relation to her ordeal. Items include courtroom sketches by artists Jo Darbyshire and Veronica O'Leary, camping equipment, a piece of the dashboard from the Chamberlain family's car, outfits worn by Lindy, the number from her prison door, and the black dress worn by Azaria, which was the cause of so many rumours. The National Library of Australia
National Library of Australia
The National Library of Australia is the largest reference library of Australia, responsible under the terms of the National Library Act for "maintaining and developing a national collection of library material, including a comprehensive collection of library material relating to Australia and the...
has a small collection of items relating to Azaria, such as the birth detail record for Azaria Chamberlain and her hospital identification bracelet, as well as a manuscript collection that includes some 20,000 documents, including some of the Chamberlain family's correspondence as well as a large number of letters from the general public.
In media
The story has been written into many different books and accounts.John Bryson's book Evil Angels was published in 1985. In 1987, Australian film director Fred Schepisi adapted the book into a feature of the same name (retitled A Cry in the Dark
A Cry in the Dark
Evil Angels is a 1988 Australian film directed by Fred Schepisi. The screenplay by Schepisi and Robert Caswell is based on John Bryson's 1985 book Evil Angels, the title under which the film was released in Australia...
outside of Australia and New Zealand). It starred Meryl Streep
Meryl Streep
Mary Louise "Meryl" Streep is an American actress who has worked in theatre, television and film.Streep made her professional stage debut in 1971's The Playboy of Seville, before her screen debut in the television movie The Deadliest Season in 1977. In that same year, she made her film debut with...
as Lindy and Sam Neill
Sam Neill
Nigel John Dermot "Sam" Neill, DCNZM, OBE is a New Zealand actor. He is well known for his starring role as paleontologist Dr Alan Grant in Jurassic Park and Jurassic Park III....
as Michael Chamberlain. There was some criticism at the time of the casting of an American as Lindy, however most critics were impressed with Streep's performance and ability to master an Australian accent, and Lindy commended the accuracy of the movie and Streep's portrayal. It gave Streep her eighth Academy Award nomination. The story had already been told in an earlier Australian TV docu-drama, Who Killed Baby Azaria? (1983), with Elaine Hudson as Lindy and John Hamblin as Michael, and has since been dramatised as a TV miniseries, Through My Eyes (2004), with Miranda Otto
Miranda Otto
Miranda Otto is an Australian actress. The daughter of actors Lindsay and Barry Otto and the sister of actress Gracie Otto, she began acting at age eighteen, and has performed in a variety of independent and major studio films....
and Craig McLachlan
Craig McLachlan
Craig McLachlan is an Australian actor and singer. He appeared in shows such as Sons and Daughters, Neighbours, Bugs and Home and Away.-Biography:...
as the Chamberlains. This miniseries was based on Lindy's book of the same name.
In 1990, the Rank Strangers
Rank Strangers
The Rank Strangers were an Australian bluegrass band that won multiple national and international awards during the late 1980s and early 1990s. Random House’s 1991 book Australian Country Music declared the Rank Strangers to be among the major figures of the 1990s Australian music scene, along...
' recording of their song "Uluru", which supported the Chamberlains and called for compensation to be paid to them, finished in the final five of the Australian Country Music Awards in Tamworth, New South Wales. In 2002 Lindy
Lindy (opera)
Lindy is an opera in two acts by Australian composer Moya Henderson to an English libretto by Judith Rodriguez.It premiered on 25 October 2002 at the Sydney Opera House.-Roles:-Synopsis:The plot is based on the disappearance of Lindy...
, an opera
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
by Moya Henderson
Moya Henderson
Moya Henderson is an Australian composer.A graduate of the University of Queensland, Henderson also studied in Germany with Karlheinz Stockhausen after which she became a lecturer at the University of Sydney...
, was produced by Opera Australia
Opera Australia
Opera Australia is the principal opera company in Australia. Based in Sydney, its performance season at the Sydney Opera House runs for approximately eight months of the year, with the remainder of its time spent in the The Arts Centre in Melbourne...
at the Sydney Opera House
Sydney Opera House
The Sydney Opera House is a multi-venue performing arts centre in the Australian city of Sydney. It was conceived and largely built by Danish architect Jørn Utzon, finally opening in 1973 after a long gestation starting with his competition-winning design in 1957...
.
The incident has been referred to several times in notable television programs, including:
- SeinfeldSeinfeldSeinfeld is an American television sitcom that originally aired on NBC from July 5, 1989, to May 14, 1998, lasting nine seasons, and is now in syndication. It was created by Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld, the latter starring as a fictionalized version of himself...
in a 1991 episode entitled "The StrandedThe Stranded"The Stranded" is the twenty-seventh episode of the sitcom Seinfeld. It is the tenth episode of the show's third season. It first aired on November 27, 1991...
"; - FrasierFrasierFrasier is an American sitcom that was broadcast on NBC for eleven seasons, from September 16, 1993, to May 13, 2004. The program was created and produced by David Angell, Peter Casey, and David Lee in association with Grammnet and Paramount Network Television.A spin-off of Cheers, Frasier stars...
in a 1994 episode entitled "Flour Child"; - The SimpsonsThe SimpsonsThe Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie...
in a 1995 episode entitled "Bart vs. AustraliaBart vs. Australia"Bart vs. Australia" is the sixteenth episode of the sixth season of The Simpsons. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on February 19, 1995. In the episode, Bart is indicted for fraud in Australia, and the family travels to the country so Bart can apologize...
"; - Family GuyFamily GuyFamily Guy is an American animated television series created by Seth MacFarlane for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series centers on the Griffins, a dysfunctional family consisting of parents Peter and Lois; their children Meg, Chris, and Stewie; and their anthropomorphic pet dog Brian...
in a 2006 episode entitled "Mother TuckerMother Tucker"Mother Tucker" is the second episode of the fifth season of the animated comedy series Family Guy. It originally aired on Fox on September 17, 2006. The episode follows Peter's mother, Thelma, divorcing from Peter's father, Francis, and dating news anchorman Tom Tucker...
"; and - PsychPsychPsych is an American detective comedy-drama television series created by Steve Franks and broadcast on USA Network. It stars James Roday as Shawn Spencer, a young crime consultant for the Santa Barbara Police Department whose "heightened observational skills" and impressive detective instincts...
in a 2008 episode named "The Old and the RestlessPsych (season 2)The second season of Psych originally aired in the United States on USA Network from July 13, 2007 to February 15, 2008. It consisted of 16 episodes. James Roday, Dulé Hill, Timothy Omundson, Maggie Lawson, and Corbin Bernsen reprised their roles as the main characters, and Kirsten Nelson joined...
".
The incident was also referred to in the 1994 film, The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert
The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert
The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert is a 1994 Australian comedy-drama film written and directed by Stephan Elliott. The plot is based on the journey of three drag queens who travel across the Australian Outback from Sydney to Alice Springs in a tour bus that they have named...
, in which the young boy, Benji, acts out Lindy Chamberlain in a game of charades, as well as the 2008 feature film comedy, Tropic Thunder
Tropic Thunder
Tropic Thunder is a 2008 American action satire comedy film written, produced, and directed by Ben Stiller, and starring Stiller, Robert Downey, Jr., and Jack Black. The main plot revolves around a group of prima donna actors who are making a Vietnam War film...
. Oz's band in Buffy the Vampire Slayer was named Dingoes Ate My Baby.
Australian neoclassical
Neoclassical (Dark Wave)
Neoclassical Dark Wave refers to a music genre within the Dark Wave movement. It is characterized by the use of ethereal atmosphere and angelic female voices but also adds strong influences from classical music. Neoclassical Dark Wave is distinct from the academic art music form known as...
noir band The Paradise Motel
The Paradise Motel
The Paradise Motel are a critically and commercially successful independent Australian band from Hobart, Tasmania, first active from 1995–2000, who reformed in 2008.-Formation and early releases 1994–1998:...
's album, Australian Ghost Story, is a concept album
Concept album
In music, a concept album is an album that is "unified by a theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, narrative, or lyrical." Commonly, concept albums tend to incorporate preconceived musical or lyrical ideas rather than being improvised or composed in the studio, with all songs contributing...
based on the disappearance and subsequent case. It was released on 11 June 2010, the 30th anniversary of Azaria's birth.
Richard Davey
Richard Davey
Richard Innes Davey is an actor, director and writer. He is the founder of the Round Earth Company and advocate for the understanding of the Macquarie Harbour Penal Station on Sarah Island on the West Coast of Tasmania....
wrote the play A Cry From The Heart in 1986 - a dramatization of the police interview of Sally Lowe who had been in with the Chamberlains on the night that Azaria disappeared.