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[Music] our episodes deal with serious and often distressing incidents if you feel at
00:01:41
anytime you need support please contact your local crisis center for suggested phone numbers for confidential support
00:01:47
please see the show notes for this episode on your app or on our website this episode describes acts of violence
00:01:55
against the child it won't be suitable for all listeners it was no secret that Lindy Chamberlain
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longed for a daughter she and her husband Michael already had two sons six-year-old Aiden and four-year-old
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Regan and Lindy hoped her third pregnancy would result in a girl at 9:16 on the morning of June 11 1980 she gave
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birth to a healthy daughter weighing three kilograms with dark eyes black hair and olive skin Lindy and Michael
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named her Azaria Chantel Lauren Chamberlain when Azaria was less than a day old she
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opened her mouth into an O shape and blew a bubble earning her the nickname of bubbles she
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was quiet Placid and easy to look after she rarely cried unless she was in pain or hungry and would typically wake up
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without a stir guests would often ask where Azaria was only to realize she was already in the room silently observing
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the world around her she spent her days babbling and giggling to herself in her bouncing net while watching her mother
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work around the house or lying beside her older brothers as they played Regan was protective of his baby sister
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helping tend to her needs and boasting to others about how wonderful she was during a trip to the supermarket when
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Azaria was five weeks old she was resting in the baby seat of a shopping trolley with Regan clinging to the side
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Regan leaned over to look at some scales and the shifting weight caused the trolley to flip sending Azaria onto the
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concrete floor she was taken to the doctor who determined she hadn't sustained any injuries and was strong
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and well-developed for her age by her six-week checkup the doctor was impressed with Azaria's progress
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describing her as fit and healthy with a direct and a knowing smile Michael hadn't been able to spend much time with
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his new daughter as he had to leave for a five-week mission right after her birth he worked two long hours as a
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minister for the seventh-day Adventist Church a job that uprooted his family every couple of years and often sent him
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on cross-country trips Lindy was a devoted member of the church and often accompanied Michael on his missions but
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this time opted to stay home with the children she was looking forward to the upcoming school holidays when Michael
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would return and the family could spend some quality time traveling together when Azaria was 9 weeks old the
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Chamberlain's packed up their canary-yellow to run a hatchback and set out on an interstate road trip heading
00:04:51
160 kilometers east from their home in Northwest Queensland and in to the Northern Territory known as the red
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centre the area is considered the Gateway to Australia's vast arid and sparsely populated outback the
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Magnificent natural landmarks desert plains weathered mountain ranges and sacred sites presented plentiful
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opportunities for Michael to indulge in his passion for photography their plan was to visit the main tourist
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sites camping along the way before reaching Darwin on the north coast for a relaxing beachside conclusion where
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Michael could fish for barramundi Lindy and Michael were seasoned campers and had traveled with Aiden and Regan when
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they were babies and felt confident about taking Azaria on their latest outing their journey commenced on August
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13 1980 Michael drove west across the border navigating the long highways into the northern territories desolate and
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remote countryside stopping occasionally for fuel and rest breaks when they reached the town of Tennant Creek the
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family wandered around to the local shopping district before heading 100 kilometres south to camp among the
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ancient boulders of the devil's marbles Conservation Reserve the next morning they continued heading south until they
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arrived in the town of Alice Springs around midday on Saturday August 16 the Chamberlain's hit the road again Michael
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had been documenting the holiday with his camera and pulled over on the Stuart Highway to snap a picture of his family
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Lindy stood to the left of the tirana with baby Azaria in her arms as Regan and Aiden posed together to her right
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above them was a large road sign pointing to their next destination LaRue [Music]
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[Music] bularoo lies in the UNESCO World Heritage listed uluru-kata tjuta national park a vast outback region
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characterized by dusty red sand deserts and isolated mountain ranges the ancient
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sandstone monolith which is believed to have started forming around 550 million years ago stands 348 metres high and is
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surrounded by Springs water holes and rock caves some of which contain ancient aboriginal art it has immense spiritual
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significance to the traditional land owners the owner knew people who have lived in the area for tens of thousands
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of years the name uluru is a proper noun from the dialect of the owner new people
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but in English it is also known as Ayers Rock as named by Australian explorer William gross who cited the landmark in
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1873 the first vehicular track to the rock was constructed in 1948 paving the way for tour bus services and eventually
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a camping ground motels and an airstrip who Leroux quickly established itself as
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a popular tourist destination with the visitors often climbing up its rock base to observe the sprawling desert
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landscape from its peak as more people arrived to participate in the steep track a chain handrail was installed to
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help facilitate the climb in 1980 Ayers Rock campground was the only tourist camping area within close proximity of
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uluru nighttime was already approaching by the time the Chamberlain's arrived there on Saturday August 16 they had
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aimed to arrive sooner to give Michael the opportunity to take photos of the rock at dusk but had made in numerous
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stops on the 450 kilometre drive from Alice Springs which ultimately slowed them down the Chamberlain's planned to
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stay for three days and were told to search the designated area for an available spot given it was school
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holidays the ground were relatively full already catering to hundreds of campus they drove towards
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the back far enough away to ensure Azaria would not disturb either guests should she cry throughout the night and
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pulled up next to a Santa Jean known as sunrise hill a popular vantage point at dawn on the eastern edge of the
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campground they set up camp alongside a picnic table with the only source of the
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light coming from a 100 watt portable floodlight tied to a wooden post in the communal barbecue area 25 metres east
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they positioned to their yellow multi-person tent facing Lulu the family of five then settled in the tent
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together to sleep Azaria was placed in a white wicker basket that rested at the feet of her
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older brother Regan during breakfast the following morning of Sunday August 17 the Chamberlain's introduced themselves
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to several other campers some of whom formed over baby Azaria in her carry basket afterwards the family bundled
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into their tirana to go sightseeing Lindy had visited the North and territory during her teen years but her
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photos the bularoo had since faded she wanted to replace them with new ones and Michael obliged taking many photos
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including one of Lindy holding Azaria up against the rock face the Chamberlain's
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returned to Ayers Rock campground that evening Lindy bathed to the children and to
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dress the Zarya in a disposable nappy single at a white jumpsuit and a knitted matinee jacket with pale lemons
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scalloped edging she also put on a pair of white booties underneath the jumpsuit so she didn't
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have to remove them every time Azaria snappy required changing attired Regan was put to bed in the tent while his two
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siblings remained up with their parents at around 6:30 p.m. the Chamberlain's joined some of the other campers at the
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communal barbecue area Lindy and Michael chatted with another young couple Greg and Sally Lowe who took an immediate
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liking to the family Sully noted that Lindy appeared cheerful and had a new mum glowed Azaria was
00:12:00
struggling to settle soul indiri wrapped the blankets around her and she eventually stopped fussing and dozed off
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at 8 p.m. Lindy announced to the group it's time I put bubby down she carried Azaria down
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the Warren track that led towards the camp with Aiden in tow the front of the Chamberlain's tent was visible from the
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BBQ area and close enough to carry any sounds over in the quiet night it was partly obscured by a railing a low-lying
00:12:34
fence and shrubbery but Greg Lowe was able to glimpse Lindy kneeling as she entered the tent
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Greg witnessed the Lindy emerge a short time later and to move towards the family's tirana which was parked against
00:12:49
the tense southern side Lindy returned to the group ten minutes later with Aiden as she prepared Aiden some baked
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beans he heard something whimpering and remarked I think that is bubbie crying in reference to Azaria Sally Lowe had
00:13:08
also heard the noise and believed it was Azaria Lindy was certain Azaria was asleep but Michael insisted she go check
00:13:18
Lindy returned to the tent by herself and exclaimed a short time later my god my god a dingo has got my baby
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dingoes were not an uncommon sight around the campground the cavernous native dog with typically red or tan fur
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had a large presence in the red Center where they traveled in packs of up to ten lived in cave-like lairs
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and hunted at night they had grown accustomed to people over time and were known to wander the campground and its
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surroundings for scraps left behind by visitors and hikers signs in the camp toilets warned against feeding them and
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the Chamberlain's had stored their food in their car to avoid attracting them Regan was still inside the Chamberlain
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tent having slept through any goings on but as area's basket was empty Lindy was
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asked which way the dingo had gone and she pointed in the opposite direction of uluru towards the sand dunes her husband
00:14:27
Michael and Greg glow started scouring the area but it was dark and difficult to see anything beyond the low
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floodlight in the barbecue area several campers heard the commotion and came to the Chamberlain's aide Michael
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was given a torch and he quickly returned to the Jun's to continue the search Lindy maintained
00:14:51
that a dingo had taken Azaria and when asked how she knew that she explained that she had seen one coming out of the
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tent as she was walking towards it and her baby was now missing several campers peered into the Chamberlain's 10 and to
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notice two drops of blood on the floor Marie Haby had been staying with his family in a van adjacent to the
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Chamberlain's tan he joined to the search taking a torch and heading east of the Santa Tunes he
00:15:22
crossed the ridge of the Jun's and found what appeared to be track marks he followed them and came across an imprint
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which looked as though an object had been placed down in the sand he summoned the park ranger in charge of the area
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darica roth who arrived at the scene at 8:25 p.m. followed shortly after by seeing a constable Frank Morris Ranger
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Roth believed that the imprint resembled the pattern of a knitted or woven garment according to Lindy she had
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placed Azaria in the basket with six blankets and a rug at her feet as the temperature in the desert dropped
00:16:03
significantly at night she secured the blankets a centimeter from the crown of Azaria's head creating a warm cocoon
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wherein only her face was visible by this point Azaria had been asleep for around half an hour
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Aiden crawled into the tent and kissed his baby sister could not before tucking himself into his sleeping bag but when
00:16:27
he complained of still being hungry he agreed to return to the BBQ area so his mother could fix him some baked beans
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Aiden crawled out of the tent and waited nearby as Lindy went to the tirana to fetch the baked beans and a can opener
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the pair then headed back to the BBQ area together with Lindy leaving the tent flap open as she soon planned to go
00:16:52
to bed herself Lindy told constable Morris that as she went to check on Azaria she saw a dingo
00:17:00
emerging from the tan although she couldn't tell for certain through the darkness its head appeared to be tilted
00:17:08
slightly downwards and it looked as though it was carrying something in its mouth when it fled
00:17:15
Lindy checked inside the tent finding as Arrius blankets in disarray her dummy was amongst them still warm to the touch
00:17:24
Regan was asleep and unharmed tucked into his sleeping bag with his face buried in his pillow
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Lindy bumped Azaria's basket which rolled over with ease confirming her baby was no longer inside constable
00:17:41
Morris shown a torch into the Chamberlain's 10 where the basket blankets and other items were strewn
00:17:47
about there were several spots of blood on the floor paw prints and drag marks were
00:17:53
also noticeable in the dirt surrounding the ten Lindy's story was supported by several
00:18:00
other campers who had sighted dingoes shortly before Azaria's disappearance earlier that day the Chamberlain's
00:18:09
visited a local site called fertility cave located at the base of uluru which featured aboriginal rock paintings of
00:18:17
sacred significance while there Lindy pointed out a dingo who was watching them from a rock above she noted its
00:18:27
behavior as creepy and to later remarked it's almost as if the dog had been casing the baby that evening at ayers
00:18:37
rock campground a dingo followed Sully lo as she disposed of food scraps in a rubbish bin and Michael had thrown a
00:18:45
crust of bread to one as he prepared dinner the hey be family had been eating dinner had around 8 o'clock when a dingo
00:18:53
approached their van sliding door they took photos of it before it's carried away into the night Bill and Judy West
00:19:03
were staying at the campsite closest to the Chamberlain's five minutes before Lindy cried out for her daughter they
00:19:10
thought they had heard at dingos low growl outside from the direction of the Chamberlain's ten three hundred
00:19:18
volunteers formed a human chain to search the rugged terrain to the north east and south of the tent
00:19:26
Aboriginal trackers with expertise in dingo tracking followed the paw prints and drag marks and to reached a road
00:19:33
where they mixed in with human footprints and were no longer distinguishable the depth of the paw
00:19:39
prints led the trackers to believe the animal had been carrying a load of some kind the Chamberlain's remained at the
00:19:48
campsite for the duration of this search Azaria had been recovering from a cold and given the icy nighttime temperature
00:19:57
they believed that if she hadn't died as a result of the dingo attack it wouldn't
00:20:02
take long before she succumbed to pneumonia or froze to death Michael remarked that Azaria was likely
00:20:09
dead and that whatever happened was God's will Aiden was distraught and told some of
00:20:17
the gathering campers that a dingo had taken his sister and she was now in the dog's tummy at one point an agitated a
00:20:26
Lindy told the search parties that they were not looking in the correct area and
00:20:30
they should be checking under nearby shrubs and bushes she said I will have to live with this the rest of my life
00:20:39
and I don't want to think that the baby could have been out there and simply because we didn't look in the right
00:20:45
place that would die Lindy and Michael headed to the area that she had singled out disappearing for roughly 15 to 20
00:20:55
minutes at 1:30 a.m. with no sign of Azaria uncovered the search was called off due to lack of visibility the
00:21:07
Chamberlain's were persuaded to spend the night in a motel the search for Zarya resumed at 5:30 the
00:21:19
following morning an examination of the Chamberlain's tent revealed several animal hairs on Azaria's basket and
00:21:26
blanket as well as bloodstains on various items including a sleeping bag a floral mattress a parka and a raincoat
00:21:34
there were also bloodstains on Azaria's blanket which had been torn in a way that indicated it had been bitten there
00:21:42
was no blood on the basket nor any trailing out from the tent but a small blood spray pattern was identified on
00:21:49
the exterior wall of the tent dingoes are strong predatory animals and given that Azaria weighed just four and a half
00:21:58
kilograms the police believed it was possible that one could have carried her in its jaws 25 dingos were known to
00:22:06
frequent Ayers Rock campground and some had previously entered tents searching for food there had become increasingly
00:22:14
aggressive and potentially dangerous in the two months leading up to Azaria's disappearance six people had been
00:22:22
treated for wild canine bites at all Aroo the day prior three children had been attacked in separate incidents but
00:22:31
none were seriously injured a dingo had snagged the clothing of a 14 year old girl and her 9 year old brother with its
00:22:39
teeth while another child had been bitten and pinned down in each of these incidents the animals exhibited a little
00:22:48
fear of humans and two were slow to retreat Ranger Derek Roth was aware of an incident that occurred less than two
00:22:56
months prior On June 23 in which a dingo sees the three-year-old girl around at the head and dragged her from a car
00:23:04
relenting only after the girl's father intervened the day before Azaria went missing a woman sleeping in the garden
00:23:12
adjoining Ranger Roth's house was approached by a dingo it removed the pillow from under
00:23:19
her head and then attempted to pull a sleeping bag away from her body Ranger Ralph had
00:23:26
become so concerned about the spate of attacks that he had recently sought permission from his park superiors to
00:23:32
begin shooting the wild animals if Azaria had been taken by a dingo as Lindy alleged the police held strong
00:23:41
doubts that her body would ever be found one officer remarked there a dingo lairs
00:23:48
everywhere if the baby has been taken into a cave the possibility of recovery is almost nil
00:23:56
both Lindy and Michael Chamberland were willing to front news crews to answer questions Michael told reporters thank
00:24:06
you all of you for the efforts you are making to find our baby although we cannot believe there is hope any longer
00:24:13
of finding her alive I am a man of God a minister of religion I know that nothing
00:24:21
happens in the world unless the good Lord wills it should be so I know our baby has passed from us into heaven my
00:24:31
wife and I must not be sad but jubilant that our little daughter is safe in the arms of Jesus he then described how they
00:24:42
knew from the sharp jagged marks in Azaria's blanket that she had been attacked too by a very powerful Beast
00:24:50
Lindy who donned a pair of dark sunglasses and held Regan in front of the cameras explained how she had
00:24:57
witnessed the dingo emerge from the tent shortly after putting Azaria to bed quote there wasn't time to go and tell
00:25:06
people I just yelled out the dingos got my baby from the moment the Chamberlain's
00:25:15
checked in at the motel they made no attempt to rejoin search efforts and did not inquire as to how the investigation
00:25:22
was progressing after two nights they resigned to their belief that there was no chance their daughter would be
00:25:29
recovered either dead or alive and decided to leave the Northern Territory they spent the morning of Tuesday August
00:25:38
19 praying in their room before commencing the drive home to Queensland in their Tirana they stopped the des
00:25:46
rock campground on the way so Michael could take some photos which he then sent to a newspaper their behavior was
00:25:55
under constant scrutiny with the Australian public and media viewing the couple's uncharacteristic composure and
00:26:02
blind acceptance of Azaria's fate as suspicious despite their initial acceptance that a
00:26:10
dingo had taken Azaria investigators were curious about what they perceived as inconsistencies in Lindy's statements
00:26:19
she reportedly gave conflicting details to multiple people including whether she
00:26:25
saw something in the dingos mouth or not journalists saw comments from authorities on dingo behaviour with some
00:26:33
saying it was highly unlikely that a dingo would take an infant although they wouldn't rule out the possibility the
00:26:41
Spade of dingo attacks in recent months gave credibility to Lindy's claims however there was no record of any other
00:26:48
child ever being killed by a dingo investigating Sergeant John Lincoln disputed that a dingo would have been
00:26:57
capable of carrying Azaria for any great distance to demonstrate his point he filled a bucket with sand and attempted
00:27:05
to lift it in his own mouth but was unable to hold it up for longer than a minute he then challenged his colleagues
00:27:12
to do the same after three days of widespread searching and no sign of the missing baby that was
00:27:20
publicly announced that there was no possibility of recovering Azaria alive meanwhile Park Rangers started shooting
00:27:29
dingoes and wild dogs around uluru then sent their remains for analysis in the hopes they would reveal something about
00:27:36
Azaria's fate at 4:00 p.m. on Sunday August 24 exactly one week after Azaria went missing a young interstate family
00:27:50
visiting all the roof set out on an afternoon walk to a gully near the rocks base 35 year old wali Goodwin was a keen
00:27:58
photographer and planned to capture some decent shots of wildflowers along the way he kept to a track that was
00:28:06
surrounded by dense foliage while his son and daughter followed behind and his wife Margo walked on higher ground to
00:28:13
keep an eye on the children the area they were hiking through was situated 400 meters from fertility cave and just
00:28:22
over five kilometers from Ayers Rock campground Wally and Margo sighted a baby's jumpsuit and a torn-up disposable
00:28:31
nappy on the ground near a boulder the jumpsuit was crumpled and a lying face up with blood visible around the
00:28:39
neckline it had a series of press studs down the front all of which appeared to be undone and inside there was a Singler
00:28:47
which was also covered in blood Wally had heard the news reports about Azaria Chamberlain and to knew this
00:28:55
could be a significant find wary of disturbing the items he made no attempt to look any closer and didn't take any
00:29:04
photographs instead he gathered his family and drove to the police station to notify the authorities
00:29:12
[Music] constable Frank Morris who had been a part of the Chamberlain case from the
00:29:18
outset was on duty when Wally arrived the men traveled to the side of the clothing together which was positioned
00:29:25
at Jason through a dingo lair constable Morris picked up the clothes and examines them thoroughly finding two
00:29:33
booties stuck inside the feet of the jumpsuit just like Lindy Chamberlain had described dressing Azaria he then
00:29:41
attempted to rearrange the items the way they were found but struggled to replicate their exact position unlike
00:29:49
Wally who believed all of the jumpsuits press studs were undone constable Morris
00:29:54
maintained - located at the crotch were fastened despite the significant amount of blood on the jumpsuit and singlet
00:30:04
there was very little damage to the clothing itself the jumpsuits left sleeve had a large rip and to the
00:30:11
neckline appeared to have been torn or cut but it was otherwise intact the singlet which was found inside out
00:30:19
within the jumpsuit had two small punctures through its back and to the nappy was also torn but contained no
00:30:26
blood stains there was no evidence of human tissue on any of the items sand soil and plant fragments were recovered
00:30:36
from both the outside and inside of the fabric as well as nine animal hairs the garments were also tested for canine
00:30:44
saliva but none was found it had rained at all the route 12 hours before the jumpsuit was discovered allowing for the
00:30:53
possibility that evidence had been washed away television networks were granted permission to broadcast images
00:31:01
of the garments which were showed - laid out side by side that led the public to
00:31:07
question how a dingo could remove an infant from its clothing while leaving everything relatively intact the
00:31:15
Chamberlain's learnt of the discovery through news reports and when Michael phoned Northern Territory police they
00:31:21
stated their belief that the clothing belonged to Azaria Lindy told a radio journalist that she wasn't surprised by
00:31:30
the state of her daughter's clothes as she had previously seen dingoes attack cattle and to knew what they were
00:31:36
capable of in a television interview she calmly explained that dingoes used their
00:31:43
paws like hands to peel back the skin of their prey quote like an orange some viewers were troubled by her
00:31:52
seemingly emotionless demeanor and ability to discuss her daughter's death in such a matter-of-fact manner two
00:32:02
weeks after Azaria's disappearance Detective Sergeant Graham char wood was appointed to lead the Chamberland
00:32:09
investigation taking over from inspector Michael Gilroy who prepared the cases first official report to pass on to his
00:32:17
successor in it he recorded a number of details that he'd uncovered when speaking to a doctor who had treated as
00:32:25
aria shortly before her disappearance writing it is reported that Lindy appeared not to have cared for the baby
00:32:34
and at one stage did not feed it for over eight hours when bringing the baby in for a checkup
00:32:41
she astounded the sisters by having the baby dressed completely in black a doctor who treated the baby said that
00:32:49
she did not react like a normal mother the same doctor said that he looked up the name Azaria in a dictionary of names
00:32:57
and meanings and found that a means sacrifice in the wilderness inspector Gilroy had attempted to find
00:33:06
this book at a library to confirm the doctor's claim but the library's copy had been misplaced
00:33:13
he also noted that he had watched a television interview with the Chamberlain's in which Lindy stated that
00:33:19
the blanket covering Azaria was thick and would be difficult to cut with a knife
00:33:24
in contrast inspector Gilroy believed the rips on the blanket looked more like they had been made by a sharp instrument
00:33:32
than canine teeth inspector Gilroy reported the police were unable to find any witnesses who
00:33:40
could confirm that they had seen Azaria at all the Roo but had spoken with individuals who saw Lindy holding a
00:33:47
white bundle against her chest which they assumed to be a baby this was an oversight by the police as they had
00:33:56
failed to take the names into contact details of the other campers who had met the Chamberlain's Adair's Rock
00:34:01
campground many of whom saw Azaria he also remarked that the proximity of Azaria's clothes to fertility cave was
00:34:11
noteworthy given that the family had hiked their hours before Azaria disappeared consequently he had asked
00:34:20
constable Morris to check the cave for any evidence of soft earth several days later on Tuesday September 2 diella
00:34:30
Springs Police announced that a coronal hearing would be held to ascertain the facts surrounding Azaria Chamberlain's
00:34:37
disappearance after taking over the investigation detective child Woods first action was to obtain registrations
00:34:46
for all cars that had been a DES Rock campground on the weekend the Zarya went missing the records listed 131 vehicles
00:34:55
belonging to people from all over Australia in order for all of these individuals to be interviewed a
00:35:02
questionnaire was compiled and forwarded to their local police stations police also seized a pair of Lindy
00:35:10
Chamberlain's tracksuit pants and a sleeping bag from a dry cleaner in her home city of Mau neither
00:35:16
a friend of the Chamberlain's had delivered the pants there after the family returned and had shown the
00:35:22
drycleaner a number of stains in a spatter pattern below one knee at a wildlife reserve in South Australia
00:35:31
three dingos were given me encased in disposable nappies to see whether they would be left in a similar manner to
00:35:38
Azaria's the nappies were torn to shreds and damaged far more significantly than
00:35:44
Azaria's had been a follow-up experiment was conducted at the Adelaide Zoo two weeks later in which a single dingo was
00:35:53
given a goat carcass dressed in baby clothes sent a disposable nappy in this case the nappy was left intact
00:36:01
receiving just a few perforations the dingo tore and chewed on the jumpsuit but managed to extract the meat without
00:36:10
unfastening it on October 1 1980 the Chamberlain's were formally interviewed by Detective char wood he requested that
00:36:23
Lindy be hypnotized to help recover memories but she refused on the basis of her religion as she viewed hypnotism as
00:36:31
a form of witchcraft regardless Lindy was able to recount the events leading up to Azaria's
00:36:37
disappearance in painstaking detail she described the dingo as being young likely still a puppy unlike some of the
00:36:47
other mangy dingo spotted around the campsite this one had a shiny gold coat and fluffy ears in beautiful condition
00:36:55
when she first saw it she was about halfway between the camp and to the barbecue area the dingo was still inside
00:37:03
the tent but its head was exposed and it appeared to have been struggling to hold
00:37:08
something out it began vigorously shaking its head until indeed thought it was carrying one
00:37:15
of Michael's shoes by a shoelace and to yield at the dingo to drop it and to get
00:37:19
out as Lindy turned away to alert her husband the realization dawned that Azaria may have been whimpering earlier
00:37:28
because she had been attacked by the dingo quote instinct told me that Azaria wasn't there the dog had her but my head
00:37:39
told me it wasn't possible dingos don't do such things and to this was just beyond the realms of reason I could see
00:37:48
from the door that she wasn't there but my mind wouldn't accept it I felt within myself that she was dead
00:37:55
because if she was alive I'd have heard a whimper or a cry or something unless by some miracle she was unconscious
00:38:04
and still alive Lindy said the dingo then walked toward the back of the Tirana and took off quote I couldn't tell you
00:38:15
whether it had anything in its mouth or not my mind refused to accept the thought that it had her in its mouth
00:38:22
although I knew that must be it she confirmed the only item of Azaria's clothing that hadn't yet been recovered
00:38:31
was her white matinee jacket with the pale lemon edging around the collar and calf's it had elastic on the sleeves and
00:38:40
three loose buttons on the yoke and could have easily come off separately to the rest of the clothing Lindy explains
00:38:48
the reason she and Michael had given up on the search was because the initial shock had worn off and was replaced by
00:38:54
the morbid reality of what they might find if Azaria was recovered the case attracted an abundance of
00:39:04
speculation with rumors suggesting that the Chamberlain's had decided to kill Azaria because she was unwell or had a
00:39:11
disability others theorized that one of the Chamberlain's sons had killed Azaria
00:39:17
and to their parents concealed the crime though this scenario was never taken seriously by police
00:39:25
with conjecture running rife the Chamberlain's were subjected to an increasing level of harassment during
00:39:32
everyday errands they encountered strangers debating their guilt or innocence people drove slowly past their
00:39:39
house at night honking their car horns tabloid magazines ran salacious headlines such as we didn't kill our
00:39:47
baby while the family's faith grew severe judgment Australians who were unfamiliar with seventh-day Adventism
00:39:57
incorrectly believed the church was tired to the People's Temple of the disciples of Christ two years earlier
00:40:05
people's temple leader Jim Jones ordered the mass murder of his followers at their Jonestown settlement in Guyana has
00:40:12
covered in episode 60 of case file this false connection led to speculation that
00:40:19
Azaria had been murdered as a human sacrifice and that Lindy dressed Azaria in black in recognition of her
00:40:27
sacrificial status Lindy was a qualified and talented seamstress she specialized
00:40:34
in making custom wedding dresses and also crafted many of her own outfits her bold colorful designs often drew
00:40:42
criticism from her fellow parishioners who felt it was inappropriate for a minister's wife to dress so dramatically
00:40:50
within weights of Azaria's birth Lindy had handcrafted or altered upwards of 30 dresses for her little girl
00:40:58
most of them pink she even made replicas of some for herself so they could dawn matching outfits Lindy had actually made
00:41:07
the notorious black dress for Regan when he was a baby and Azaria had simply inherited it
00:41:15
on the first day Azaria woried Lindy dressed in a matching black and red outfit with her daughter's dress
00:41:21
attracting lots of attention people seemed to have a strong reaction either loving or hating it the public's disdain
00:41:32
for Lindy Chamberlain was harsh and unrelenting she received death threats and people held at her on the street and
00:41:40
called her a witch on one occasion six-year-old Aiden was walking home from school when a woman approached him and
00:41:48
insisted he tell her the truth about what had happened to his sister Lindy spoke out about their mistreatment
00:41:56
in an interview remarking God has given us the strength to cope with Azaria's death but going down the street people
00:42:05
are talking about us shiri mentally refuted the rumors that her daughter's death was anything other
00:42:13
than a tragic accident the cranial inquest into the disappearance of Azaria Chamberlain
00:42:24
began in mid-december 1980 before former policeman turned coroner Dennis Barrett
00:42:31
media coverage was intense with sales of newspapers that covered proceedings increasing by roughly 40,000 per day the
00:42:40
Chamberlain's returned to Alice Springs to give evidence as did a number of other witnesses who had been a DES Rock
00:42:46
campsite on August 17 early on the coroner noticed the many discrepancies between first-hand accounts and initial
00:42:55
police reports while the letter stated that Lindy was a harsh and uncaring mother those who had witnessed her
00:43:02
interact with her children described the 32 year old as tender and attentive despite these claims public opinion of
00:43:10
Lindy remained at an all-time low bond threats were made to the motel weather Chamberlain's were staying and
00:43:16
one anonymous critic phoned to the court to declare I'm going to blow that [ __ ]
00:43:22
away the true meaning of Azaria was discussed in court with Lindy testifying that she and Michael had chosen the
00:43:31
unique name after months of consideration because it meant blessed by God a Hebrew studies
00:43:38
researcher also submitted a report to the court that dispelled the notion that Azaria meant sacrifice in the wilderness
00:43:45
a report submitted by biologist and dingo expert les harris confirmed that studies had shown dingos were capable of
00:43:55
carrying mammals weighing up to 9 kilograms over long distances observations showed that a solitary
00:44:03
dingo could consume a mammal of Azaria's weight in under 20 minutes or even faster have maded pairs or groups of
00:44:11
immature and dingos were involved Harris explained that dingos routinely consumed to their prey entirely making
00:44:19
it difficult to identify a location where the feed took place he therefore concluded that if Azaria had been taken
00:44:28
by a dingo that was highly unlikely any trace of her body would be found more than half an hour later dingoes
00:44:36
typically digest and excrete their food within 10 to 24 hours meaning nothing could have been learned by studying the
00:44:44
stomach contents of dingos that were shot and killed after 8:00 p.m. the day after Azaria's disappearance harris also
00:44:53
said that dingos have advanced manipulative skills and cognitive abilities quote the dingo is a natural
00:45:01
canid in fact a wolf not a dog which has to practice as hunting skills on a daily
00:45:07
basis and at a very high level of efficiency in order to survive in terms of strength speed agility and reasoning
00:45:16
power they compared more readily with the natural felines tigers leopards itaú it is easier to
00:45:24
underestimate the capabilities of dingos than to overestimate them he described the dingos around uluru as particularly
00:45:34
dangerous as they maintained to their hunting skills while also being fed by tourists resulting in a situation where
00:45:41
they were not tame yet not wild he dismissed any experiments conducted with dingos at zoos and wildlife
00:45:49
reserves as captive dingos exhibit different behaviors from wild ones Harris's report concluded that a dingo
00:45:59
could have taken a baby removed its clothing and consumed at home with these during the initial stages of the
00:46:09
investigation the Chamberlain's tent was sent to Darwin for forensic testing blood spatter had been observed on an
00:46:16
exterior wall but the examining officer failed to notice the stains and placed the tent into storage without any
00:46:24
further testing after the inquest was well underway the tent was finally subjected to comprehensive forensic
00:46:32
testing forensic scientist dr. Andrew Scott confirmed there was a small amount of blood on the right side of the tent
00:46:41
exterior consistent with arterial spray due to the delay in testing the sample he was unable to determine whether it
00:46:49
had come from an animal or human but was more inclined to believe it was animal blood the inquest concluded in late
00:47:01
February the following year in an Australian first coroner Barrett allowed television news crews to share a live
00:47:09
broadcast of his findings to quell the gossip surrounding the case he detailed the known facts proceeding as arias
00:47:17
disappearance on August 17 1980 before concluding that she had died after being attacked by a wild dingo quote in
00:47:28
attempting to remove this babe from the tent the dingo would have caused severe crushing to the base of the skull and
00:47:35
neck and two lacerations to the throat and neck such injuries would have resulted in Swift death
00:47:45
neither Lindy nor Michael Chamberlin were found responsible for their daughter's death in any way however the
00:47:53
coroner accepted the claims from police that the tears in azarius garments were likely caused by a sharp tool such as
00:48:00
scissors he put forth the possibility that a human could have interrupted the dingo as it preyed on the baby which
00:48:07
could explain why her clothing was relatively intact and lacked canine saliva Barrett suggested that this
00:48:15
unknown person may have come across as area while she was being attacked scared the dingo off and to then cut off her
00:48:22
clothing in an attempt to save her upon realizing she was deceased they then disposed of her body into the
00:48:29
clothing soil into vegetation were embedded in the garments fabric leading the coroner to suspect the items had
00:48:38
been buried at some point before being retrieved and left out for a passerby to find the coroner critiqued conservation
00:48:48
authorities at the uluru-kata tjuta national park for failing to take strong action after the previous dingo attacks
00:48:55
remarking this case clearly exercises that a choice has to be made between dingoes on one hand and to tourism on
00:49:04
the other tourists in national parks should be able to observe native fauna in its natural state but on maintain
00:49:13
only from a safe distance he recommended that potentially dangerous animals such as dingos and
00:49:21
snakes either being closed or cold from popular areas of the park he also criticized the Northern Territory Police
00:49:30
forensic Department for either not observing or not reporting the blood staining on the exterior of the
00:49:36
Chamberlain's tent which he felt certain was those areas he said this failure shifted the focus of the investigation
00:49:45
at great financial expense and caused the Chamberlain's further suffering addressing the family directly he stated
00:49:56
to you pastor and mrs. Chamberlain and through you to Aidan and Regan may I extend my deepest sympathy you have not
00:50:06
only suffered the loss of your beloved child in the most tragic circumstances but you have all been subjected to
00:50:13
months of innuendos suspicion and probably the most malicious gossip ever witnessed in this country I have taken
00:50:21
the unusual step of permitting these proceedings to be televised today in the hope that but direct and accurate
00:50:29
communication such innuendos suspicion and gossip may cease the Chamberlain's expressed that their relief at the
00:50:39
finding Southside Court they displayed a poster sized photograph of Azaria in Lindy's arms to journalists and stated
00:50:47
that were looking forward to starting new lives and focusing on their sons Michael remarked people who spread
00:50:56
rumors have not understood the facts of the case they will have to make peace with their God
00:51:03
in contrast Northern Territory authorities were displeased by the coroner's conclusions the chairman of
00:51:11
the Conservation Commission described his recommendations as quote impossible to implement as well as being highly
00:51:20
debatable as to its desirability police and prosecutors were also unhappy with the critique of their forensics unit
00:51:30
several days later a police spokesperson told the media that the case was still open but would not be investigated
00:51:37
further quote unless something comes up later that year British forensic scientist professor James Cameron of the
00:51:51
London Hospital Medical College submitted a new information in relation to the Chamberlain case professor
00:51:58
Cameron had previously worked as a senior forensic medicine consultant to the British Armed Forces and assisted in
00:52:05
many high-profile investigations he had been unavailable during the first inquest into Azaria's disappearance but
00:52:14
subsequently examined her recovered clothing and determined that there was an incision at the neck of her jumpsuit
00:52:20
which he believed was consistent with having been caused by scissors he also found what he believed to be a small
00:52:28
adult human hand print in the bloodstains professor Cameron claimed there was a distinct possibility that as arias
00:52:37
clothes had been buried and - then later dug up and placed in either walking track to be found he was of the opinion
00:52:45
that a dingo was not involved in the infant's disappearance on September 19 1981 a year and one
00:52:55
month after Azaria's disappearance it was announced that the investigation was being reopened when informed that this
00:53:04
development was due to Professor Cameron's findings Lindy Chamberlain responded coolly I didn't know there
00:53:12
were any dingo experts in London the media frenzy was reignited prompting Northern Territory's chief minister and
00:53:21
attorney General Paul Everingham to criticise members of the press who he believed acted like a bunch of vampires
00:53:27
in their coverage of the story the Chamberlain's tirana hatchback was seized by police for forensic testing
00:53:35
along with various other items that had been in the tents and car on the evening
00:53:40
of Azaria's disappearance a detective examined the tirana and found a sticky substance underneath the dashboard
00:53:49
forensic investigators concluded it was likely a sugary drink or something similar his blood would have dried
00:53:56
within two hours of being shed however they later discovered what appeared to be several bloodstains throughout other
00:54:04
areas of the vehicle including on and underneath the front passenger seat on the interior door handles the car's
00:54:12
console and a metal plate under the dashboard the spray pattern under the dashboard was deemed to be consistent
00:54:20
with fluid ejecting from a small orifice whilst under pressure such as blood spray from an artery wound several items
00:54:29
inside the vehicle including a towel Michael Chamberlain's camera bag and a pair of nail scissors also contained a
00:54:36
blood like substance [Music] during a search of the Chamberlain's home police also seized the small coffin
00:54:44
that Michael had used as a prop during an anti-smoking campaign at work although it was dismissed as having
00:54:52
nothing to do with the saria's case word of its existence got out and contributed
00:54:57
to the ferocious rumour mill on November 18 1981 it was announced that based on new evidence the findings of the
00:55:08
previous coronial inquest had been quashed and a new one was ordered in its place the second inquest into Azaria
00:55:20
Chamberlain's disappearance commenced almost a year after the first this time before coroner Jared Galvin barrister
00:55:29
des dirges acted as counsel and who was responsible for questioning witnesses he
00:55:35
had worked closely with the police over the previous three months and firmly believed in Lindy's guilt with the
00:55:42
central focus of his case being the evidence investigators had recently collated following the seizure of the
00:55:48
Chamberlain's possessions biologists enjoyed Kuehl who had examined the forensic evidence found in the tirana
00:55:56
testified that various stains had tested positive for human blood DNA testing had
00:56:03
not yet been developed so she had used the screening test to check the molecular content of the blood to
00:56:10
determine whether it belonged to an adult or an infant she was specifically looking for fetal
00:56:16
hemoglobin a protein that develops during the last seven months in utero and persists during the first six months
00:56:24
of life kyoool reported that she had found fetal hemoglobin in 22 places throughout the
00:56:32
Chamberlain's vehicle as well as on Michaels camera bag and a pair of nail scissors
00:56:38
the blood located inside the Chamberlain's tent which was initially presumed to have come from the dingo
00:56:45
attack was confirmed to belong to Azaria however with the implication that she might have actually been injured in the
00:56:53
car the presence of blood in the tent suggests that it could have been transferred there by someone else's
00:56:58
shoes or clothing as per standard procedure in the laboratory where she worked joy kill destroyed the resulting plates
00:57:07
and gels after her experiments were complete but presented a report of her findings as evidence when the
00:57:16
Chamberlain's first returned home following their trip to uluru a friend of Lindy's had taken some of their
00:57:22
clothing to a dry cleaner testimony was presented in court that the friend told the dry cleaner that there were several
00:57:30
bloodstains on a pair of Lindy's tracksuit pants the dry cleaner recalled there were approximately 36 spots on the
00:57:38
pants from the knee to the calf the pants had been seized by the police and taken for forensic testing but
00:57:45
scientists had been unable to detect any significant stains on them although Lindy was wearing a floral
00:57:53
dress at the time Azaria went missing that was put forward that she could have changed into the pants and taken her
00:57:59
baby into the passenger seat of the car where she proceeded to slit her throat using the pair of nail scissors forensic
00:58:08
expert said the bloodstains in the car were consistent with the child being held under the dashboard next to the
00:58:14
passenger's feet when such an injury occurred which would have matched the supposed the blood stains on Lindy's
00:58:20
tracksuit pants this theory was also used to explain why similar staining hadn't occurred inside the tent Lindy
00:58:32
once again testified before the court she claimed that she hadn't put the tracksuit pants on until 10:00 p.m. on
00:58:39
the night Azaria disappeared prior to that they had been lying inside the tent near its entry she denied that there was
00:58:48
any blood on them or ever telling her friend that they were stained with blood as for the blood in the vehicle Michael
00:58:55
said he was uncertain how it came to be there the Chamberlain's had purchased the car almost the brand-new in December
00:59:03
1977 and since taking ownership both of their sons had previously suffered nosebleeds in the car
00:59:11
on one occasion they had also picked up a hitchhiker who was bleeding following a traffic accident
00:59:20
the inquest was adjourned over the Christmas holiday period and when it resumed On February 1 1982 Barris the
00:59:29
death stars told the coroner that there was sufficient evidence to prove that Lindy Chamberlain had cut her daughter's
00:59:35
throat and that her husband had been an accessory to her crime the next day coroner Galvin told the court room that
00:59:45
while the evidence was largely circumstantial he believed to properly instructed jury could arrive at a
00:59:52
verdict he then formally charged Lindy Chamberlain with the murder of her 9 week old daughter
00:59:59
Michael Chamberlain was charged with being an accessory after the fact the couple remained silent and stoic as the
01:00:08
news was delivered to avoid prejudicing any future jury's coroner Galvin chose not to share his full findings with the
01:00:18
public later that month he sent a letter marked private and confidential to Crown
01:00:24
prosecutor Peter Tiffin in which he outlined to the evidence and stated his opinions he agreed that a dingo was not
01:00:32
responsible for Azaria's death excepting that blood staining on the infant's jumpsuit was indicative of her being
01:00:39
held by an adult as the act of killing was carried out he also believed Azaria had too likely been buried while still
01:00:48
wearing her clothing while he agreed that the smaller indentations in her clothing were consistent with animal
01:00:55
teeth marks he was convinced that the garments had been cut and torn by a person
01:01:01
and that the jumpsuit scholar had been cut after the blood staining had already occurred as the clothing wasn't strewn
01:01:09
about coroner Galvan found this was inconsistent with an animal being responsible for their positioning he
01:01:17
concluded I find Azaria Chamberlain came to her death that Ayers Rock on August 17 1980 cause of death was extensive and
01:01:27
fatal wound or wounds to the neck he dispelled the room is that one of Azaria siblings could have been responsible but
01:01:37
confirming that there was no evidence linking Aidan or Regan to her death in any way while acknowledging that there
01:01:45
was no apparent motive for the murder and that witnesses described a Lindy's relationship with Azaria positively
01:01:52
coroner Galvin stated quote the killing of a child by a mother is not an uncommon happening Lindy and Michael
01:02:05
Chamberlain pleaded not guilty to the charges and were released pending trial and a collective bail of ten thousand
01:02:12
dollars in the interim the Australian media took to broadcasting old controversial interviews with the couple
01:02:19
while openly debating their guilt one radio station concluded a segment by stating when the trial goes to court the
01:02:29
world might find out just why Lindy Chamberlain cut the throat of her tiny daughter
01:02:36
there's the des Sturges who was of the opinion that Lindy was guilty expressed his disappointment in the media's
01:02:43
conduct as it compromised the likelihood of finding an impartial jury for the high-profile case three months before
01:02:52
the trial commenced news broke that Lindy was pregnant friends of the Chamberlain's told the
01:02:58
press that the couple were delighted and were praying the baby would be a girl by
01:03:04
the time the Chamberlain's trial began in Darwin's Supreme Court on Monday September 13 1982 Lindy was seven months
01:03:13
pregnant it had been just over two years since Azaria went missing although the media seemed far more interested in
01:03:21
Lindy's unborn child with reports focusing on the wide range of maternity dresses she wore to court the trial was
01:03:30
presided over by justice James Muir head with 12 Northern Territory residents selected from a panel of 123 potential
01:03:39
jurors despite the Northern Territory having a higher population of indigenous residents all the jurors were Caucasian
01:03:49
Crown prosecutor Ian Barker told the court that the key evidence in the form of Azaria's jumpsuit and the fetal
01:03:56
hemoglobin stains found on the front seat of the car would prove that quote the dingo story was offensive all lie
01:04:05
calculated to conceal the truth which is that the child Azaria died by her mother's hand
01:04:12
the prosecution stance was that during the time Lindy said she was putting Azaria to bed she had actually taken her
01:04:20
into the front seat of the tirana and slit her throat using a pair of scissors she then stored the body in her
01:04:27
husband's camera case that was stashed below the front seat they alleged that Lindy concocted the story about the
01:04:35
dingo and while everyone was out searching for the animal she and Michael disposed of Azaria's body
01:04:42
Barker played on the popular opinion that dingoes didn't attack babies and highlighted that there had been no
01:04:49
official documented reports of one ever taking and killing a child various authorities were called to support the
01:04:57
prosecution's theory including several forensic and textile experts who gave evidence that the damage to Azaria's
01:05:04
jumpsuit was caused by cutting professor James Cameron who had submitted the report that resulted in the case being
01:05:12
reopened presented images of Azaria's clothing taken under ultraviolet light which he believed showed a pattern
01:05:20
consistent with a bloody right hand print of a small a tall london-based odontologist the Burnett Simms who had
01:05:28
investigated two dozen dog attacks on humans said the bloodstains on Azaria's clothing were not consistent with a
01:05:35
dingo attack as such an incident would cause far more copious bleeding he also said a baby's head was too big
01:05:43
to fit into a dingos jaws the prosecution's argument also relied heavily on their assertion that no dingo
01:05:53
hairs had been found in the Chamberlain's tent or Anna's areas recovered clothing the nine animal hairs
01:06:00
from one of Oz areas blankets which were initially believed to be dingo hairs were later identified as belonging to a
01:06:07
cat the blood evidence compiled by forensic biologist joy Kuehl was used by the prosecution to assert that Azaria
01:06:17
had been murdered inside the Chamberlain's tirana they argued that the blood appeared to flow in a pattern
01:06:24
consistent with someone bleeding while sitting in the front passenger seat which ruled out the possibility it had
01:06:30
been caused by the injured hitchhiker the Chamberlain's had previously picked up as he had been lying in the back seat
01:06:38
although the blood samples had since been destroyed fuels direct supervisor dr. Simon Baxter testified to seeing the
01:06:47
plates and gels used in her experiments and agreed with her findings other experts who had read over cures
01:06:55
laboratory reports also approved of the methods she used and the conclusions she
01:07:00
derived the defense argued that Azaria's death was nothing more than a tragic accident two professors of biology took
01:07:14
the stand to debunk the prosecution's blood findings arguing the cools testing methods could have produced false
01:07:21
positives for fetal hemoglobin and to the blood stains could have come from a number of sources over the years in
01:07:30
response to Bernhard Sims claim that a dingo couldn't carry a human infant defense lawyer andrew Kirkham presented
01:07:37
a photo of a dingo successfully holding a baby sized the doll by the crown of its head its canine teeth extending to
01:07:45
the dolls ears upon seeing the photo Sims conceded that his earlier statement might have been incorrect in favor of
01:07:56
the defense dr. HJ Aram's an expert in dental medicine and surgery from the University of Melbourne testified that
01:08:04
the damage to Azaria's jumpsuit was consistent with dingo teeth which have a scissor-like action the defense also
01:08:13
worked to discredit professor James Cameron by highlighting another high-profile criminal case he had been
01:08:19
involved in in 1972 he had testified against three men who were being tried for the London murder of 26 year-old
01:08:29
Maxwell conveyed in favor of the prosecution professor Cameron provided an estimated
01:08:35
time of death that was crucial to the case the defendants were convicted but were
01:08:41
later proven innocent with Professor Cameron's evidence dismissed is incorrect various eyewitnesses who were at Ayers
01:08:50
Rock campsite on the night of Azaria's disappearance were called to the stand including Sully Lowe who had been
01:08:57
chatting with the Chamberlain's at the BBQ area when Lindy raised the alarm Sallie testified that when Lindy put
01:09:05
Azaria to bed which was the time period the prosecution alleged she had been murdered she was absent for between six
01:09:13
and ten minutes when she returned Sully heard a baby's cry coming from the Chamberlain's tent which prompted the
01:09:21
Lindy to check on his area and interrupt the dingo Ranger darica ruff gave evidence of having seen dingo tracks
01:09:29
leading away from the Chamberlain's tent as well as what appeared to be the impression of a knitted material in the
01:09:36
nearby scene to June's consistent with the fabric of the matinee jacket Azaria had been wearing fellow camper Amie
01:09:45
Whitaker testified that when the initial search for Azaria was underway Lindy and
01:09:50
Michael walked off into the bush for between 15 and 20 minutes the prosecution used her testimony to argue
01:09:59
that the Chamberlain's had taken this time to bury Azaria Bedini stated she was the one who suggested that the
01:10:05
couple take the walk together while he Goodwin who had found Azaria's clothing also appeared before the court he
01:10:16
criticized the investigators handling of the garments stating that their photographs taken at the scene when
01:10:22
nothing like the way to clothing was found Lindy Chamberlain openly wept understand his images of her daughter's
01:10:31
blood-stained clothing were displayed the lawyer asked her to hold her hand against the alleged bloody handprint
01:10:39
that Professor Cameron claimed to have identified on the garment not only was Lindy's index finger too
01:10:46
long to match the print but it also appeared to show four phalanges bones while human fingers possess only three
01:10:56
during extensive cross-examination the prosecution challenged Lindy's statement that Azaria had been wearing a matinee
01:11:03
jacket on the night in question responding officer constable Frank Morris said he had no recollection of
01:11:11
Lindy mentioning the jacket when her baby was reported missing they focused on the blood evidence with Lindy
01:11:19
maintaining her previous explanations for how it may have come to be in the vehicle adding that michael often
01:11:25
stopped to help roadside traffic victims and may have trailed some of their blood into the car
01:11:30
on the stand Michael Chamberlain was quizzed about why he had described his daughter's
01:11:37
death as the will of God he said he couldn't recall making the comment but as a religious man he believed that
01:11:44
God's will is over all the trial became the most publicized core case in Australian history and it was dubbed the
01:11:56
trial of the century as it reached its conclusion prosecutor a.m. Barker appealed to the jury's identity as
01:12:05
Northern Territory ins telling them that they knew dingoes didn't kill human babies an ABC News article later
01:12:13
interpreted this statement by saying mr. Barker QC could have easily been sitting
01:12:20
around to Darwin barbecue with a beer in his hand talking to locals talking about
01:12:25
some crazy idea about dingoes that southerners people from out of town had dreamt up in summing up his case Barker
01:12:35
acknowledged that the prosecution had no motive for Lindy's alleged crime but stated it was simply their job to prove
01:12:42
that a murder had been committed quote and that I respectfully submit is what has been proved in his closing address
01:12:54
for the defense John Philips described the scenarios outlined by the prosecution as laughable
01:13:01
he stated that while prosecutors were not obligated to prove a motive the defense had shown that Lindy Chamberlain
01:13:08
was a doting mother who had not suffered from postnatal depression or any other disorder that would delete her to harm
01:13:15
her child before the jury retired to deliberate justice Muir had clarified that the defense was not challenging the
01:13:24
fact that blood was found in the Chamberlain's tirana but simply questioning whether the tests had
01:13:30
accurately proved that contained fetal hemoglobin he urged the jury to be mindful that the blood could have come
01:13:38
from a number of sources and it was not the Chamberlain's burden to prove how it
01:13:43
came to be there he also instructed the jury to remember that Sully Lowe had testified to hearing a baby's cry coming
01:13:51
from the Chamberlain's tent and if this was true it disproved the prosecution's claim that Azaria had already been
01:13:58
murdered by that time the jury deliberated for six and a half hours before delivering their verdict on
01:14:07
October 29 1982 both Lindy and Michael Chamberlin were found guilty a reporter from The Sydney Morning Herald newspaper
01:14:20
who had been following the proceedings left to his feet in shock and the old bastards Lindy showed no emotion as the
01:14:31
verdict was read while Michael appeared strained biting his lip just as Muir had
01:14:38
sentenced Michael to an 18-month suspended sentence with a good behavior bond he told Lindy who was now eight months
01:14:47
pregnant quote you have been found guilty of murder by verdict of a jury there is only one sentence I can pass on
01:14:57
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01:21:13
Lindy Chamberlain was sent to serve her life sentence at the maximum-security Burma prison in Darwin where she was one
01:21:20
of only six female inmates on November 17 1982 three weeks after her conviction Lindy gave birth to a baby girl to
01:21:32
prevent the media from speculating over the meaning behind their newborn daughter's name as they had done with
01:21:38
Azaria the Chamberlain's made up her name kaalia Lindy reportedly commented let them try
01:21:46
to make something out of that the Chamberlain's appealed their convictions on various grounds in two days after
01:21:55
Collier's birth Lindy was granted bail pending the results of her appeal she was permitted to live at the Avondale
01:22:02
College Center a seventh-day Adventist Church education facility on the New South Wales Central Coast where Michael
01:22:10
was residing with their sons it was a self-sufficient community in a secluded wooded area with approximately 60
01:22:18
teaching staff 40 ancillary employees and 530 students many of whom lived on site
01:22:27
Lindy's limited release the outraged members of the public in a letter to the editor published in The Sydney Morning
01:22:34
Herald one angry citizen wrote so much for a fair trial why waste all those thousands of taxpayers dollars for two
01:22:43
coronial inquests and one trial by judge and jury and to then allow mrs. Chamberlain bail pending appeal our pity
01:22:52
must surely go to the convicted persons still in our jails who do not have the support of a church or religious
01:22:58
institutions why should Lindy Chamberlain be given special privileges merely because she
01:23:04
has had a new baby one indignant citizen called Lindy an actress and questioned why she could escape a murder can't
01:23:13
while he couldn't get off a traffic fine another asked what sort of berry land are we living in meanwhile the Seventh
01:23:24
day Adventists were vilified for their association with the Chamberlain's one Church in Melbourne was splashed
01:23:31
with red paint and red paw prints were painted on the footpath leading to its door in Sydney a group of Adventist
01:23:39
teenagers were chased down the street by a woman who accused them of being child
01:23:44
killers on the New South Wales Central Coast a sign was placed at the front of one Adventist Church which read dingo
01:23:53
pups for sale apply within the hostility only worsened when Lindy told the press
01:24:00
that the church had agreed to be guarantor on loans she and Michael had taken out to pay their legal fees which
01:24:07
totaled three-quarters of a million dollars the Chamberlain's appeal to their convictions to the federal court
01:24:16
on 23 different grounds disputing that the trial judge misdirected the jury in multiple instances and shouldn't have
01:24:24
admitted evidence given by certain witnesses on April 29 1983 three appellate judges in Sydney unanimously
01:24:34
rejected the couple's appeal on all grounds stating that the jury had been entitled to draw its own conclusions
01:24:40
from the evidence presented Michel held back tears as Lindy kept her gaze to the
01:24:47
floor she was returned to bærum a prison in Darwin the federal court ruling was a
01:24:55
source of disappointment for those who supported or sympathized with the Chamberlain's they expressed that their
01:25:02
compassion and opinions in letters that were published in major publications prompting legal academics to request
01:25:08
that they be bent out of respect for the country's legal system at Barama Lindy was so inundated with mail from
01:25:17
supporters that the prison facility struggled to keep up with the influx to show her appreciation she started
01:25:25
writing a monthly bulletin that was sent out to hundreds of subscribers in November the Chamberlain's appealed
01:25:33
their convictions to the High Court of Australia three months later on February 22 1984 on a vote of three judges
01:25:42
against two their appeal was again dismissed and both Lindy and Michael's convictions upheld
01:25:49
shortly after Michael announced he was resigning as an ordained minister with the seventh-day Adventist Church later
01:25:57
telling the media God will come to my aid I'm just wondering why it's taking him so long
01:26:06
in one edition of her monthly bulletin Lindy wrote the total effect of the last four years on the lives of myself and my
01:26:16
family are permanent and far-reaching no one who has been touched by our tragedy
01:26:21
and the subsequent events can claim to have been unaffected I don't cry myself to sleep much anymore
01:26:29
I just grit my teeth determinedly although I felt broken at times with God's help I've risen armed for the
01:26:37
fight others haven't been so lucky Lindy occupied her time in custody with crafts
01:26:46
leather work and weaving she made belts for her son's winter outfits for Collier
01:26:52
into tapestry for Aidan's bedroom she composed a poem for Azaria which read not a day has ended with the fading of
01:27:02
the light that I have not remembered you Azaria good night when Azaria went missing all the route park ranger dara
01:27:14
kernof recalled an incident 8 weeks prior in which a dingo grabbed a three-year-old girl by the head and
01:27:20
dragged her from a car the Chamberlain's defense team had attempted to locate the
01:27:25
girl's family to provide evidence at trial but were unable to do so in early 1984 the family finally came forward
01:27:35
and confirmed the events as a result Ranger Roth penned a letter that was published in the National Times
01:27:42
newspaper calling for an inquiry into the evidence presented at the Chamberlain's trial it read since the
01:27:52
incident of Azaria's disappearance I have heard dingo experts stating that a dingo would not enter tents or attack
01:27:59
humans whether adult or juvenile having lived at Ayers Rock for 16 years I know that the dingos of this area are
01:28:08
conditioned to buyer and to the people consequently their behavior is not that of a true wild animal and not fully
01:28:17
understood by anyone I have no doubt that a dingo is capable of attacking children and to the possibility of a
01:28:25
dingo carrying away a baby is therefore quite feasible I do not think any of us should feel comfortable with the present
01:28:33
situation in response thirty-one scientists signed an open letter protesting the conclusions reached by
01:28:43
forensic biologist joy Q they challenged her assertions that fetal blood had been
01:28:49
found in the chamber lands of evil a public poll revealed 53 percent of Australians still believed the Lindy was
01:28:57
guilty but on May 3 a petition signed by 131 thousand individuals in favor of releasing her from prison was presented
01:29:07
to the Governor General the Chamberlain's lawyer Stuart tipple had been retained by Lindy and Michael after
01:29:17
the first the cranial inquest in 1981 and he had represented them in all legal proceedings since as one of their most
01:29:26
vocal supporters in June of 1985 Stuart supervised the media campaign which led to the creation of the chamber and
01:29:35
innocence committee the group featured many prominent members of society who called for the Northern Territory
01:29:42
government to launch a Royal Commission into the case they submitted a 40 page document tired
01:29:49
the Blue Book which contained new evidence gathered by Stuart's forensic team along with an application for a
01:29:55
full judicial inquiry into the case the Blue Book had debunked the prosecution's
01:30:02
claim that the cuts on Azaria's clothing had been made using scissors it detailed
01:30:08
the studies of an associate professor in textile sciences at Kansas State University who examined infant garments
01:30:15
that had been chewed on by a dingo they displayed neatly sliced cuts consistent with the ones on Azaria's clothing the
01:30:25
prosecution also claimed the nine animal hairs found on Azaria's clothing had come from a cat the Blue Book clarified
01:30:33
that research conducted at the Turnbull Institute in Melbourne concluded two of the hairs were human one was
01:30:40
inconclusive and two the remaining six were canine another report showed that one of the
01:30:48
stains in the Chamberlain's vehicle that the prosecution argued was blood spray from Azaria's neck wound was actually a
01:30:55
combination of a sticky beverage into soundproofing paint used during the manufacture of the vehicle during the
01:31:04
trial joy Kuehl had submitted reports explaining how she conducted examinations on the supposed bloodstains
01:31:11
and to reach her conclusions in particular she detailed that she had used a certain type of anti serum to
01:31:18
determine that the bloodstains contained fetal hemoglobin according to the Blue Book the German
01:31:25
manufacturer of the antiserum Kuehl used stated that the antiserum wasn't capable
01:31:30
of determining such results as it didn't respond exclusively to fetal hemoglobin
01:31:36
and could also react to the presence of other proteins on November 12 1985 the Northern Territory government rejected
01:31:46
the Chamberland innocence Committee's application stating this campaign has as its intended effect the building up of
01:31:55
antagonism toward the Northern Territory government which it seeks to portray as
01:31:59
hard cruel interlocking in compassion at stake his Lauryn daughter and faith in the drew processes of a legal system
01:32:09
recognized as the fairest in the world two weeks later the government also rejected a Lindy's application for early
01:32:18
release that same month a book was published featuring the first in-depth exploration into the possibility that
01:32:27
the Chamberlain's were wrongfully convicted titled evil angels the case of the Lindy Chamberlain it was written by
01:32:35
John Bryson a barrister who spent four years closely following the case attending court sessions and
01:32:41
interviewing those involved the book received critical acclaim selling out its first print run in just 10 days and
01:32:50
cast the new light on the infamous case in a revue of evil angels for the Aged newspaper
01:32:57
feigns a literary and cultural commentator Denis o hone wrote Bryson demonstrates fairly and conclusively
01:33:06
that Lindy Chamberlain is innocent but his book also probes our society and reveals the warts prejudice and
01:33:13
superstition lurking beneath our so-called twentieth-century sophistication two months later on Sunday January 26
01:33:27
1986 31 year old British traveller David Brett was exploring uluru-kata tjuta national park alone with the intention
01:33:35
to climb more LaRue it was too hot to do so during the day so he waited until 4:00 p.m.
01:33:42
hoping the afternoon Sun would subside and to give way to a cool evening breeze the facilities in the National Park had
01:33:51
changed significantly since Azaria Chamberlain's disappearance and as David set out on the climb a park ranger
01:33:58
warned him that camping on all the route was forbidden by the traditional owners
01:34:02
of the land David agreed to adhere to the local customs and continued on his journey at 7:40 p.m. two local
01:34:13
indigenous people witnessed him climbing in a forbidden area and reported him to
01:34:18
the park authorities Rangers set out to remove the British tourists from the rock but were unable to locate him and
01:34:26
assumed he must have left of his own accord a week later a tourist was hiking the base of all Aroo when they came
01:34:35
across David's body he had fallen 200 meters to his death during the climb and his remains had been scavenged by
01:34:43
animals On February 2 Park Rangers conducted a search of the area in an attempt to recover all of his bones the
01:34:53
site was only 150 metres from where Wally Goodwin had found Azaria's clothing years earlier and featured many
01:35:00
dingo lairs while the dogs had pillaged David's backpack and the Rangers located
01:35:07
several items of his clothing amongst the dry grass and shrubs one ranger spotted something buried in
01:35:14
the sand and bent over to inspect it although filthy the heat and dry sands of the desert had preserved the item and
01:35:23
to left it in decent condition it was a white knitted baby jacket with stiff sleeves and a button hanging from its
01:35:31
neck by a thread this was a significant breakthrough in the Chamberlin case Lindy had always maintained that Azaria
01:35:41
had been wearing a knitted matinee jacket on the night she was taken by a dingo but the prosecution dismissed her
01:35:48
claim as a fanciful lie the Chamberlain's lawyer Stewart tipple received a tip-off about the find from a
01:35:55
journalist he submitted an urgent request to the Northern Territory Police Commissioner for access to the jacket
01:36:03
for the purposes of identification the Chamberlain innocence committee urged that forensic examination be carefully
01:36:10
monitored with members from both the defense and prosecution present On February 5 the matinee jacket was shown
01:36:19
to Lindy who broke down in tears and positively identified it as belonging to her daughter during the murder trial the
01:36:30
prosecution's case had depended on there being no jacket its discovery not only disproved to their assertions that Lindy
01:36:38
was a liar but also provided an explanation for the lack of saliva on the jumpsuit as the jacket would have
01:36:44
been in direct contact with the dingos mouth and absorbed the majority of it the Chamberlain innocence committee
01:36:52
called for immediate police intervention Michael Chamberlain told reporters he and his wife intended to fight for an
01:37:00
inquiry into the investigation stating I would rather face the grave than give up
01:37:06
the fight to clear my name and to that of my wife 12 days after Azaria's jacket was
01:37:15
discovered a Royal Commission into the Chamberlain case was announced the Chief Minister of the Northern Territory
01:37:22
directed a Lindy be immediately released from prison on remission allowing her unrestricted access to legal advisors in
01:37:30
preparation regardless of the outcome the Northern Territory attorney-general confirmed that Lindy would not be
01:37:37
returning to prison subject to the usual conditions of good behavior Michael was ecstatic telling The Sydney
01:37:46
Morning Herald I have been emotional for the last four or five years now I am out
01:37:52
of my mind we will be fighting tooth and a nail so we have cleared our names a police escort followed to Lindy from
01:38:01
Burma prison to New South Wales where she was reunited with her family at the Avondale College Center every tree along
01:38:09
the driveway had been tied with a yellow ribbon and a banner above the gates welcomed her home
01:38:16
kaalia who was now almost four years old was returned to her mother's care the media and public had a strong reaction
01:38:27
to Lindy's release many remained convinced of her guilt and were outraged while the number of her supporters also
01:38:34
grew some people complained of the ongoing legal costs taxpayers would have to front while others pointed out that
01:38:42
the case served as a reminder of the fal ability of the Australian justice system
01:38:47
and the potential dangers had capital punishment not already been abolished in a letter published in The Sydney Morning
01:38:55
Herald one reader stated it is not a question of whether Lindy Chamberlain has paid her debt to society but how
01:39:03
society can possibly pay its debt to Lindy the Royal Commission commenced the later that year and concluded 14 months
01:39:17
later just as Trevor Malling found that the prosecution's case relied heavily on
01:39:23
expert testimony that dingos were highly unlikely to enter a tent and attack a child but acknowledged they had not
01:39:31
taken into account that the uluru dingoes were unlike typical wild dingos found elsewhere he highlighted that
01:39:39
local park rangers believed it was not only possible that one of the native dingoes could take a baby from a tent
01:39:45
but had been concerned that an attack of such a nature might happen just the Smalling rejected assertions that Lindy
01:39:54
Chamberlain was a bad mother or might have been suffering from postnatal depression stating she was a loving and
01:40:00
responsible parent who had never manifested any symptoms to suggests she might be violent towards one of her
01:40:07
children they believed at the grave lyndie displayed following as Arya's death was
01:40:13
genuine and to that her inaction in assisting with the search for her daughter could be explained by her early
01:40:18
acceptance that Azaria was already deceased and her need to remain close to her two surviving children in regards to
01:40:28
the findings of infant blood under the dashboard in the Chamberlain's car just the Smalling accepted it was actually
01:40:35
soundproofing paint he also challenged the prosecution's timeline of events pointing out that
01:40:41
their case revolved around a five to ten minute window in which Lindy had to return to the tent ensuring Aiden didn't
01:40:49
follow her change into her tracksuit pants take Azaria to the car find a murder weapon cadiz Arya's throat allow
01:40:59
sufficient time for Azaria to die hide the body clean up at least some of the blood in
01:41:05
the car change out of her tracksuit pants obtain a can of baked beans for Aiden return to the tent and
01:41:12
deliberately leave blood spatter there collect Aiden and return to the barbecue area just this mauling declared that the
01:41:23
prosecution had provided no evidence of the Chamberlain's guilt and absolve Lindy and Michael of any responsibility
01:41:30
in their daughter's death he concluded it was reasonable to believe that a dingo had entered the tent and carried
01:41:38
Azaria away with the intention of consuming her in response the Northern Territory government offered the
01:41:47
Chamberlain's a pardon while this granted them clemency it didn't officially clear them of their
01:41:53
guilt Lindy told The Sydney Morning Herald I'm not interested in a pardon for something I haven't done a pardon
01:42:02
means absolutely nothing to me somebody up there must be confusing granting a pardon
01:42:08
with squashing the conviction and it's not even remotely the same the following year in September 1988 the
01:42:20
Northern Territory Court of Criminal Appeals agreed with the Justice morning's findings and quashed the
01:42:26
Chamberlain's convictions a film adaptation of John Bryson's book evil angels was released shortly after
01:42:34
starring Meryl Streep as Lindy and Sam Neill as Michael the film divided Australian audiences
01:42:42
Lindy maintained it was a 95% accurate depiction of the events Lindy and Michael sought restitution of four
01:42:51
million dollars from the Northern Territory government for the pain suffering and a loss of wages caused by
01:42:57
their wrongful conviction in 1992 the Attorney General announced that Lindy and Michael would receive compensation
01:43:06
of $900,000 and $400,000 respectively the amount was significantly lower than the Chamberlain's had requested when
01:43:17
explaining why a spokesperson for the Attorney General said the Northern Territory government had no legal
01:43:23
obligation to make the payment at all the Sydney Morning Herald was highly critical of both the amount and the time
01:43:32
it took for the Chamberlain's to be financially compensated with one editorial stating whatever was
01:43:40
eventually paid to the Chamberlain's was always going to be a token arbitrary amount since no money could truly
01:43:46
compensate them for what they have suffered the reprehensible attitude of the Northern Territory government
01:43:53
reflects what is still a significant sentiment against the Chamberlain's in the community
01:43:59
it is just one of the tragedies of the Chamberlain case that the Northern Territory government has shown itself
01:44:05
incapable of leading instead of being swayed by the mob and afraid of taking unpopular decisions when justice and
01:44:12
fairness required that with the Chamberlain's convictions overturned the second annual inquest into Azaria's
01:44:24
death in 1981 was deemed incomplete and a third less involved inquiry was ordered to take place in December 1995
01:44:33
Coroner John Lance shared his findings reiterating that neither Lindy nor Michael were involved with the saria's
01:44:40
disappearance in any way however he wasn't reasonably satisfied that her death could be proven to be the result
01:44:48
of a dingo attack and consequently recorded an open finding noting the cause of Azaria's death as unknown
01:44:57
coroner lands acknowledged this finding would undoubtedly lead to further speculation that the nine week olds
01:45:03
death was not accidental but clarified what is important however is that any such speculation inevitable as it is can
01:45:13
never disturb the unassailable fact that as a matter of public record the law of
01:45:19
the land holds mr. and mrs. Chamberlain to be innocent a decade later in 2004 the Azaria
01:45:28
Chamberlain case made headlines again 78 year old Melbourne resident Frank Cole said he had been at all the room on
01:45:36
August 17 1980 when he and his two companions encountered a dingo carrying a baby girl in its jaws the baby's face
01:45:46
and ear were badly mutilated and her head was covered in blood Frank claimed he shot the dingo into the three men
01:45:54
washed and cleaned the baby but it then occurred to them that they might be tampering with evidence
01:45:59
so that placed her body in a bag Frank returned home ahead of his group and to the other two men said they would take
01:46:07
the baby to the police he wasn't sure what happened to next as they made a pact to never speak of it again
01:46:14
he believed one of the men may have buried the baby in the backyard of their suburban Melbourne home
01:46:22
Frank explained that he didn't come forward earlier out of fear he would be charged for firing a gun in a national
01:46:29
park but after suffering a serious accident he felt he had to clear his conscience
01:46:36
Frank's two companions had since passed away meaning there was no one to validate his claims the home on the
01:46:44
alleged burial site had since undergone major extensions and its new owner told police they could only dig on his
01:46:51
property if they produced tangible evidence of what they expected to find an officer who was involved with the
01:46:59
original investigation told ABC News that although the story was feasible he held doubts about its authenticity
01:47:07
Lindy Chamberlain stated that if Frank's claims were true she wouldn't hold any grudges against him for not coming
01:47:14
forward sooner Michael Chamberlain concurred saying I do forgive the man if he is telling the
01:47:22
truth and I would be happy for him to not be prosecuted because he's carried a very big cross both the Northern
01:47:31
Territory and Victoria Police agreed to investigate Frank's claims but with nothing to substantiate his story it was
01:47:39
dismissed by the coroner and ultimately went nowhere the following year in 2005 a 25 year old woman came forward to the
01:47:50
Alice Springs police claiming to be Azaria Chamberlain errand horse burg had been raised in foster care but said she
01:47:58
became suspicious about her real identity after she started having flashbacks to being carried in the jaws
01:48:04
of a dingo at nine weeks of age she had long thought she bought physical similarities to Lindy a belief that was
01:48:13
further exacerbated when she gave birth to a son whom she thought was the spitting image of Azaria Erin told ABC
01:48:21
radio that she didn't have any other memories from infancy but explained I've got scars on my hands where dogs have
01:48:30
bitten me and my foster mother couldn't tell me why her claims were ultimately dismissed the Chamberlain's continued
01:48:42
campaigning to clear their names over the years although the third inquest had returned to their presumption of
01:48:49
innocence they sought full exoneration and wanted the official cause of Azaria's death changed from unknown to
01:48:57
dingo attack on August 17 2010 exactly 30 years after Azaria's disappearance Lindy published an open letter on her
01:49:07
website Lindy Chamberlain calm calling on the Northern Territory government to amend her daughter's death certificate
01:49:15
in response the Northern Territory Attorney General advised that the power to make this change late with the
01:49:23
coroner's office the following year Northern Territory deputy coroner Elizabeth Morris announced that new
01:49:31
revelations regarding dingo behavior had emerged and she would be opening a 4th inquest into Azaria's death there
01:49:40
commenced in February 2012 with local newspaper NT news running a large photograph of Lindy on its front page
01:49:48
beneath the headline she's back the proceedings centered around a series of dingo attacks that had occurred against
01:49:58
the children had Fraser Island a popular tourist destination off the coast of Queensland between 2001 and 2011 a
01:50:08
nine-year-old boy was killed by two dingoes on the island a four-year-old girl was severely bitten and a
01:50:15
three-year-old girl suffered puncture wounds to her leg a 2011 study of dingo scouts was also submitted which
01:50:24
confirmed to that contrary to popular belief dingos preyed on larger mammals such as Wallabies in June 2012 Coroner
01:50:35
Morris handed down her findings both Lindy and two Michael were present to hear the outcome along with their son
01:50:42
Aiden who was now in his late 30s Colonel Morrison esthe she was satisfied that Azaria had died as a result of
01:50:52
being attacked and taken by a dingo she apologized to the Chamberlain's for all they had endured stating I am so sorry
01:51:02
for your loss time does not remove the pain and sadness of the death of a child spectators applaud it in the
01:51:12
Chamberlain's wept before an amended death certificate firs Aria was made available for the family outside the
01:51:20
courthouse Lindy told reporters we are relieved and delighted to come to the end of this
01:51:26
saga Michael thanked the coroner for her finding remarking this has been a terrifying battle bidder at times but
01:51:38
now awesome healing and a chance to put our daughter's spirit to rest by the time Lindy and Michael were
01:51:51
legally vindicated the couple had separated and to both since remarried Lindy had released the Nord a biography
01:51:58
titled through my eyes later retitled the dingoes got my baby in which he explained the divorce was the result of
01:52:07
issues that existed within their marriage prior to the loss of their daughter the Azaria Chamberlain case captured the
01:52:15
Australian media's attention like no other in the country's history with the rampant publicity shaping the narrative
01:52:22
of the story in the early days of Azaria's disappearance the Press reported the incident as a dingo attack
01:52:29
without question and supported the Chamberlain's wholeheartedly but several weeks into the investigation
01:52:37
unsubstantiated rumors gained coverage and fuelled the public debate over the Chamberlain's guilt explaining why she
01:52:45
chose to write a book about her ordeal Lindy said someone has to have the courage to tell what happens to witness
01:52:53
and Australians who are being torn in shreds to feed the megalomaniac media machine for our daily news it's never
01:53:01
been real the way the media reported it it's never been true I'd read the newspapers and the reports would bear no
01:53:10
resemblance to what actually happened Lindy's book provided candid answers and personal insights into many
01:53:19
misinterpreted misleading and mistaken details about the case she discredited speculation by revealing venus and
01:53:28
explanations for many of the damning pieces of evidence used against her to account for why traces of blood were
01:53:35
found on the nail scissors in the glove box of the tirana Lindy recalled she had
01:53:40
used the scissors to cut a piece of Azaria stride and biblical cord when she was five and a half weeks old
01:53:47
afterwards she what the scissors clean and didn't think she had left any blood on them 30 years after the trial
01:53:56
ABC News reporter Tony wrote an article reflecting on his experience covering the case and the
01:54:03
power had held over the Australian media stating it was a circus the trial was a
01:54:11
tabloid editors dream there was Australia's mysterious Outback wild of dingoes a small camping ground in the
01:54:18
shadows of the giant monolith so central to Aboriginal dreaming and a pastor and
01:54:24
his young wife both members of a relatively unknown and certainly misunderstood religion Lindy was
01:54:33
particularly vilified with the focus shifting from her daughter to her demeanor her choice of outfits inter
01:54:40
attractiveness in November 2014 Lindy participated in a New York Times documentary on the case
01:54:49
telling the filmmakers if I smiled I was belittling my daughter's death if I cried I was acting the point is until
01:55:00
you go through something you have no idea how you yourself will react I had no idea how I'd react until it happened
01:55:08
to me the prosecution's dubious arguments at trial also had a profound impact on perceptions of valinda juror
01:55:19
Avon Kane empathized with the mother when she first saw her in court as her own son had been bitten by a dingo when
01:55:26
he was a baby but she was soon convinced by the prosecution's evidence and her opinion swayed towards Lindy's guilt
01:55:34
after the trial when Lindy was behind the bars Avon became convinced she had made a
01:55:40
huge mistake and was deeply troubled when Lindy was released the two women met in person and formed an ongoing
01:55:48
friendship a Vaughn told weekly news magazine Newsweek that she's still plagued with guilt and believes that all
01:55:56
Australians who condemned to Lindy should feel the same way quote because if the dingo is guilty then so is
01:56:05
Australia an article in The Age newspaper explored the gendered nature of the criticism that surrounded the
01:56:14
Lindy stating many of those who believe to Lindy Chamberlain guilty maintained that the baby had been killed in some
01:56:23
kind of obscure sacrificial ritual so it's deeply ironic that the trial itself turned out to be a sacrificial ritual on
01:56:31
a national scale those who claimed that the name is aria meant sacrifice in the wilderness spoke more truly than they
01:56:40
knew they simply mistook the identity of the victim to this day Lindy Chamberlain's commonly misquoted
01:56:51
Cryer that a dingo ate my baby his infamous around to the world in the United States the phrase has become
01:57:00
something of a pop culture phenomenon and has been employed as a punchline in many famous television shows including
01:57:06
The Simpsons Seinfeld Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Frasier experts have speculated that foreigners may not have
01:57:15
understood the seriousness of the event associated with the phrase and were amused by the word dingo due to their
01:57:22
unfamiliarity with australian aboriginal languages over the years there have been
01:57:29
numerous adoptions of the case for stage and screen including an opera a miniseries and a play inspired by the
01:57:37
twenty thousand letters Lindy received over the decades the National Museum of Australia in Canberra hosts more than
01:57:45
350 artifacts relating to the case including as area's infamous black dress souvenirs sold during the trial and
01:57:53
courtroom sketches Lindy helped curate the collection which led to further public criticism as some
01:58:02
accused her of exploiting her experiences in 2014 the museum purchased the family's yellow to run a hatchback
01:58:11
with the museum director explaining the collection would insure the Chamberlain's story was never forgotten
01:58:18
in a subsequent interview with ABC News Michel Chamberlain stated what I want them to note in a nutshell is that this
01:58:28
car has survived not only as a symbol of a gigantic forensics stuff up but ultimately as a symbol of a triumph of
01:58:36
Australian justice On January 9 2017 Michel Chamberlain passed away at the age of 72 after a year-long battle with
01:58:48
acute leukemia his memorial service was held at Avondale College where more than
01:58:54
650 mourners gathered to pay their respects Pastor Justin lawman president of the seventh-day Adventist Church in
01:59:03
northern New South Wales said Michael was a real advocate for the right of the local people he will be deeply missed
01:59:15
Oh LaRue has undergone significant changes since Azaria's disappearance in the early 1970s it was decided that all
01:59:24
accommodation within the national park be removed over time in order to minimize adverse environmental effects
01:59:31
and camping was gradually phased out in 1983 Ayers Rock campground where the Chamberlin stayed was permanently closed
01:59:43
climbing or LaRue was permitted for many years despite being against the culture and
01:59:48
the lore of its traditional loners deanna new people in october 2000 nineteen the climb was officially
01:59:57
abolished with thousands of people flocking to the area to scale the ancient site one final time before it
02:00:04
closed today Lindy lives in the Hunter Valley with her husband Rick she has written books
02:00:12
on grief and forgiveness and gives seminars and lectures and a variety of topics such as stress prison religion
02:00:19
and to the responsibilities of the media and the law reflecting on the case on her website
02:00:26
Lindy writes this is the story of a little girl who lived and breathed and too loved and was loved she was part of
02:00:37
me she grew within my body and when she died part of me died and nothing will ever alter that fact this is her story
02:00:47
and mine how could such a scandal occur in Australia a country that prides itself on its concept of the fair go
02:00:56
there appears to be no single reason that created the spark that started the inferno but once it was started there
02:01:05
were many who were happy to see the flames of bigotry and intolerance fanned surely there must be a useful lesson in
02:01:13
there somewhere in Linda's book the dingos got my baby she reflects on the birth of her long-awaited daughter and
02:01:23
the powerful impact Azaria made in the nine weeks they shared together she writes sometimes for hours at a time
02:01:33
I would sit up at night just holding Azaria in my arms and cuddling her how glad I am that I did I
02:01:41
have got that special time to look back on she knew she was wanted she loved her
02:01:48
family she responded to them all very happily and despite her tender age it was obvious that she knew she was loved
02:02:02
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