So, a Dingo did take her baby?

kayaker · June 12, 2012, 1:53am

Joey_P · June 12, 2012, 2:02am

I had only ever heard the catch phrase and a few months ago I finally read up on a little bit and IIRC several babies had been taken by dingos before and after that case. Plus, I think they found the baby’s clothes or diaper scattered in the outback.
Why did she end up on trial over it? Did the other mothers?

TriPolar · June 12, 2012, 2:04am

It’s a rehash for some reason. The evidence was found some time ago, the problems with the prosecution revealed, and conviction overturned, or something along those lines. This may be part of clearing up the record.

blondebear · June 12, 2012, 2:06am

D-I-N-G-O, the dingo ate her babe!

Joey_P · June 12, 2012, 2:09am

Assuming the wikipedia article itself isn’t biased, the case against her sure seemed to be

The Crown alleged that Lindy Chamberlain had cut Azaria’s throat in the front seat of the family car, hiding the baby’s body in a large camera case. She then, according to the proposed reconstruction of the crime, rejoined the group of campers around a campfire and fed one of her sons a can of baked beans, before going to the tent and raising the cry that a dingo had taken the baby. It was alleged that at a later time, while other people from the campsite were searching, she disposed of the body.[10]

The key evidence supporting this allegation was the jumpsuit, as well as a highly contentious forensic report claiming to have found evidence of fetal haemoglobin in stains on the front seat of the Chamberlains’ 1977 Torana hatchback. Fetal haemoglobin is present in infants six months and younger and Azaria was nine weeks old at the time of her disappearance.[11]

Lindy Chamberlain was questioned about the garments that Azaria was wearing. She claimed that Azaria was wearing a jacket over the jumpsuit, but the jacket was not present when the garments were found. She was questioned about the fact that Azaria’s singlet, which was inside the jumpsuit, was inside out. She insisted that she never put a singlet on her babies inside out and that she was most particular about this. The statement conflicted with the state of the garments when they were collected as evidence.[12] The garments had been arranged by the investigating officer for a photograph.

In her defence, eyewitness evidence was presented of dingoes having been seen in the area on the evening of 17 August 1980. All witnesses claimed to believe the Chamberlains’ story. One witness, a nurse, also reported having heard a baby’s cry after the time when the prosecution alleged Azaria had been murdered.[7] Evidence was also presented that adult blood also passed the test used for fetal haemoglobin, and that other organic compounds can produce similar results on that particular test, including mucus from the nose, and chocolate milkshakes, both of which had been present in the vehicle where Azaria was allegedly murdered.

Engineer Les Harris, who had conducted dingo research for over a decade, said that, contrary to Cameron’s findings, a dingo’s carnassial teeth can shear through material as tough as motor vehicle seat belts. He also cited an example of a captive female dingo removing a bundle of meat from its wrapping paper and leaving the paper intact.[13] His evidence was rejected, however.

Evidence to the effect that a dingo was strong enough to carry a kangaroo was also ignored. Also ignored was the removal of a three-year-old girl by a dingo from the back seat of a tourist’s motor vehicle at the camping area just weeks before, an event witnessed by the parents.

An Aboriginal man gave evidence that his wife had tracked the dingo and found places where it had put the baby down, leaving the imprint of the baby’s clothing in the soil. This evidence was discounted, because the man spoke on behalf of his wife, but in the first person, according to Aboriginal custom.

The defence’s case was rejected by the jury. Lindy Chamberlain was convicted of murder on 29 October 1982 and sentenced to life imprisonment with hard labour. Michael Chamberlain was found guilty as an accessory after the fact[14] and was given an 18-month suspended sentence.

From here

Springtime_for_Spacers · June 12, 2012, 2:14am

Irrc there was a lot of bad feeling toward Lindy Chamberlain led by the press because she didn’t appear sufficiently grief stricken – or at any rate she didn’t make the kind of public show of her grief that was somehow expected.

tellyworth · June 12, 2012, 3:11am

Yeah, this. I’m (just) old enough to remember the case from the beginning, and the general public consensus from the start was that the story seemed fishy so therefore Lindy was guilty of something, if not murder, regardless of the evidence.

That seems to have drifted over the years, and I think most people now believe she’s innocent.

A sober reading of the facts seems to suggest that if anyone deserves punishment it’s the police and forensic investigators.

Siam_Sam · June 12, 2012, 3:21am

BBC TV just showed live the verdict ruling it was a dingo. That should settle it once and for all.

sisu · June 12, 2012, 3:35am

No to a lot of Aussies, we never bought that a dingo took the baby. Just seemed to “easy” to blame a dingo but hey if the courts say a dingo did it then so be it. I just don’t feel satisfied that this was the case.

Indian · June 12, 2012, 3:40am

Wasn’t there a hunter who saw the dingo with baby, but never told the public about it? He spoke about it recently, if I recall correctly.

Cazzle · June 12, 2012, 4:08am

I think he was dismissed as a hoaxer. I recall there being huge holes in his story (if he’s the guy who claimed to have shot a dingo with something in its mouth that turned out to be a baby so he took it back to his home in Victoria and buried it and never mentioned it to anyone for nearly 30 years).

I absolutely believe in Lindy Chamberlain’s innocence so I’m pleased the coroner has given this verdict. After all she’s been through, this vindication must be something of a comfort to her.

kambuckta · June 12, 2012, 5:10am

This.

But gawd she’s a bogan.

AaronX · June 12, 2012, 6:08am

Is it me, or is this case Casey Anthony’s predecessor? Woman loses baby, is accused of murdering the baby, public opinion is divided.

gunnergoz · June 12, 2012, 6:23am

Cases like this arouse all sorts of controversy, since they push a lot of sensitive buttons about how people are “supposed” to behave under stress and after a crisis. They are ripe for a miscarriage of justice if not handled with real care, attention to detail and professionalism by the police, the prosecution and the courts. They seldom show people at their best.

Cazzle · June 12, 2012, 6:37am

I’d have said it bears more similarity to Jon-Benet Ramsey or Madeline McCann than Caylee Anthony, though all four are only similar in the most basic of details - that a young daughter disappeared and the mother was suspected of murder by some, believed to be innocent by others.

The Chamberlains were a young, deeply religious family out camping with their children when one disappeared. It seems insulting to lump them in with the irresponsible, pathological liar Casey Anthony who was, at best, out partying when her child was killed.

Syme · June 12, 2012, 7:10am

Right, because a lot of Aussies, are prejudiced against minorities and are also racists. The latest coroner’s finding (how many do we need ?) is final: The Chamberlain family didn’t ‘sacrifice’ their daughter. A dingo took their daughter.

I remember how ‘a dingo did it’ became a sick joke here in Australia. No wonder the Chamberlains marriage collapsed and she moved to the USA to escape the witch hunting.

Syme · June 12, 2012, 8:25am

Just saw on the evening news that finally a death certificate of Azaria Chamberlain was issued and the cause of her death … no prizes for guessing that.

The Chamberlains have been vindicated.

Indian · June 12, 2012, 8:30am

Are the Chamberlaines a minority?

Indian · June 12, 2012, 8:35am

I would like to see the newspapers and the originators of this joke being interviewed now.

How would they react, with this development?

Cazzle · June 12, 2012, 8:38am

Seventh Day Adventists were regarded with suspicion in the early 80s. Not only were the Chamberlains members of this unfamiliar “cult”, Michael Chamberlain was a pastor. That’s why the rumour that “Azaria” meant “sacrifice in the wilderness” travelled so far and wide (it helped that the three Chamberlain children had names that were unusual for their generation).