Azaria Chamberlain case reopened 31 years later

Azaria's father welcomes new inquest
Updated December 18, 2011, 2:48 pm




A new inquest into the disappearance of Azaria Chamberlain will begin, Fairfax media reports.

AP © Enlarge photo

Michael Chamberlain has welcomed the announcement that a new inquest will be held into the disappearance of his baby daughter Azaria in central Australia more than three decades ago.

The Northern Territory government has confirmed Coroner Elizabeth Morris will conduct the inquest, which will start on February 24 and is likely to be the final legal chapter in the case.

Mr Chamberlain told ABC Radio on Sunday that the decision to hold a new inquest was a milestone.

"I'm really just pleasantly surprised about this and I'm incredibly gratified," he said.

"It's been 31 years now and I just hope, well I'm sure this time it will be the ultimate verdict which we've been looking for, for this length of time."

Azaria was nine weeks old when she disappeared from her parents' tent at Uluru (Ayers Rock) in August 1980, sparking court cases that saw her mother Lindy Chamberlain sentenced to life in jail in 1982.

Mr Chamberlain was given a suspended sentence after being found guilty of being an accessory after the fact.

Mrs Chamberlain, now Lindy Chamberlain-Creighton after remarrying, has always maintained that she saw a dingo leaving her tent on the night Azaria went missing.

The claims were greeted sceptically by many Australians at the time of the disappearance.

After Azaria's matinee jacket was found in 1986 the case was reopened and a royal commission in 1987 exonerated both parents.

In 1988 the NT Court of Criminal Appeals overturned all convictions against the couple.

Despite the charges against the Chamberlains being cleared, a coronial inquest into the disappearance of Azaria in 1995 delivered an open verdict.
A spokesman for Northern Territory Attorney-General Daniel Knight said it would be inappropriate for Mr Knight to comment on the latest twist in the saga as the matter was before the coroner.

A NEW inquest into the disappearance of Azaria Chamberlain will begin on February 24, Fairfax reports.

Fairfax says Northern Territory Coroner Elizabeth Morris will conduct the inquest into the death of Azaria, who was nine weeks old when she disappeared from her parents' tent at Uluru (Ayers Rock) in 1980.

Azaria's mother Lindy said she saw a dingo leave the tent, a claim that was greeted sceptically by many in a case that gripped the attention of the nation.

Fairfax says that Ms Morris is reopening the inquiry mainly because of information provided by the Chamberlains' legal counsel regarding dingo attacks since Azaria's disappearance.

Lindy Chamberlain was convicted of murdering Azaria and sentenced to life imprisonment in 1982, while her then-husband Michael was given a suspended sentence after being found guilty of being an accessory after the fact.

A subsequent royal commission exonerated the Chamberlains in 1987. Their convictions were quashed but a further coroner's inquest in 1995 delivered an open verdict.

Fairfax says next year's inquest is likely to be the final attempt to determine exactly what happened.

Ms Chamberlain-Creighton and her former husband will be allowed to be represented at the inquest.


http://www.heraldsun.com.au/ipad/new-inquest-into-azaria-chamberlain-case/story-fn6bfmgc-1226224946836

I spoke some years ago with a French policeman about the case and he told me the police were sure that the parents did it.

frencheuropean wrote:I spoke some years ago with a French policeman about the case and he told me the police were sure that the parents did it.

yes many NT police still think they did it the ones that were in the force at the time do anyway itsa very omplicated case the parents were eventully found innocent of all of it BUT legally it still isa open case if that makes sense

I wonder if the McCann case will still be attracting interest in another 27 years, like that of baby Azaria. I have never been able to make up my mind about what happened to her.

Bearing in mind that her parents somehow resisted the temptation to market their daughter as a commercial product, make a fortune out of her and sue anyone who dared to challenge them - do you know, I'm prepared to give them the benefit of the doubt!

Not Born Yesterday wrote:I wonder if the McCann case will still be attracting interest in another 27 years, like that of baby Azaria. I have never been able to make up my mind about what happened to her.

Bearing in mind that her parents somehow resisted the temptation to market their daughter as a commercial product, make a fortune out of her and sue anyone who dared to challenge them - do you know, I'm prepared to give them the benefit of the doubt!

yes unlike what sabot says on JATYK i have always thought lindy and michael were innocent because there was so many people around including aiden etc there were 100s of people camping that night and ayers rock is a long way from anywhere there was also blood found on the boys jackets and in the tent and saliva was found on the mattneee jacket in 1986

Justiceforallkids wrote:

Not Born Yesterday wrote:I wonder if the McCann case will still be attracting interest in another 27 years, like that of baby Azaria. I have never been able to make up my mind about what happened to her.

Bearing in mind that her parents somehow resisted the temptation to market their daughter as a commercial product, make a fortune out of her and sue anyone who dared to challenge them - do you know, I'm prepared to give them the benefit of the doubt!

yes unlike what sabot says on JATYK i have always thought lindy and michael were innocent because there was so many people around including aiden etc there were 100s of people camping that night and ayers rock is a long way from anywhere there was also blood found on the boys jackets and in the tent and saliva was found on the mattneee jacket in 1986

We might be 'pitchforkers,' but we're working in the light, as good pitchforkers do, bringing in the harvest! Over on the 'dark side,' they're practically having kittens about those 4 leads in Morocco. They've forgotten that those leads were all checked out some time ago.

As for Azaria's parents, I always thought they were innocent because there did seem to be real evidence for what they were claiming.

AnnaEsse wrote:

Justiceforallkids wrote:

Not Born Yesterday wrote:I wonder if the McCann case will still be attracting interest in another 27 years, like that of baby Azaria. I have never been able to make up my mind about what happened to her.

Bearing in mind that her parents somehow resisted the temptation to market their daughter as a commercial product, make a fortune out of her and sue anyone who dared to challenge them - do you know, I'm prepared to give them the benefit of the doubt!

yes unlike what sabot says on JATYK i have always thought lindy and michael were innocent because there was so many people around including aiden etc there were 100s of people camping that night and ayers rock is a long way from anywhere there was also blood found on the boys jackets and in the tent and saliva was found on the mattneee jacket in 1986

We might be 'pitchforkers,' but we're working in the light, as good pitchforkers do, bringing in the harvest! Over on the 'dark side,' they're practically having kittens about those 4 leads in Morocco. They've forgotten that those leads were all checked out some time ago.

As for Azaria's parents, I always thought they were innocent because there did seem to be real evidence for what they were claiming.

I believe they were innocent too!

margaret wrote:

AnnaEsse wrote:

Justiceforallkids wrote:

Not Born Yesterday wrote:I wonder if the McCann case will still be attracting interest in another 27 years, like that of baby Azaria. I have never been able to make up my mind about what happened to her.

Bearing in mind that her parents somehow resisted the temptation to market their daughter as a commercial product, make a fortune out of her and sue anyone who dared to challenge them - do you know, I'm prepared to give them the benefit of the doubt!

yes unlike what sabot says on JATYK i have always thought lindy and michael were innocent because there was so many people around including aiden etc there were 100s of people camping that night and ayers rock is a long way from anywhere there was also blood found on the boys jackets and in the tent and saliva was found on the mattneee jacket in 1986

We might be 'pitchforkers,' but we're working in the light, as good pitchforkers do, bringing in the harvest! Over on the 'dark side,' they're practically having kittens about those 4 leads in Morocco. They've forgotten that those leads were all checked out some time ago.

As for Azaria's parents, I always thought they were innocent because there did seem to be real evidence for what they were claiming.

I believe they were innocent too!

lindy y put aazria in the tent in her carrybasket and forgot to zip up the tent and went to get aiden some food and in that time the dingo got azaria out of the tent and appently carried her off there isa theory that the dingo smelt the babies dirty nappy and picked her up and carried the baby to its puppies usally dingos dont like humans

Was it true that the baby's matinee jacket was found...in tact.

kitti wrote:Was it true that the baby's matinee jacket was found...in tact.

i think it had rips and blood but some more of the babies clothes including a nappy singlet and booties were according to police found folded but a tourist found the clothes lying on the ground and handled them and then tried to put them back how they were found hence why they looked folded


the matneee jacket had blood dirt/dust and i think the dingo saliva

could never understand why the mother didn't hear her baby scream, cos I'm certain if a dingo picked a baby up in its mouth the babys skin would have been nipped and most babies on being nipped by sharp teeth would have yelled out.
Watch a dog pick something up especially a childs doll all dressed they have two or three attempts at getting a good grip before walking off chased by an irate toddler. When you finally get the doll away from the dog the dolly clothes are usually covered in dog slaver and have plenty of small holes from the dogs teeth.
We had a dog with a wicked sense of humour and when my daughter was playing elsewhere she would run off with the doll just to get my daughters attention

Forensic analyze was made in 1981 on the baby's jumpsuit. How a dingo can removed a jumpsuit from a baby before eat it, without leaving any bite marks on the jumpsuit? Am I missing something??

We had a cat that used to skin the mice she caught, quite expertly, before eating them. We bought her a wind-up mouse once and she skinned that as well!

maive wrote:
Forensic analyze was made in 1981 on the baby's jumpsuit. How a dingo can removed a jumpsuit from a baby before eat it, without leaving any bite marks on the jumpsuit? Am I missing something??

because the bite marks were on the babys jacket as fara si know that was found in 1986

I think if a body was to be left in the desert there is a probability that it will be eaton by scavengers but that is not to say that the scavenger actually killed that person.

Blimey iris........perhaps you should loan your cat out to butchers, they could teach it to pluck feathers!!!

kitti wrote:I think if a body was to be left in the desert there is a probability that it will be eaton by scavengers but that is not to say that the scavenger actually killed that person.

Blimey iris........perhaps you should loan your cat out to butchers, they could teach it to pluck feathers!!!

Kitti, it was so funny - it was just a metal shell with a big key sticking out of the side left. She still used to play with it, she just didn't like the fur on it!

i will put it this way dingos are sortof like dogs if a child was left alone with say a pit bull etc or a german shepard or other dogs considered to be dangerous theres nothing stopping the dogs from maming or killing that child that was the problem with the dingos they ARE wild animals and they may have thought baby azaria was food etc our golden retriver eric would neve rhurt or kill a child but you dont know what can set animals offf............ i dont know what really did happent o baby azaria but do you get my point???