wats the full azaria chamberlain story?

Answer 1

Nine-week-old Australian baby Azaria Chamberlain disappeared on the night of 17 August 1980 on a camping trip with her family. Her parents, Lindy and Michael Chamberlain, reported that she had been taken from their tent by a dingo. An initial inquest, highly critical of the police investigation, supported this assertion. The findings of the inquest were broadcast live on television — a first in Australia. Subsequently, after a further investigation and second inquest, Azaria's mother, Lindy Chamberlain, was tried and convicted of her murder, on 29 October 1982 and sentenced to life imprisonment. Azaria's father, Michael Chamberlain, was convicted as an accessory after the fact and given a suspended sentence.

The media focus for the trial was extraordinarily intense and sensational. The Chamberlains made several unsuccessful appeals, including the final High Court appeal. After all legal options had been exhausted, the chance discovery of a piece of Azaria's clothing in an area full of dingo lairs led to Lindy Chamberlain's release from prison, on "compassionate grounds." She was later exonerated of all charges. While the case is officially unsolved, the report of a dingo attack is generally accepted. Recent deadly dingo attacks in other areas of Australia have strengthened the case for the dingo theory.

The story has been made into a TV movie, a feature film and a TV miniseries. There have also been numerous books about the case.

Pastor Michael Chamberlain, his wife Lindy, their two boys, Aidan and Reagan, and their new little daughter, Azaria, left their home in Mount Isa for a camping and sightseeing trip to various Northern Territory landmarks, including Ayers Rock. They arrived on the evening of Saturday, August 16, 1980.

On the night of August 17, Lindy Chamberlain raised the alarm that a dingo had just been seen leaving the family tent and that Azaria, who had been sleeping in her bassinette, was missing. Three hundred people formed a human chain during the night and searched the sand dunes near the campsite. Azaria was never found.

One week later, a Victorian tourist, Wally Goodwin, discovered Azaria's heavily blood-stained singlet, jumpsuit, booties and nappy near a dingo lair.

The cause of Azaria's disappearance has not been officially determined. The last and final official inquest listed the cause of her death as "undetermined." A body has never been found, only various items of bloodstained clothing. The Chamberlains who were originally convicted have been officially exonerated by the Court and eventually received some financial compensation. It is estimated that their legal fees exceeded five million Australian Dollars.

In August 2005, a 25-year old woman named Erin Horsburgh claimed that she was Azaria Chamberlain, but her claims were rejected by the authorities and the ABC's Mediawatch program, who stated that none of the reports linking Horsburgh to the Chamberlain case had any substance.

The Chamberlains divorced in 1991 and Lindy Chamberlain has since remarried. She and her new husband lived for a time in the United States but have since returned to Australia.