-->

• Azaria Chamberlain was a nine weeks old baby when she disappeared on a family camping trip in the Northern Territory of Australia at Ayers Rock. Her clothing was later recovered at a dingo lair.

• Fast Facts

  1. Full name: Azaria Chantel Loren Chamberlain
  2. Father: Michael Chamberlain
  3. Mother: Lindy Chamberlain
  4. Brothers: Aidan and Reagan
  5. Disappeared: in Australia on family camping trip at Ayers Rock
  6. Trial began: September 13, 1982
  7. Lindy found guilty: October 29, 1982
  8. Lindy's sentence: Life in prison
  9. Michael: Convicted as an accessory after the fact, with a suspended sentence
  10. Lindy released: February 7, 1986
  11. Movie: A Cry in the Dark, November 1988
  12. Compensation: A$1.3 million paid to parents in 1992
  13. Final cause of death: Unknown

• The Disappearance

  Azaria's parents reported that she was taken by a dingo while sleeping in her bassinet on the night of August 17, 1980. Several hundred people searched for her the night she was reported missing, without success.

• Chamberlain Trial

  Lindy Chamberlain was tried and convicted of her daughter's murder on October 29, 1982. Michael Chamberlain was convicted of being an accessory after the fact. The parents continue to maintain that their daughter had been carried away by a dingo.Lindy Chamberlain-Creighton: The Story And Timeline Of Events

• New Evidence

  In 1986, discovery of new evidence—the jacket Azaria was wearing at the time of her disappearance, led to a new trial. Lindy was released, and the Northern Territory Court of Appeals overturned both parents' convictions, acquitting them of all charges. They were later awarded A$1.3 million for wrongful imprisonment.

• Final Resolution

  The final coroner's report made no determination as to the cause or manner of death. It stated, "Azaria Chantel Loren Chamberlain died at Ayers Rock on 17th day of August 1980. As to the cause of her death and the manner in which she died the evidence adduced does not enable me to say. I therefore return an open finding and record the cause and manner of death as unknown."UMKC: Analysis & Findings of the Third Coroner's Inquest

• Related Mahalo Pages

  Uluru | Australia

Categories

• View History
• Discuss on the Message Board
• Embed this Page
• Share this page