Death of Azaria Chamberlain

Azaria Chantel Loren Chamberlain, born 11 June 1980 in Mount Isa, was a nine-week-old Australian baby who died on the night of 17 August 1980 during a family camping trip to Uluru (Ayers Rock) in the Northern Territory. Her parents, Lindy and Michael Chamberlain, reported that a dingo had taken her from their tent. Azaria's body was never found.

An initial coronial inquest opened in Alice Springs on 15 December 1980 before magistrate Denis Barritt. On 20 February 1981, in the first live television broadcast of Australian court proceedings, Barritt found that a dingo attack was the likely cause of death, while also concluding that Azaria's body had subsequently been removed from the dingo and disposed of by an unknown person. Dissatisfied with this outcome, Northern Territory police and prosecutors pursued further investigation, leading to a second inquest in Darwin in September 1981. Forensic evidence presented at this stage, including UV photography analysis by James Cameron alleging a cut throat mark on Azaria's jumpsuit, and a subsequent forensic report claiming foetal haemoglobin in stains found in the Chamberlains' car, led to murder charges against Lindy Chamberlain.

The prosecution's case alleged Lindy had cut Azaria's throat in the family car and hidden the body before rejoining other campers and later disposing of the remains. Key evidence included the bloodstained jumpsuit found about 4 km from the tent roughly a week after the disappearance. The defence presented eyewitness testimony of dingoes near the campsite that evening, including a witness who reported hearing a baby cry after the time the prosecution alleged Azaria had been killed, along with evidence that substances other than foetal haemoglobin — including adult blood and chocolate milkshake residue — could produce similar test results. The jury rejected the defence case. On 29 October 1982, Lindy Chamberlain was convicted of murder and sentenced to life imprisonment; Michael Chamberlain was convicted as an accessory after the fact and given a suspended 18-month sentence. Appeals to the Federal Court in 1983 and the High Court of Australia in February 1984 were both unsuccessful.

The case was reopened following the chance discovery, in early 1986, of Azaria's missing matinee jacket near dingo lairs, found by police searching for the remains of a tourist who had died falling from Uluru. Lindy Chamberlain was released from prison, and on 15 September 1988 the Northern Territory Court of Criminal Appeals unanimously overturned all convictions against both Lindy and Michael Chamberlain. Later analysis showed the foetal haemoglobin test results were unreliable, producing similar readings from a sound-deadening compound used in the car's manufacture. The Chamberlains were later awarded $1.3 million in compensation for wrongful imprisonment.

A third inquest in 1995 returned an open finding on cause of death. A fourth inquest, held with findings delivered on 12 June 2012 by coroner Elizabeth Morris, concluded that Azaria Chamberlain had been attacked and taken by a dingo on 17 August 1980, and an amended death certificate was subsequently issued. Michael Chamberlain died of leukemia on 9 January 2017.