Have you heard of Michael Chamberlain?
By Judy Evans
@JudyEv (340126)
Rockingham, Australia
January 10, 2017 6:38am CST
Michael Chamberlain has died aged 72. Maybe you have never heard of him but he and his wife, Lindy Chamberlain, made headlines in Australia over many weeks in 1980 when a dingo stole their 9 week old baby girl, Azaria, from a tent at Uluru. No-one believed their story and Lindy was eventually charged and convicted of her murder. Public interest reached fever pitch and it became one of Australia's most sensational legal cases.
In 1982 Lindy received a life sentence and spent over three years in gaol before being released in 1986 on remission. Both were pardoned in 1987 and the convictions quashed in 1988. In 2012 a fourth coronial inquest found that Azaria died 'as a result of being attacked and taken by a dingo'.
The couple had two sons born in 1973 and 1976. Another daughter was born in 1982.
Chamberlain resigned his position as a Seventh Day Adventist minister and he and Lindy later divorced. This was a shameful episode in Australia's history as the evidence against Lindy was fabricated and full of holes. RIP Michael.
37 people like this
34 responses
@BelleStarr (61102)
• United States
10 Jan 17
I do remember the case and your right, it was a horrible thing that was done to that family by the authorities.
3 people like this
@JudyEv (340126)
• Rockingham, Australia
11 Jan 17
@enlightenedpsych2 I guess at least it paid some court costs.
@PatZAnthony (14749)
• Charlotte, North Carolina
11 Jan 17
What a terrible thing for anyone to experience. The entire family destroyed.
3 people like this
@garymarsh6 (23404)
• United Kingdom
10 Jan 17
Yes I remember the poor couple and read the news the other day. So sad. Those poor people not only losing their beloved daughter but ended up going to prison or rather the wife did. I hope that he is well cared for in heaven. I know people jumped to conclusions about it but I never doubted them. I am so glad they were eventually pardoned but imagine living that hanging over your head!
2 people like this
@teamfreak16 (43418)
• Denver, Colorado
10 Jan 17
I vaguely remember that. What a shame.
2 people like this
@FayeHazel (40243)
• United States
10 Jan 17
That's too bad! I didn't know their names but I did hear of the dingo stealing the baby case in Australia. Unfortunately yes it is quite infamous
2 people like this
@JudyEv (340126)
• Rockingham, Australia
11 Jan 17
It was pretty terrible at the time. No-one seemed to be able to talk of anything else.
@katsmeow1213 (28716)
• United States
10 Jan 17
I remember that story.. not very well as I was too young at the time, but I know it was huge all around the world at the time.
That poor family..
1 person likes this
@katsmeow1213 (28716)
• United States
11 Jan 17
@JudyEv Nothing can make up for the loss of their child!
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (340126)
• Rockingham, Australia
11 Jan 17
It is very sad. They were paid compensation in the end but nothing could make up for all they went through.
@JudyEv (340126)
• Rockingham, Australia
11 Jan 17
@katsmeow1213 That's true too, of course. They never found the body either so there was never a burial.
@averygirl72 (37845)
• Philippines
11 Jan 17
I feel sorry for the baby being attacked by a dingo. I feel sorry too for the mother. What a sad story.
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (340126)
• Rockingham, Australia
11 Jan 17
@averygirl72 They can be and certainly once they lose their fear of humans.
1 person likes this
@41CombedaleRoad (5952)
• Greece
11 Jan 17
I remember it too and the acquittal. When justice does not serve its purpose the innocent suffer. This was a particularly tragic story as the couple suffered in many different heart breaking ways.
1 person likes this
@41CombedaleRoad (5952)
• Greece
12 Jan 17
@JudyEv Seventh Day Adventists are not a cult, so I don't understand why there should have been prejudice against them.
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (340126)
• Rockingham, Australia
13 Jan 17
@41CombedaleRoad Lindy didn't seem upset and people took that to be a bad thing but TV was a big new thing then and no-one would want to be too upset in front of the cameras - and I think the Seventh Day Adventists were taught to be stoic to a degree. Also it was long ago and anything that wasn't mainstream religion (Protestant or Catholic) was a bit sus even if it wasn't a cult.
@Jessicalynnt (50523)
• Centralia, Missouri
12 Jan 17
@JudyEv well if a mother had done that to her kid, it would be awful, but.... to not and be blamed for it.... when you just wanna grieve... wow
1 person likes this
@xFiacre (13033)
• Ireland
10 Jan 17
@judyev My wife has long been fascinated by this. She's read the book several times and we've watched the film. Our oldest daughter is called Azaria and when asked where the name comes from we say "the dingo baby" and a long explanation is then called for.
2 people like this
@JudyEv (340126)
• Rockingham, Australia
11 Jan 17
It's a pretty name. I haven't seen the film nor read the book. I suppose I should.
@JohnRoberts (109846)
• Los Angeles, California
10 Jan 17
That case became the movie Evil Angels or A Cry in the Dark with Meryl Streep and Sam Neill as the Chamberlains.
2 people like this
@everwonderwhy (7357)
•
11 Jan 17
I remember about the story made into a movie. I never watched the film. What a very sad story about a mother who just lost her child, accused and put to jail for the accusation she didn't do. I do hope that she recovered from the anguish.
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (340126)
• Rockingham, Australia
11 Jan 17
She later remarried to an American. I think she lives in America now.
