4th inquest into baby Chamberlain's death
Source: Agencies |
December 19, 2011, Monday
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Australia will hold a new inquest into the 1980 disappearance and death of baby Azaria Chamberlain, a case which drew huge attention after the baby's parents said she had been snatched by a dingo, or wild dog, officials said yesterday.
The inquest will be the fourth into her death at Ayer's Rock, also known as Uluru, in the Australian outback.
The child's mother, Lindy Chamberlain, was convicted of murder in 1982 and sentenced to life imprisonment, a conviction which was later quashed.
A conviction against the father, Michael Chamberlain, as an accessory after the fact was also quashed.
The case has gripped the imagination of many Australians for decades, prompting several dramatizations, including the 1988 film "A Cry in the Dark", starring Meryl Streep as Lindy Chamberlain.
The inquest follows pressure from the family's lawyer for a new hearing, in the hope it will fully exonerate them.
Azaria's parents have always maintained that she was taken from their tent by a dingo.
Although the convictions against her parents were quashed, in 1995 the most recent inquest into Azaria's death returned an open verdict.
In October, the parents' lawyer, Stuart Tibble, wrote to the Northern Territory government asking for the inquest to be reopened.
In a statement on behalf of Coroner Elizabeth Morris, the territory's Department of Justice said yesterday the move was in response to new information provided by the parents. It is set for February 24 in the territory's capital, Darwin.
"The parents of the deceased had provided information to the coroner in relation to dingo attacks on infants and young children," the department said. "This information was then further investigated."
"It is as a result of this investigation that the coroner has made the decision to reopen the inquest."
No witnesses will be called, the department said, but evidence will tendered and submissions made on the evidence.
Azaria was nine weeks old when she disappeared on August 17, 1980, near Ayer's Rock.
The child's body was never found and her mother said she saw a dingo leaving the tent with the baby.
A first inquest in 1981 supported the parents' account, but in 1982 a second inquest overthrew that finding and recommended the parents stand trial. However, a third inquest in 1995 returned an open verdict.
The inquest will be the fourth into her death at Ayer's Rock, also known as Uluru, in the Australian outback.
The child's mother, Lindy Chamberlain, was convicted of murder in 1982 and sentenced to life imprisonment, a conviction which was later quashed.
A conviction against the father, Michael Chamberlain, as an accessory after the fact was also quashed.
The case has gripped the imagination of many Australians for decades, prompting several dramatizations, including the 1988 film "A Cry in the Dark", starring Meryl Streep as Lindy Chamberlain.
The inquest follows pressure from the family's lawyer for a new hearing, in the hope it will fully exonerate them.
Azaria's parents have always maintained that she was taken from their tent by a dingo.
Although the convictions against her parents were quashed, in 1995 the most recent inquest into Azaria's death returned an open verdict.
In October, the parents' lawyer, Stuart Tibble, wrote to the Northern Territory government asking for the inquest to be reopened.
In a statement on behalf of Coroner Elizabeth Morris, the territory's Department of Justice said yesterday the move was in response to new information provided by the parents. It is set for February 24 in the territory's capital, Darwin.
"The parents of the deceased had provided information to the coroner in relation to dingo attacks on infants and young children," the department said. "This information was then further investigated."
"It is as a result of this investigation that the coroner has made the decision to reopen the inquest."
No witnesses will be called, the department said, but evidence will tendered and submissions made on the evidence.
Azaria was nine weeks old when she disappeared on August 17, 1980, near Ayer's Rock.
The child's body was never found and her mother said she saw a dingo leaving the tent with the baby.
A first inquest in 1981 supported the parents' account, but in 1982 a second inquest overthrew that finding and recommended the parents stand trial. However, a third inquest in 1995 returned an open verdict.
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