Aussie coroner agrees dingo took baby in 1980 case

CANBERRA, Australia — The dingo really did take the baby.

Thirty-two years after a 9-week-old infant vanished from an Outback campsite in a case that bitterly divided Australians and inspired a Meryl Streep film, the nation overwhelmingly welcomed a ruling that finally closed the mystery.

A coroner in the northern city of Darwin concluded Tuesday that a dingo, or wild dog, had taken Azaria Chamberlain from her parents’ tent near Ayers Rock, the red monolith in the Australian desert now known by its Aboriginal name Uluru.

That is what her parents, Lindy Chamberlain-Creighton and Michael Chamberlain, had maintained from the beginning.

The eyes of the parents welled with tears as the findings of the fourth inquest into their daughter’s disappearance were announced, watched by people around Australia on live television.

ADVERTISEMENT
0 seconds of 0 secondsVolume 0%
Press shift question mark to access a list of keyboard shortcuts
00:00
00:00
00:00
 

“We’re relieved and delighted to come to the end of this saga,” a tearful but smiling Chamberlain-Creighton, since divorced and remarried, told reporters outside the court.

The first inquest in 1981 had also blamed a dingo. But a second inquest a year later charged Chamberlain-Creighton with murder and her husband with being an accessory after the fact. She was convicted and served more than three years in prison before that decision was overturned. A third inquest in 1995 left the cause of death open.

“The dingo has done it. I’m absolutely thrilled to bits,” said Yvonne Cain, one of the 12 jurors in the 1982 trial that convicted a then-pregnant Chamberlain-Creighton of murder. “I’d always had my doubts and have become certain she’s innocent.”

Cain said she still encounters people who doubt the couple’s innocence, but they inevitably misunderstand what evidence there was against them.

“When people say she’s guilty, I say: `You have no idea what they’re talking about — I was there,”’ she said.

The case became famous internationally through the 1988 movie “A Cry in the Dark,” in which Streep played the mother.

Many Australians initially did not believe that a dingo was strong enough to take away the baby, whose body has never been recovered. Public opinion swayed harshly against the couple; some even spat on Chamberlain-Creighton and howled like dingoes outside her house.

No similar dingo attack had been documented at the time, but in recent years the wild dogs native to Australia have been blamed for three fatal attacks on children. Few doubt the couple’s story today, but the latest inquest — which the family had fought to get — made it official that Azaria was killed in a dingo attack.

An expert on dingo behavior, Brad Purcell, said he was not surprised that a dingo would enter a tent and take a baby while older siblings slept.

Purcell suspects that many people blamed Chamberlain-Creighton for leaving the baby in a tent where a dingo could have been attracted by her crying.

“She was almost being condemned because she wasn’t acting as a responsible parent,” Purcell told Australian Broadcasting Corp.

But not all Australians accept the latest ruling.

A policeman who was at Uluru the night Azaria disappeared said he still believes the first coroner’s finding that there was some human intervention.

Frank Morris, who has since retired from the police force, said while he was not trying to blame the parents, he thought someone played a part in moving clothing Azaria wore that night.

“We don’t know who. That is the $64,000 question,” Morris said.

“If you go to court enough times, you are bound to get a win sooner or later,” Morris added of the parents’ victory Tuesday.

The parents and the eldest of their three surviving children, Aiden Chamberlain, 38, on Tuesday collected Azaria’s new death certificate. The son made national news in 2006 when he used as his wedding car the same yellow sedan that took the family to Uluru in 1980 and that a forensic scientist wrongly determined was spattered with an infant’s blood.

Years later, more sophisticated tests determined the “blood” was a combination of spilled milk and a chemical sprayed during manufacture under the car’s dashboard.

“We’re relieved and delighted to come to the end of this saga,” a tearful but smiling Chamberlain-Creighton told reporters outside the court.

She later said she was undecided whether the coroner’s finding was a cause for celebration.

“I celebrate the final triumph of truth, but I don’t celebrate her death and the two are so intertwined — I have no idea what I feel about that,” she told Nine Network television in a paid exclusive interview.

Coroner Elizabeth Morris said she was “satisfied that the evidence is sufficiently adequate, clear, cogent and exact and that the evidence excludes all other reasonable possibilities.”

The findings mirror those of the first coroner’s inquest in 1981. But that inquest found that somebody had later interfered with Azaria’s clothing, which was later found relatively unscathed in the desert.

A second coroner’s inquest triggered a Northern Territory Supreme Court trial that resulted in Chamberlain-Creighton being found guilty of slashing her daughter’s throat and making it look like a dingo attack.

She was convicted in 1982 and sentenced to life in prison with hard labor.

She was released in 1986 after evidence was found that backed up her version of events: the baby’s jacket, found near a dingo den, which helped explain the condition of the rest of the baby’s clothing. A Royal Commission, the highest form of investigation in Australia, debunked much of the forensic evidence used at her trial and her conviction was overturned.

A third inquest could not determine the cause of death.

The fourth inquest heard new evidence of dingo attacks, including three fatal attacks on children since the third inquest.

Morris, the coroner, noted that dingo experts disagree on whether a dingo could have removed the clothing so neatly and without causing more damage.

“It would have been very difficult for a dingo to have removed Azaria from her clothing without causing more damage than what was observed on it, however it would have been possible for it to have done so,” she said.

Michael Chamberlain had threatened to go the Northern Territory Supreme Court to force another inquest if Morris had not agreed to reopen the case. Another coroner had rejected his application in 2004 for a fourth inquest to challenge the 1995 finding.

“This has been a terrifying battle, bitter at times, but now some healing and a chance to put our daughter’s spirit to rest,” Chamberlain told reporters.

He said his quest for a death certificate that acknowledged his daughter had been killed by a dingo had seemed to be a “mission impossible.”

“This battle to get to the legal truth about what caused Azaria’s death has taken too long,” Chamberlain said.

“However, I am here to tell you that you can get justice even when you think that all is lost. But truth must be on your side.”

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Local News

(City of Everett)
Everett’s possible new stadium has a possible price tag

City staff said a stadium could be built for $82 million, lower than previous estimates. Bonds and private investment would pay for most of it.

Jennifer Humelo, right, hugs Art Cass outside of Full Life Care Snohomish County on Wednesday, May 28, 2025 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
‘I’ll lose everything’: Snohomish County’s only adult day health center to close

Full Life Care in Everett, which supports adults with disabilities, will shut its doors July 19 due to state funding challenges.

The age of bridge 503 that spans Swamp Creek can be seen in its timber supports and metal pipes on Wednesday, May 15, 2024, in Lynnwood, Washington. The bridge is set to be replaced by the county in 2025. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Snohomish County report: 10 bridges set for repairs, replacement

An annual report the county released May 22 details the condition of local bridges and future maintenance they may require.

The Edmonds City Council gathers to discuss annexing into South County Fire on Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2024 in Edmonds, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Community group presents vision for Edmonds’ fiscal future

Members from Keep Edmonds Vibrant suggested the council focus on revenue generation and a levy lid lift to address its budget crisis.

Cars drive along Cathcart Way next to the site of the proposed Eastview Village development that borders Little Cedars Elementary on Wednesday, May 7, 2025 in unincorporated Snohomish, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Former engineer: Snohomish County rushed plans for Eastview development

David Irwin cited red flags from the developers. After he resigned, the county approved the development that’s now stalled with an appeal

People listen as the Marysville School Board votes to close an elementary and a middle school in the 2025-26 school year while reconfiguring the district’s elementary schools to a K-6 model on Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025 in Marysville, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Marysville schools audit shows some improvement

Even though the district still faces serious financial problems, the findings are a positive change over last year, auditors said.

Outside of the Madrona School on Monday, Aug. 26, 2024 in Edmonds, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Sewer district notifies Edmonds schools of intent to sue

The letter of intent alleges the school district has failed to address long-standing “water pollution issues” at Madrona K-8 School.

Kim Crane talks about a handful of origami items on display inside her showroom on Monday, Feb. 17, 2025, in Snohomish, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Crease is the word: Origami fans flock to online paper store

Kim’s Crane in Snohomish has been supplying paper crafters with paper, books and kits since 1995.

Providence Regional Medical Center Everett. (Olivia Vanni/The Herald)
Providence Everett plans to reduce certified nursing assistants

Nursing assistants at Providence Regional Medical Center Everett have until Thursday to accept a voluntary severance package.

A firefighting helicopter carries a bucket of water from a nearby river to the Bolt Creek Fire on Saturday, Sep. 10, 2022, on U.S. 2 near Index, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
How Snohomish County property owners can prepare for wildfire season

Clean your roofs, gutters and flammable material while completing a 5-foot-buffer around your house.

Nedra Vranish, left, and Karen Thordarson, right browse colorful glass flowers at Fuse4U during Sorticulture on Friday, June 7, 2024, in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Everett’s Sorticulture festival starts Friday

Festivities will include art classes, garden vendors and live music.

Logo for news use featuring Snohomish County, Washington. 220118
11-year-old, teen injured in Snohomish County shooting

The 11-year-old is in critical condition, the sheriff’s office said. Investigators believe the shooting was gang related.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.