by KATE CHIGIROVICH Staff Writer
The Azaria Chamberlain case that coined the phrase “A dingo ate my baby” 1980’s has officially been closed, stating that she was taken by a dingo. The Chamberlain family went on a camping trip on the east side of Ayers Rock in Australia with their two children, their nine-week-old baby, and six other groups. After one of the other campers heard a cry, Lindy Chamberlain, the mother, went to check on baby Azaria when she found her being dragged out of the tent by a dingo. Lindy found blood on the tent and dingo tracks at the scene. A search party of 300 people was sent to find Azaria that night but they never found her. At the time, Australians did not know much about dingoes and did not think they could drag a baby away. No attacks were documented at that time. Azaria’s mother was convicted for the murder of her daughter on October 29, 1982 sentence and to life in prison due to media and bias opinions. Her father was convicted for a murder accessory. The Chamberlain trial was the most publicized case in Australian history. Most of the evidence presented in the case against Lindy Chamberlain was later rejected due to false information; the case is now used as an example of how media and bias can affect a trial. A piece of Azaria’s clothing was found in a dingo den near Ayers Rock. Her mother and father were released from jail by this time on September 15, 1988. A third inquest was conducted in 1995, but the case was never solved. A fourth inquest was then conducted in December 2011. On June 12, Coroner Elizabeth Morris presented what she had found from the evidence and concluded that Azaria was in fact killed and eaten by a dingo. A death certificate was created immediately. Morris said she was “satisfied that the evidence is sufficiently adequate, clear, cogent and exact and that the evidence excludes all other reasonable possibilities.” This case became famous around the world with the movie “A Cry in the Dark”, a play book, an album by Australian band The Paradise Motel, and an opera. Today, Lindy and Michael Chamberlain are divorced due to the stress of everything having to do with Azaria’s case. Lindy is now happily remarried. “All I can say is that I am happy for the family. So many years of misjudgment and wrongful blame can really do something to someone. I am happy to see the family finally get justice for their baby Azaria,” says freshman Kate Broskie.