A Dingo May Have Killed Lindy Chamberlain’s Baby
We’ve all heard the phrase made popular by the Meryl Streep movie A Cry in the Dark, and the sitcom Seinfeld‘s spoof of, “Maybe the dingo ate your baby!”
According to Kristan Geineau of the Associated Press, “Australian officials hope to finally, definitively, determine how Azaria Chamberlain died when the Northern Territory coroner opens a fourth inquest on Friday (Feb. 24)” – thirty-two years later.
Her mother, Lindy Chamberlain, was convicted of murdering her daughter but was later cleared after three years in prison when new evidence was discovered. Azaria’s jacket was found near a dingo den.
On Aug.17, 1980, the Chamberlain family went on a vacation that turned into a nightmare when their baby was snatched from her bassinet. They insisted a dingo snatched their 10 pound baby girl; however, the authorities doubted the story and without DNA testing at the time, it was hopeless for the Chamberlains.
In 1980, the whole country seemed to condemn the woman who was said to be “a little too calm under the circumstances” and practiced a “weird religion” – Seven-day Adventist.
To this day, Azaria Chamberlain’s mysterious disappearance prompted one of the most notorious legal battles Australia has ever seen.
Now, more than three decades later, Chamberlain is still waiting for authorities to close the case that made her the most hated person in Australia.
“The growing evidence that they had unfairly judged the Chamberlains was a bitter pill for Australians to swallow,” says John Bryson, author of “Evil Angels,” the definitive book on Azaria’s disappearance.
“Australians always thought of themselves, and this country, as being the country of fair play,” Bryson adds. “That certainly wasn’t the case.”
Decades later, the country still feels the pangs of guilt.
“We can’t let it go,” says Michelle Arrow, a cultural historian who helped edit the book, “The Chamberlain Case: Nation, Law, Memory.” ”I feel a bit embarrassed that I did think she was guilty when I was a 9-year-old, just reading the tabloids and watching TV. And I think a lot of people are still in the same boat.”
With a string of dingo attacks 10 years ago, one including a nine-year-old boy, you better believe this country has a lot of forgiveness to ask for and remind themselves of their motto when they decide to go on another modern day witch hunt.
