Lindy Chamberlain-Creighton facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Lindy Chamberlain-Creighton
|
|
|---|---|
Chamberlain in a 1986 news broadcast
|
|
| Born |
Alice Lynne Murchison
4 March 1948 Whakatāne, New Zealand
|
| Known for | Imprisoned for three years after being falsely convicted of the murder of her 9-week-old daughter, Azaria (later exonerated) |
| Spouse(s) | |
| Children | Aidan (born 1973) Reagan (born 1976) Azaria (1980–1980) Kahlia (born 1982) |
Alice Lynne "Lindy" Chamberlain-Creighton (born 4 March 1948) is an Australian woman who was wrongly found guilty in a very famous and difficult court case. She was accused of killing her nine-week-old daughter, Azaria, while camping in 1980. Lindy always said that a dingo took her baby from their tent. The evidence used against her was later found to be wrong.
Lindy Chamberlain was found guilty on 29 October 1982. Her appeals to higher courts were turned down. But on 7 February 1986, new evidence was found: clothing that Azaria had been wearing. Lindy was then released from prison. In 1987, she and her husband, Michael Chamberlain, were officially pardoned. Their convictions were completely removed in 1988. In 1992, the Australian government paid Lindy $1.3 million in compensation. Finally, in 2012, a fourth official investigation confirmed that Azaria died "as a result of being attacked and taken by a dingo."
Contents
Lindy Chamberlain's Early Life and Family
Alice Lynne Murchison, known as "Lindy," was born on 4 March 1948, in Whakatāne, New Zealand. Her parents were Avis and Cliff Murchison. Her family belonged to the Seventh-day Adventist Church, and her father was a church pastor.
In 1949, when Lindy was about two years old, her family moved to Australia. They lived in Victoria and moved often as her father changed churches. Lindy went to school in Victoria and finished her high school studies in Benalla in 1965. During holidays, she worked in shops, as a clerk, and as a waitress. Later, she became a receptionist and a bookkeeper.
On 18 November 1969, she married Michael Chamberlain, who was also an Adventist pastor. For the first five years of their marriage, they lived in Tasmania. Their first child, Aidan, was born there in 1973. Lindy also earned a certificate in dressmaking during this time. The family then moved to Queensland. Their second child, Reagan, was born in Bowen in 1976. After living in Innisfail, they moved to Mount Isa.
Friends knew that Lindy had always wanted a girl. On 11 June 1980, the Chamberlains' first daughter, Azaria, was born. At this time, Michael Chamberlain was the minister of the Seventh-day Adventist church in Mount Isa. Lindy was very involved in the church and also made wedding dresses.
Her second daughter and fourth child, Kahlia, was born in November 1982. This happened at the Darwin Hospital while Lindy was in Darwin Prison. Lindy was falsely convicted of Azaria's murder at that time. Her new baby was taken from her at birth before she returned to prison.
Azaria's Disappearance at Uluru
When Azaria was nine weeks old, the Chamberlain family went on a camping trip to Uluru. They arrived on 16 August 1980. On the night of 17 August, Lindy Chamberlain reported that a dingo had taken her baby from their tent. A huge search was organized, but Azaria was not found.
About a week later, Azaria's jumpsuit was found about 4 kilometers (2.5 miles) from the tent. It had bloodstains around the neck, which suggested the child had died. A small jacket Azaria was wearing was not found at that time. From the day Azaria went missing, Lindy and Michael Chamberlain always said a dingo took their child.
It was later known that for two years before Azaria went missing, the chief ranger at Uluru, Derek Roff, had been writing to the government. He warned that dingoes in the area were becoming more aggressive. He even said a human tragedy was likely to happen.
The Trial and Imprisonment
The first official investigation, called an inquest, was held in Alice Springs in December 1980 and January 1981. This investigation supported the Chamberlains' story. It found that a dingo had taken the child. However, a higher court later canceled these findings. A second inquest was ordered in December 1981.
In September 1982, Lindy Chamberlain was charged with Azaria's murder. Michael Chamberlain was charged with helping her after the fact. On 29 October 1982, both Chamberlains were found guilty.
First Official Investigation
An inquest is a special investigation held when someone dies in unusual ways. The first inquest for Azaria was held from 15 December 1980, to 20 February 1981, in Alice Springs. The person in charge, Magistrate Denis Barritt, concluded that a dingo had snatched and killed Azaria Chamberlain. He did not find Lindy or Michael Chamberlain responsible for their child's disappearance.
Second Official Investigation and Conviction
The second inquest led to the Chamberlains being sent to trial. The person leading this inquest said that even though the evidence was mostly indirect, a jury could still make a decision based on the clothing found. He thought that the Chamberlains knew dingoes were around. He suggested they tried to make it look like a dingo attack. He believed they buried Azaria's body, removed her clothes, damaged the clothes, rubbed them in plants, and then left them to be found.
Based on this idea, and on what was thought to be blood in the Chamberlains' car, they were put on trial. Lindy was found guilty and sentenced to life in prison. Michael Chamberlain received a suspended sentence. The stain in the car, believed to be blood, was later found to be a sound-deadening material from the car's factory.
What the Prosecution Claimed
The lawyers for the prosecution (the side trying to prove guilt) had a theory. They claimed that Lindy left the campfire for a short time. They said she went to her tent, stopped her son Aidan from following, changed her pants, took Azaria to the car, and used scissors to cut Azaria's throat. They claimed she then hid the body in a camera case in the car. They also said she cleaned up all the blood.
They believed she then returned to the tent, left blood splashes there, and brought Aidan back to the campfire. They claimed she did all this without anyone noticing. They also said it was daring of her to open the car where the body was supposedly hidden to let a dog smell Azaria's clothes. They also suggested her husband must have known or was also very daring.
During the second inquest, the prosecution focused on the clothing evidence:
- They claimed Azaria's clothes had been buried with her body inside.
- They said the soil on the clothes matched the camp's soil, not where the clothes were found.
- They argued there was no sign of dragging or dingo saliva on the clothes.
- They said the jumpsuit was fully buttoned up when the child was bleeding.
- They claimed the top buttons were undone after the blood dried, before the clothes were buried.
- They suggested a small adult's handprint was found on the clothes, covered in wet blood.
- They said holes in the clothing could be teeth marks, but the lack of tissue stains meant an animal didn't cause them. They believed the clothes were cut and torn by a person.
- They claimed plant material on the clothes did not match the area where they were found.
- They said the clothes were neatly placed, not scattered as a dingo would leave them.
- They noted the clothes were found near a dingo's den.
- They found scissors in the Chamberlains' car with what they believed was human blood. They suggested these scissors were used to cut the clothing.
Based on this, they concluded that both Chamberlains were involved in covering up a crime.
Evidence Supporting a Dingo Attack
Many people gave evidence that supported the dingo story:
- Camper Sally Lowe and Michael Chamberlain said they heard a baby cry when Lindy was with them at the barbecue area. Azaria was believed to be in the tent then.
- Another witness, Judith West, heard a low, growling sound from the tent area. She thought it sounded like her husband's dogs when they were slaughtering sheep.
- Lindy Chamberlain said she went to the tent after hearing the cry. She saw a dingo coming out of the tent, shaking its head. She cried, "Michael, Michael, the dingo's got my baby!" She ran into the tent and found Azaria missing.
- Police Detective Sergeant John Lincoln took photos of large paw prints near Azaria's cot and found what looked like blood outside the tent.
- Sally Lowe also said she saw a pool of blood in the tent, about 15 by 10 centimeters (6 by 4 inches). However, another police officer said there were only a few drops of blood on blankets.
- A scientist found blood spray on the tent wall. He agreed it looked like a dingo carrying a bleeding baby could have caused it. Canine hairs were also found in the tent and on Azaria's jumpsuit. The Chamberlains did not own a dog.
- Les Harris, who studied dingoes, believed a dingo could carry a baby's head in its mouth over long distances. He showed photos of dingoes doing this with a baby-sized doll. However, another expert said a dingo's jaws couldn't open wide enough for a child's head.
- Some experts believed the damage to the clothes could have been caused by a dingo. Marks on diaper pieces were similar to those made by a dingo on other test diapers. Azaria's clothing was found only 30 meters (98 feet) from a dingo's den, though no one knew about the den at the time.
After the Conviction
Soon after being found guilty, Lindy Chamberlain was taken from prison to give birth to her fourth child, Kahlia, on 17 November 1982. She was then returned to prison. Her appeals to higher courts were turned down.
Release with New Evidence
New evidence appeared on 2 February 1986. Azaria's small jacket, which police had said did not exist, was found partly buried near a dingo den close to Uluru. Five days later, on 7 February 1986, this discovery supported the Chamberlains' defense. Lindy was released from prison, and her life sentence was canceled by the government. In 1987, a special investigation called a Royal Commission began.
The Morling Royal Commission
This commission looked into whether the Chamberlains' convictions were correct. The Commissioner, Trevor Morling, decided there was enough doubt about their guilt. He concluded that the idea Lindy murdered Azaria had not been proven beyond a reasonable doubt. The commission felt the evidence strongly supported the dingo theory.
Lindy Chamberlain's Acquittal
In 1988, the Supreme Court found the Chamberlains not guilty. The court found that the "baby blood" supposedly found in their car, which was a key part of the prosecution's case, was likely a sound-deadening material from the car's manufacturing. This finding showed that the earlier blood tests were wrong. This, along with the discovery of Azaria's jacket, led to the Royal Commission's doubts about the conviction. The court also noted that DNA testing was not advanced in the early 1980s, so the expert evidence at the trial was considered reasonable at the time, even if it was later found to be incorrect.
Third Official Investigation
After the Chamberlains were found not guilty in 1988, a third inquest happened in 1995. This was a "paper inquest" because there wasn't much new evidence. The coroner looked at the Royal Commission's report and decided there wasn't enough evidence to say Lindy Chamberlain killed Azaria. He also said there wasn't enough evidence to say Michael Chamberlain was involved. He noted that while the evidence strongly suggested a dingo took Azaria, it wasn't his job to prove her innocence, but rather for the prosecution to prove guilt.
The 2012 Inquest: A Final Ruling
The Chamberlains kept pushing for a clear answer about Azaria's death. They wanted it officially stated that one or more dingoes caused her death without human involvement. A new inquest started in February 2012. New information about dingo attacks on children on Fraser Island was given as evidence. Coroner Elizabeth Morris said this new evidence helped her reopen the investigation.
After 32 years of intense public interest and criticism, the Chamberlains wanted a final, definite answer. On 12 June 2012, an Australian coroner made a final ruling: a dingo took baby Azaria Chamberlain from a campsite in 1980 and caused her death. Coroner Morris apologized to the Chamberlain family, and an updated death certificate was given to them right away.
Lindy Chamberlain's Life After the Case
Lindy Chamberlain wrote a book about her experiences called Through My Eyes: an autobiography in 1990. She and Michael divorced in 1991. On 20 December 1992, she married Rick Creighton, an American publisher and fellow member of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. She is now known as Lindy Chamberlain-Creighton. She and Rick live in Australia.
In August 2010, on the 30th anniversary of Azaria's death, Lindy appealed on her website to have the cause of death on Azaria's death record changed. In 2012, the coroner's final report confirmed that a dingo was the cause of death.
Films and Other Adaptations
The story of Lindy Chamberlain and Azaria has been told in several films and other works:
- In the 1983 Australian TV movie Who Killed Baby Azaria?, Lindy was played by Elaine Hudson.
- In the 1988 film Evil Angels (also known as A Cry in the Dark), Meryl Streep played Lindy. Her performance earned her an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress.
- Miranda Otto played Lindy in the 2004 Australian TV mini-series Through My Eyes: The Lindy Chamberlain Story.
- Australian composer Moya Henderson wrote an opera called Lindy.
- In 2021, Australian drag queen Etcetera Etcetera played Lindy Chamberlain on the RuPaul's Drag Race Down Under TV show.
- Also in 2021, Lindy Chamberlain's release from prison was shown in episode three of the Australian series The Newsreader.
See also
In Spanish: Muerte de Azaria Chamberlain para niños
- List of miscarriage of justice cases
- Kathleen Folbigg – another case where a mother was wrongly accused
External links
- Lindy Chamberlain's official website: http://www.lindychamberlain.com/
- Chamberlain-Creighton Papers held by the National Library of Australia
- The Chamberlain collection at the National Museum of Australia
