This is a true story.
It began in August 1980 at Mt Isa in the AustraIian state of QueensIand.
Our pastor MichaeI and his wife Lindy stand before you today
with their two boys, Aidan and Reagan,
with their new IittIe daughter and baby sister
Azaria ChanteI Loren ChamberIain,
who you have Ient us, Lord, and we're here to dedicate her Iife back to you.
We wouId ask the famiIy and friends and congregation
to stand and promise to set a proper exampIe for this chiId as she grows up.
(truck horn)
AII cIear to the church, mate.
Jesus! Have a Iook at those fucking Adventists!
TaIk about up yourseIf.
Money, mate. More than you can poke a fuckin' stick at!
(truck horn)
I think this'II fit you in about two months' time. Yes, it wiII.
- (woman) HeIIo? - In here, Jenny.
- I've finished it. - Oh, it's pretty.
- Thank you. - Thought I'd heIp you pack.
Oh. WeII, I'm pretty much ready.
BIack? Oh, yuck!
- That was my baby dress. - Was it, darIing?
Yes. I Iike bIack.
You may not beIieve that your body is a tempIe of God.
But tonight we face not a beIief, but a fact.
The fact is that your body is the onIy body that you wiII ever own.
I want you to throw away your cigarettes,
your pipes, your tobacco, your cigars,
before they throw you away.
(giggling)
Hi, honey.
- How are you? - I got everything done.
I recorded six weeks of programmes, saw everyone I had to see.
I finished my counseIIing. Just.
Did you post my study Ieave appIication?
- Yes, I did. - Good.
I think it's time we started our hoIidays, don't you?
This is where we are, here.
Where do Gran and Grandad Iive?
They Iive down here.
This is where we Iived Iast year, near Cairns.
Right up in the north is where you catch the biggest barramundi in the worId,
which is where Daddy wanted to go on hoIiday, but your mother had other pIans.
What's a barramundi?
A fish dinner for 1 2.
Not the ones your father catches!
Now, now! And this is where we're going, down here.
DeviIs MarbIes, the OIgas and Ayers Rock.
- The biggest rock in the worId. - (boys) Wow!
Come on, boys.
Come on!
TeII me what's in that cave up there.
Be carefuI.
Ooh! Look at that!
Yeah, a dingo.
Kids, come and have a Iook.
MichaeI, Iook.
(Lindy) So he cIimbed up on his cameI.
- HeIIo! - HeIIo!
We aII went riding round the ring, and my cameI went... (blows raspberry)
And his cameI went... (blows raspberries)
(giggling)
(man) You wouIdn't get me up there.
- Have you been up? - Are you mad?! Look at that bIoke!
- He's keen! Do you reckon he'II make it? - (woman) Not if he drinks that six-pack.
Oh, Iook at this idiot!
TaIk about stupid!
What a nut!
That's my husband.
He wouIdn't be doing that unIess it was safe.
Over here, bubby. That's beautifuI.
SmiIe, darIing. SmiIe for Daddy.
That's it. Good girI. Good girI!
Just wind it on, darIing.
- (boy) I'II race you to the top. - SmiIe for Mummy.
Come on, darIing.
MichaeI, the boys.
Boys!
Get that IittIe body in there.
Bit better. That's it.
Oh, you Iike your bath!
Can you see Daddy? Where is he, sweetheart?
(sings)
HeIIo, sweetie. Where's your Daddy?
- Are you right there, darIing? - WeII, don't wanna miss the sunset.
You might wanna see if the boys are in their pyjamas.
You might even try to get them in the car.
Boys!
Brrrrrm!
Honk! Honk!
Is it an automatic camera?
No. WeII, it's semiautomatic...
I'II get it in a second.
- A teacher. You gotta be a teacher! - Oh, come on!
Look, I'II give you three more guesses.
If you don't get it by then, maybe I'II teII you tomorrow.
A bank cIerk! I'II be buggered if you're not a bank cIerk.
Reagan went right out. I can't get bubby to settIe, though.
I don't know your names, but this is my wife Lindy.
- Hi. Is he pIaying games with you? - And I'm MichaeI.
- He's a terror when he's on hoIiday. - He can't be as bad as this one.
- Hi, I'm SaIIy Lowe. - Greg.
Hey, there's a dingo. Here, feIIa!
Don't encourage him, MichaeI. The signs say you shouIdn't.
I saw you today, going up the Rock with a baby in a backpack. Carrying a six-pack.
- I thought you were cracked. - It's thirsty work cIimbing.
- Can I have a Iook-see? - Yeah.
Greg, the worst thing for a thirst is aIcohoI.
You're joking! The worst thing for a thirst is sand.
HeIIo! HeIIo!
- Can't keep its bIankets on it. - She's so tiny! I thought she was bigger.
- (Lindy) What's your name? - That's ChanteI.
No!
ChanteI, MichaeI.
- That's this one's second name! - Yeah?
Yeah.
You don't happen to know what it means?
It's French for Gypsy Iead singer, I think.
I beIt into town ten times a day if I have to.
- I'm not gonna beIieve you're a farmer. - It was a beautifuI bike.
- What are you Iooking for, Aidan? - A mouse.
The hardest thing I ever did in my Iife was to seII it.
It's down here, sweetheart.
The cheeky buggers.
I had one foIIow me back from the rubbish bin before.
These are ready, honey.
I think this IittIe one's finaIIy conked out.
I'm gonna go and put her down. Bedtime!
Be right back.
- Wanna try one of these, Greg? - Mm, yeah. I've got some room Ieft.
Yeah.
Shit!
What kind of bIoody sausage is that?
- Vegetarian. - Christ!
Now I know what you are. You're Bugs bIoody Bunny, aren't you?
Jesus, feed the man meat, mate!
Oh, ace!
Dad, Dad! Give it this.
This is tops.
(howling)
But if I had the dough, I'd buy a BMW RT 1000. There's a beautifuI bike.
It'II do in excess of 255mph.
- BuIIshit! - Yeah.
In free faII.
- Get out! - (laughter)
(Lindy laughs)
Crikey! How's your kidneys?
Fair go. I haven't even started yet! Never trust a man who doesn't drink.
Can I tempt you, MichaeI?
Have you any idea what that stuff has done to your brain, Greg?
- Did she settIe? - That's Azaria crying, honey.
- That's bubby, Mummy. - Are you sure? She was fast asIeep.
(Greg) Are you trying to teII me there's something wrong with drinking beer?
Go on! Get out! There's a dingo in the tent.
Dingo's got the baby!
God. No, pIease, God.
The dingo's got my baby!
What?
(Michael) We're coming!
I can't see.
- Aidan, wait here. - I can't see.
MichaeI!
You can't see. It's too dark. You need a torch.
MichaeI, that way! You can't see!
You need a torch! Has anybody got a torch?
The dingo's got my baby!
(woman) What's going on?
(Lindy) PIease heIp me!
Get the poIice.
Have you got a torch? The dingo's taken my baby.
AII right. It's better if I go.
- Are you right? - Get the poIice. I can't get this started.
Don't you worry about it.
- Where's the baby? - The dingo's taken the baby. Up there!
- Has the dingo got your baby? - Yes.
The dingo can't have our bubby in its tummy, Mummy.
Jesus'II Iook after her. You stay by the tent.
I have to keep Iooking and you have to be there in case your brother wakes up.
I've gotta keep Iooking, darIing. You stay here.
- I need a torch! - Here, take mine.
- It's no good. There's no beam. - Here, Daddy.
What are you doin', mate? What are you? Lost?
- I've Iost my baby. - Had a bit to drink, mate!
Come on, boy. Come on. There's a good... Come on.
Come on. You can show me where your sIeeping bag is, darIing.
- Reagan's dead. - No, he's aII right.
He's dead. He's dead. He's dead.
No, Iook, see? He's just tuckered out. He's fine.
I'II just be sitting outside on this raiI here, aII right? Just outside, OK?
CarefuI not to step on any tracks, you bIokes.
Whatever we find, there's no joy for you. You know that, don't you?
I've seen what dogs do to Iambs, mate.
That one there!
You're the parents? How big was the chiId?
(shakily) Nine weeks. Nine to ten pounds.
- Did you doubIe-check inside the tent? - Of course.
- What was it wearing? - White jump suit. Everything white.
- It was wearing white. - White jump suit. White matinee jacket.
Stay cIose to the camp in case I need you, pIease.
ConstabIe!
We want our daughter returned to us, no matter what. We want her back.
Has anyone seen the head ranger?
Jesus Christ.
Torches on!
Group C, move down that way.
Group A, down that way. The rest of you foIIow me.
Spread out, pIease. Keep a straight Iine, arm's Iength.
The BibIe says at the Second Coming,
babies wiII be restored to their mothers' arms.
Mrs ChamberIain? I'm Bobby Downs. I'm the district nurse here.
- How Iong's the baby... - A IittIe over an hour.
(sobbing)
No, no, no. I'm gonna throw up.
Why aren't they searching just there?
It might have dropped it this cIose.
I... I couIdn't bear that.
If she died because we didn't Iook in the right pIace.
There.
The baby's finished. Finished, you know?
They've been out there for ages.
We shouId get you to a moteI.
No, we have to stay here for the poIice.
Besides, we don't have the money.
Oh, Iook!
Uh...
PeopIe!
FoIks!
It's my daughter you're Iooking for.
And, uh...
I want to thank you aII for what you're doing.
- I'm a minister of reIigion. - A bIoody parson! Jesus.
I know that nothing happens in the worId unIess God aIIows it.
And...
I know that there's IittIe hope any Ionger of...
finding our IittIe daughter aIive.
But I am thankfuI that...
we wiII see her again at the R...
at the Resurrection.
Let us pray.
Lord be with these wiIIing and kindIy peopIe
as they heIp Iook for our IittIe one tonight.
HeIp them Iook...
Mummy! Do I have to stay in here?
It's aII right now, Aidan.
It's Iike a morgue in that tent.
There's room for that over here.
Oh, that'II be aII right. I aIways keep it down there.
Is this an expensive moteI?
You don't have to worry. I've spoken to them.
You can stay as Iong as you need. There'II be no charge.
G'day. I've put you in room 34 at the end of the path.
There's your key.
We prayed for a daughter. He gave us a daughter.
Why wouId he take her away?
They shouId have warned us. The signs never said.
I'd have sIept them aII in the car if onIy I'd known. If onIy we'd known.
There has to be a reason. There's got to be a reason.
We sIept her in the tent. I zipped it up when I put Reagan down.
I shouId have zipped it up when I put her in, even if it was onIy for a minute.
What are we gonna teII our parents, MichaeI?
They never even saw Azaria.
- I'm freezing. - You can't be freezing. The heater's on.
- What are you doing? - Getting my sIeeping bag.
- You can't do that. It's got bIood on it. - Yours has. Mine hasn't.
I'm sorry, but I'm freezing.
Heating or not.
I'm so coId.
(sobbing) She was so IittIe.
(Aidan) Mummy!
Mummy!
I'm just praying that Jesus wiII keep the dingo's mouth shut,
Iike he did for DanieI in the Iions' den, and he won't Iet him eat our bubby.
Oh, darIing. She's so IittIe.
Jesus wouIdn't Iet her have any pain.
But our bubby had a IittIe coId, you know.
It's so freezing out there.
Daddy and I beIieve that bubby's dead, sweetheart.
And Jesus is going to Iook after her now, wherever she is.
TiII he comes to take us aII home to heaven.
And she'II be better because Jesus wiII make her better.
She won't have the hiccups any more.
No, that's right.
You try to sIeep now.
My God!
MichaeI, the poIice are here.
Sorry, Mrs ChamberIain. No news yet, I'm afraid.
WiII you be in Iater for me to bring round a notification of death for the coroner?
Oh, yes. Yes. Or in the office phoning our parents.
Thank you.
MichaeI, you'd better ring your president too.
Mummy, where's bubby?
(man) Just put in the name of the chiId.
Hi, Mrs ChamberIain. Thought you might Iike some heIp with the boys.
Oh, thanks.
I got some Lasix from the cIinic.
- Beg your pardon? - TabIets. HeIp dry up your miIk.
Oh, yes.
And, um... you'II be needing this breast pump most IikeIy.
Mr ChamberIain.
There are press caIIing. I had the ABC radio on the Iine.
They insist on taIking to you.
I don't know. What wouId you advise?
We were just about to eat.
We heard a cry out. My wife hurried back to the tent.
She saw a big yeIIow dog coming out of the tent. Over.
It was a dingo, MichaeI. Not a big yeIIow dog. A dingo.
Azaria ChanteI Loren. Over.
- What difference does it make? - It's not right.
(Michael) It had probabIy staIked the baby as we'd been there the second night.
Listen to this.
(Michael) To many this is called Ayers Rock,
but to us it will always be Azaria's Rock.
- Is that you, Mr ChamberIain? Over. - Speaking. Over.
I was wondering whether you couId take a few photographs to run with this story.
We can't get up there to cover this, unfortunateIy. There's just no way.
You do want peopIe to be warned about the dangers up there? Over.
He wants me to take some photographs for his newspaper.
You don't have to if you don't want to.
She'II never have a grave. Nothing to remember her by.
Boys. Just stand in front of the tent for me, wiII you?
Keep going, if you wouId. Thank you.
Mr ChamberIain, when you're ready.
We were very shocked, of course, but at that stage we stiII had some hope...
(feedback)
Can we just do that again?
That's OK. I've done some journaIism myseIf. I think I know what you mean.
(journalist) OK, right. RoIIing. And... go.
WeII, it was shocking, but we just heId out some IittIe hope.
But when we saw the spots of bIood on the tent,
we knew as we Iooked that this was a very quick event.
And this morning, when we saw the sharp, ripped, jagged marks
on that very thickIy-woven bIanket,
that this was a powerful beast with very sharp teeth.
lt was more than a domestic dog that did this.
OK, stop it there. It gets boring after this.
Now run this. I want to cut to her.
- That won't cut. - Yes, it wiII if you wait tiII after the pan,
and put his Iast Iine over to disguise the question.
I want some good sci-fi music to go over this to give it some atmosphere.
News is art, huh?
(TV) We knew that this was a powerful beast
- with very sharp teeth. - There's more to this than meets the eye.
- (TV) ..domestic dog that did this... - Did you hear that?
l just yelled. There wasn't time to go and tell people.
''Has anybody got a torch? The dingo's got my baby. ''
A dingo! They must think we come down in the Iast shower!
The parents, Michael and Lindy Chamberlain, Seventh Day Adventists,
say they've accepted the baby's death as the will of God.
They will leave Ayers Rock tomorrow for their Mount lsa home.
Christ.
They couId have picked somewhere eIse.
They bIame a dumb animaI who can't defend itseIf.
I can't beIieve how the dingo can have taken the baby and it's never been found.
Mrs ChamberIain? Inspector GiIroy and Sergeant LincoIn.
- I'm sorry, we have to interview you. - Yes, aII right. Come in.
It might heIp me to taIk about it.
I beIieve you've aIready given ConstabIe Morris some items for identification?
- What is it, darIing? - That's the dingo that took bubby.
- Where did the dingo take bubby? - The dingo took bubby shopping.
He Ioves shopping.
- It's never happened before. - Kids have been bitten.
(growling and barking)
Thinks he's bIoody Lassie.
That's ten pounds. That's what the baby weighed.
Have a go. A dingo couIdn't get haIfway up the hiII without taking a breather.
- How Iong couId you hoId that for? - That's right. FeeI the weight of it.
(arguing continues)
We've come to shoot the dogs, Nipper.
I'm sorry.
- OK? - Let 'em get used to the idea.
Huh! Look who's here.
Morning, Mrs ChamberIain.
We don't wanna shoot any dogs that we don't have to.
No, they're aII bitzers. Nothing Iike it.
I'm not taking another photograph.
We found more bIood on Aidan's parka.
No, we have enough bIood with the bIanket.
Good. It's the onIy warm coat he has.
WeII, you have a Iist of the pIaces we'II be.
Fine. You'II be advised of the date of the coroner's inquest.
- We shouId search that car. - They've had it bad enough.
After the mysterious disappearance of their daughter,
Mount lsa's Seventh Day Adventist pastor Michael Chamberlain and his wife Lindy
are expected to arrive home late today.
The Chamberlains were on a camping trip at Ayers Rock...
Oh, MichaeI.
''Consider yourseIves fortunate when aII kinds of triaIs come your way,
for you know that when your faith succeeds in facing such triaIs,
the resuIt is the abiIity to endure.''
''Make sure that your endurance carries you aII the way without faiIing
so that you may be perfect and compIete, Iacking nothing.''
''But if any of you Iacks wisdom, he shouId pray to God,
who wiII give it to him, because God gives generousIy and graciousIy to aII.''
''But when you pray...''
(animal calls)
Lindy, is this bIood?
Mm.
Don't Iet MichaeI see it, it'II upset him. Just put it over there.
They're not IocaIs.
- Yes, can I heIp you? - Mrs ChamberIain?
I'm from the Woman's Day. We rang you?
Oh, yes.
Can I just say how sorry I am?
I'm a mother myseIf.
PIease accept the condoIences of everyone at the Woman's Day.
Thank you.
Look, we'd Iike to teII Azaria's story, Mrs ChamberIain.
To make sure that this never happens again, to warn everyone.
We'd put her on the front page and show the worId what a beautifuI baby she was.
May we come in?
I'II take these back. No sense in wasting money.
No, I'II give it to Wendy for her bubby.
(Reagan chants) Where's my bubby?
Where's my bubby in the big, bIack dark?
Where's my bubby? Where's my bubby?
Where's my bubby in the big, bIack dark?
(Reagan continues chanting)
Don't worry. I'II put it back the way I found it.
Bloodstained clothes found at Ayers Rock
are believed to be those of Azaria Chamberlain,
allegedly dragged from her family tent by a dingo last week.
A tourist found the white jump suit, singlet, nappy and booties folded...
- FoIded? - ..in a cave, near a dingo lair.
Where's her matinee jacket?
Why weren't we toId about this?
However, the baby's father, Mr Michael Chamberlain,
seems convinced that his daughter was taken by a dingo.
(Michael) When we saw the spots of blood in the tent, we realised that this...
MichaeI, did you taIk to them?
No, they used... That's when we were at the Rock.
I'm in charge of the ChamberIain investigation now.
Oh. Darwin. PoIitics?
Been reading through your reports.
This doctor's rumours from Mount Isa. Did you check it out?
Yes, I have. They seem groundIess.
What about this stuff about ''sacrifice in the wiIderness'', the name?
- Azaria? - It's a pretty weird name, isn't it?
I heard it means sacrifice in the bIoody wiIderness.
What, do you reckon they took the kid up there to sacrifice it?
Yeah, they probabIy did.
- The kid was aIways dressed in bIack. - So was the mother.
She dressed it in bIack.
I heard a rumour that the kid was reaIIy cracked and she couIdn't handIe it.
He'd aIready faIIen out of the troIIey jeep. Now, if something was wrong with him...
- And they're Seventh Day Adventists. - They don't Iike abnormaI chiIdren.
TeII me what reaIIy happened to your IittIe sister. I won't teII anybody eIse...
Sergeant CharIwood, couId you identify the doctor that made those aIIegations?
No comment.
These are the sIides I forgot to pick up before we went to the... away.
Mum and Dad! Come and have a Iook.
(Lindy) Oh, yes. It's a new bike.
That's Reagan.
I didn't reaIise. I thought...
It must have been at the end of a roII.
I quite Iike that one.
It's when she stiII had her hair.
She was so beautifuI. I wish you'd...
I wish I'd seen her.
The Iast time I stood before you was aIso at the invitation of the ChamberIain famiIy.
That was a happier day.
We ceIebrated the birth of their IittIe daughter.
We weIcomed her into the heart of our church,
dedicating her Iife to God and asking for his bIessing and guidance in her Iife,
a Iife that has suddenIy, sadIy, ended.
A Iot of peopIe watching wouId ask why you're prepared to be interviewed.
Hey, darI, come and have a Iook at this.
Why are you making your grief so public?
Jesus, what a wanker.
(Michael) We believe that this experience has been needful for a lot of people,
if they can realise too that...
that there is a chance, that there is an opportunity
to be at peace, to be at rest, with the help of the Lord.
MichaeI's not in jaiI!
No! He's not!
He's at a church convention in TownsviIIe.
The poIice?!
They never!
Oh, that's a Ioad of Aussie buIIdust. They're pIaying games with you.
I don't bIame you being worried.
Yeah, righto, Peter. Thanks for caIIing.
Bye.
- Was that MichaeI's brother? - The rumours are in New ZeaIand aIready.
A Iie goes round the worId whiIe truth's stiII putting its boots on, sweetheart.
I'm gonna do something about it.
ChamberIain interview, take one.
TeII us about some of the rumours going around.
Yes. One story is that...
Yes. One story is that we're part of a bizarre cult,
that's part of the Jones massacre, South America, that we're part of that.
Another one that's come back is because we're placing the cairn at Ayers Rock...
Thanks, Mum.
..that this the other half of a bizarre murder ritual,
taking away the sins of the entire Seventh Day Adventist church.
This is a photo of Azaria's cIothing.
It shows bad bIood stains and a bad tear on the Ieft arm.
It wouId seem difficuIt for a dog to get the baby out of there.
Yes, well, if you've ever seen a dingo eat, there's no difficulty at all.
lf you've seen them eat the carcass of a cow, something like that,
they never eat the skin.
They use their feet like hands and pull back the skin as they go.
They just peel it like an orange.
lf you'll notice here, on the hands, for instance,
there is blood as well.
- Tough IittIe nut. - You couId crack waInuts on her face.
Don't you understand they're using you to seII their papers? PeopIe Iove this rubbish!
But they put us on the front page. We're aII over the teIevision. I won't have it!
- This has got to stop. - What they'd aIready written was worse.
I tried to correct them and give them the facts.
WiII you Iisten to me?
These peopIe aren't interested in facts.
I'm toId there's no trace of saIiva on the cIothes. None whatsoever.
What, none?
Our experiments teII us the cuts on the jump suit weren't made by dingoes' teeth.
Fine.
Jesus Christ!
The forensic bIokes reckon there's no way a dingo couId have kiIIed that kid.
Not by the state the cIothes were in.
I teII you, these bIoody ChamberIains!
They wouIdn't know the truth if it bit 'em on the arse.
HeIIo!
- Hi. Mrs ChamberIain? - Yes. Lindy.
Graham CharIwood. We spoke on the phone.
Now I can put a face to the voice. Come in.
- I see you're packing up. - We're moving back to AvondaIe CoIIege.
- My husband's study Ieave came through. - I'm gIad I dropped by.
- Gathering information for the inquest. - It's about time something was done.
The Northern Territory poIice have been hopeIess.
I'm from the Northern Territory poIice.
Oops.
- This is my husband MichaeI. - Graham CharIwood.
(woman) Feeling is high in Alice Springs
as the first sessions of the Azaria Chamberlain inquest start.
(man) Alice Springs is the focus of the nation's media.
- Do you stiII have faith in your reIigion? - Our faith has been strengthened by this.
Pastor, you beIieve Azaria's death was an act of God?
Mrs ChamberIain, is it true you feIt depressed after the birth of Azaria?
Was Azaria's death a punishment for traveIIing on your Sabbath?
Is it not the case that you wrote some sort of thesis on dingoes at coIIege?
(Lindy) It is not the case. That's a press invention.
That arose from the Woman's Day articIe.
I thought it came from a newspaper.
Was the Woman's Day articIe accurate?
No. It was the most inaccurate articIe of aII,
or at Ieast of the ones that I've read so far.
In fact there are onIy about five reporters who write exactIy what you say.
The rest of them use a IittIe bit of Iicence.
(murmuring)
Perhaps I couId read you something from Dr Brown's report.
''There were severaI smaII cuts in the baby bIankets,
but there was no evidence of tooth marks.''
WeII? Teeth cut, don't they?
A forensic dentist finds no evidence of tooth marks.
- Does that concern you? - Of course it concerns me.
But if he can't say what happened, how can he say what didn't happen?
So you're not prepared to accept his expertise in...
I'm not saying that. I'm saying what I'd Iike is a fuII answer, not a haIf answer.
I'd Iike to know more than anyone eIse...
what happened to my...
my baby daughter.
They're a native creature of this country, not a scapegoat!
Yeah? What about 'em? They're stiII a wiId animaI.
They're native to AustraIia! They're beautifuI.
If you teII me that that bitch is innocent and a dingo is guiIty,
I'II punch your fuckin' head in.
Choice! That's reaIIy IoveIy, Reg.
Hands up aII those that think she's guiIty.
Come on!
Now, Mr ChamberIain.
(Michael) Pastor!
Pastor.
If I couId ask about the hair coIouring of the baby
in the photograph you took of Mrs ChamberIain at Ayers Rock.
I'm sorry. WouId you repeat that, pIease?
If I couId ask about the hair coIouring of the baby in the photograph you took.
We seek a short adjournment, Your Worship.
We support the appIication, Your Worship.
Court is adjourned for five minutes.
Someone's threatened to kiII you. We think they're in the courthouse.
ln Alice Springs a death threat interrupted the Azaria Chamberlain inquiry.
Justice Barritt ordered 24-hour protection for the Chamberlains after a threat...
Justice Barritt will move the Azaria Chamberlain inquest to Ayers Rock,
to make an inspection of the Chamberlain campsite and the barbecue area.
Justice Barritt, how accurate a re-creation is this?
Mr ChamberIain, what were you cooking?
MichaeI! Where were you when you heard the baby cry?
I don't beIieve it.
WeII, that's it.
Why shouId I Iet them know how I feeI?
From now on, I'm gonna keep myseIf to myseIf.
Not gonna show them anything.
PeopIe can turn on you Iike a pack of hungry animaIs.
(knocking at doors)
What a racket! ProbabIy be a bomb.
- Don't be ridicuIous. - (knock at door)
- There's a bomb, is there? - You've been informed, have you?
No.
WeII, yeah. There's a bomb.
We'II have to go out by the pooI. When we open the door, the media goes nuts.
Waiting for a pyjama shot.
I toId you, MichaeI! (giggles)
To you, Pastor and Mrs ChamberIain, and through you, to Aidan and Reagan,
may I extend my deepest sympathy.
You've not onIy suffered the Ioss of your beIoved chiId in tragic circumstances,
but you've aII been subjected to months of innuendoes, suspicion
and some of the most maIicious gossip ever witnessed in this country.
I've taken the unusuaI step of permitting these proceedings to be teIevised today
in the hope that, by direct and accurate communication,
such innuendoes, suspicion and gossip may cease.
This case cIearIy emphasises that a choice has to be made
between dingoes on one hand, and tourism on the other.
Cheeky bastard. On nationaI teIevision!
l've had the occasion to criticise the work of the Northern Territory police...
- He doesn't know shit from cIay, this feIIa! - What's his reIigion?
..reporting of the sprayed blood stain on the exterior of the tent,
resuIted in this investigation being diverted in the wrong direction.
I'm satisfied that Dr Brown,
an acknowIedged expert on bite marks of humans,
used his best endeavours to Iearn what he couId
of what had been, untiI this case, an unknown fieId.
In the Iight of his straightforward admission,
that he had no experience in examining bite marks in cIothing,
it'd be dangerous to reIy on his evidence in that regard.
I doth find
Azaria ChanteI Loren ChamberIain, a chiId of nine weeks of age...
- I think they're both bIoody guiIty. - Shut up. Listen and Iearn something.
..met her death when attacked by a wild dingo,
whilst asleep in the family's tent at the top camping area, Ayers Rock.
l further find that neither the parents of the child,
nor either of their remaining chiIdren,
were in any degree responsibIe for this death.
(murmuring)
I find that the name ''Azaria'' does not mean and never has meant
''sacrifice in the wiIderness''.
I find that after her death, the body of Azaria
was taken from the possession of the dingo
and disposed of by an unknown method,
by a person or persons, name unknown.
Court is adjourned.
Sergeant CharIwood, are you upset by the coroner's decision?
Why do you think peopIe wouIdn't accept the dingo story?
Perhaps because this is the first in AustraIia.
MichaeI, what's accounted for your strength?
The Lord Jesus Christ is a very dear friend of ours, our saviour.
The peace of God has kept us from being very fooIish in our own Iives.
(groaning)
Ladies and gentIemen, we have something here that you may Iike to see.
This is a picture of Azaria as she reaIIy was,
to prove to the world that she, as you see, was the most beautiful baby.
Look what these poor prawns are doing now. Anything to get their heads on TV.
Oh, yes. He's the top in his fieId.
Professor Cameron.
Yes. London.
And he's very keen to examine the jump suit in particuIar.
ApparentIy I need permission from the minister to take it out of the country.
Oh, no. I'm going anyway, so there's no cost invoIved.
I'd Iike to weIcome, as the new semester begins,
aII the new students and their famiIies
who've come to Iive and study with us at AvondaIe.
I mention one famiIy in particuIar.
That of Pastor MichaeI and Lindy ChamberIain, for the fine exampIe they set
when the worId harshIy judged them and their church.
Lindy, MichaeI, you've become househoId names in the past six months.
- How's that affected your Iives? - We're managing.
Things are starting to settIe down. The boys are in their new schooI.
MichaeI's started his MA course. That'II take about a year.
Then we're off to America for his doctorate.
That wouId be a doctorate in theoIogy?
- Give us a break! - A doctorate in heaIth science.
So we'II have to caII you Dr ChamberIain, MichaeI.
I don't know about that, but...
I suppose so, but we're just a coupIe of ordinary AustraIians.
- What are your pIans, Lindy? - I've got a new house to get organised.
And I'm aIso starting my BacheIor of Education.
Rumours stiII persist about that tragic night at Ayers Rock.
We ignore them. The court put that straight.
These are the product of sick minds.
We seem to have our fair share of those,
in pIaces that you wouIdn't reaIIy expect to find them, too.
So, it's fuII steam ahead for the future?
- We hope so. - You bet.
I'II ask the questions. I'II do the noddies in-between. Is the tie straight?
Lindy, MichaeI, you've become househoId names in the Iast six months.
How's this affected your Iives?
Righto, Iet's run through it again.
Team two is going to MeIbourne, to the Whittackers, team three to the Habys.
Team four fIies to Western AustraIia, Esperance, to the Wests.
Team five to Hobart to the Lowes.
It's essentiaI that everybody be ready to make contact with our targets at 0800.
No sIip-ups. I want these witnesses hit coId.
I don't want one Iot ringing another Iot before we can question them.
- MichaeI? - Hi, HeIen. Lindy!
I've gotta go shopping. Can I dump this brute on you?
Anything to get out of mowing.
- HeIIo, Murray. - You be a good boy.
Let's go goo at the chooks, shaII we?
What are you Iooking for, sweetheart?
Nothing.
Are you sure?
Can I heIp you Iook for it?
What is it? Hey.
Did the dingo take our new bubby too, Mummy?
What? Murray?
- Hi. - Hi.
We need to see Murray, Auntie HeIen.
I've just put him down for the night.
We need to see if he's OK.
Oh!
See, darIing? There he is.
Back safe and sound with his own mummy and daddy.
(Michael) Lindy!
I'm in here.
These are for you, Iove.
WeII, it's the 1 7th...
and I thought a gesture was in order
to mark the anniversary of our unfortunate...
It took hours to find them.
She was so beautifuI...
and I wanted something beautifuI for you...
in her memory.
I get so angry and frustrated, you know?
Because...
I hardIy even knew her.
I hardIy even took any notice of her.
I hardIy knew Azaria.
Did you hear the one about the Irish dingo?
- It ate the tent! - (laughter)
OK. We got about 90 seconds, so just make it right.
Let's go.
OK, controI, this is units one and two. We're on the move. Out.
- Can I heIp you? - Mrs West?
Mrs Lowe?
Is this the Whittackers'?
G'day, Aidan. Your mum and dad home?
Uh, yeah. Come in and I'II get them.
Right, thanks.
G'day. How are you? Get you out of the bath, did we?
- What can we do for you? - A warrant was issued yesterday
to search your premises for certain property.
- Can I see that? - What's this in connection with?
There's fresh information. Forensic evidence.
What sort of evidence?
AII I can teII you is the chief minister's ordered a new investigation.
- FeeI free to get dressed. - Do you reaIise today's our Sabbath?
Excuse me. I expect the cupboards to be put back the way they were.
How Iong wiII you have our things this time?
- Rest assured compensation's avaiIabIe. - What about the damage Iast time?
- Boys, don't ruin Mummy's oven. - We received no compensation Iast time.
Can you teII me why things that weren't even at Ayers Rock are going?
I don't give a fuck about a freeway accident.
I've got a tip that the ChamberIain case has been reopened. I want that chopper.
- I dunno. There's some new evidence. - What new evidence?
The coppers won't teII you everything.
Hey, Jim. Have a Iook at this.
''Heber's wife took a naiI of the tent and took a hammer in her hand,
and went softIy unto him and smote the naiI into his tempIes.''
Is this the green tent?
No, that's a brown and orange tent. The green tent's under here.
- Sarge, got this? - Yeah, we'II take that.
There's another one up there.
Do you want this?
- Is the car avaiIabIe, Mr ChamberIain? - It's being fixed at the Iake.
I'II take you there myseIf. You'd never find it.
Jesus Christ!
What's this?
Oh, yes. That's for pubIic-heaIth Iectures. To scare smokers, you know?
Why have you stiII got it?
Christ knows how they fitted aII this in one car.
Is this your camera bag?
Yeah, but it's not the one I had at the Rock.
I'II get it for you.
MichaeI. The switchboard's jammed with caIIs from the press. What's happening?
- It seems they've reopened the inquiries... - (helicopter overhead)
How come the press know so soon?
- I don't taIk to the press. - This is shocking for aII of us.
New evidence has come to hand on the disappearance of Azaria ChamberIain.
PoIice wiII review aII evidence and investigations wiII begin anew.
Sir, does this mean you're anticipating a second inquest?
No comment.
My mate in Darwin knows the sister of the brother-in-Iaw of the copper on this case.
They reckon she's covering up for her kid. That's why they can't break her.
WouId you Iike to trot that past me again?
I understand they found a white baby coffin in the house, with a BibIe passage...
- For goodness' sake, give it a bIoody rest. - Let me teII you what it was about.
I've never asked you this before, but did you kiII your baby?
If I answered, I'd be giving you an interview,
and my Iawyer has advised me not speak to you aIone.
I'd deny the conversation ever took pIace.
Come on, it's just between you and me.
- Did you kiII your baby? - Oh, come on!
If I'd done it, why invent such an unbeIievabIe story about a dingo?
Don't seII yourseIf short.
You're crediting me with the perfect murder.
Don't seII yourseIf short!
The baby's cIothes are being examined by Professor Cameron in London.
Oh, I didn't know there were any dingo experts in London.
He's a worId-cIass forensic scientist. He found a hand print on the jump suit.
It was made when it was wet with bIood.
It's a smaII, femaIe hand.
Then I'm back in the hot seat, aren't I?
What eIse was in this report?
The baby was decapitated.
Professor Cameron, the leading forensic pathologist,
tended ultraviolet photographs, revealing baby Azaria
was held by a human hand while she was still bleeding.
This evidence appears to be supported by the discovery of an arterial spray
on the under-dash of the Chamberlains' car,
consistent with the spray from an artery of a cut throat.
The second inquest into the disappearance of Azaria Chamberlain
reached a sensational conclusion today.
Lindy Chamberlain was committed for trial today,
charged with the murder of her ten-week-old daughter Azaria.
Her husband Michael was charged as an accessory after the fact.
How can they?
(Michael) How can they, the bastards?!
I'm sorry. That's the onIy word for them - bastards!
Don't they know how much we Ioved her?!
I don't know what God wants any more.
You know?
How couId he take her? I thought I knew the answer but I don't.
I don't!
We're frightened, Lord, and we're tired.
We know we're on show
and we ask you for heIp...
to Iet us find the strength to swaIIow the anger and the hurt...
and to find the courage...
to face the future.
Amen.
MichaeI, are we gonna do Iike we pIanned?
Try and have another baby?
I worked it out...
and it's now or never.
Because if I go to jaiI, I'II never have another chance.
And if I don't, why shouId they run our Iives?
It's time, darIing.
If we start now, I won't be showing at the triaI.
And when it's aII over, no one need ever have known.
The boys are praying for a IittIe baby sister.
- So am I. - Prayer.
What good is prayer? The onIy thing God's good for right now
is stopping me from cutting my throat, because that's what I feeI Iike doing.
HeII can't be worse than this.
My Iife is finished!
How can I be a pastor any more?
Who'd Iisten to someone who was supposed to have heIped kiII a chiId?
I don't know what to do.
I don't know where to start.
Is there any reason why there'd be a quantity of bIood in your car?
WeII, the kids have had cuts and bumps in the car.
And nosebIeeds.
Azaria vomited once or twice, if that means anything.
And we're trained first-aiders. We've attended some bad road accidents.
MichaeI, what was the name of that bIoke we picked up in Cairns?
- MichaeI? - What difference does it make?
- WeII, he bIed Iike a stuck pig. - Is there any hope of finding him?
I don't know his name. I don't know where he Iives.
Cairns is a big town, and it was 18 months ago.
Besides, it doesn't expIain the bIood under the dashboard.
I'II be back in a minute.
Cockatoos are white, red, and... They can be aII kinds of coIours.
Why won't Daddy waIk with us?
- Cos he's cracked. - He's what?
He's concerned for our safety. He's waIking ahead in case someone's there.
I think he's cracked.
You're right. It's the same modeI as mine.
Have a Iook at what Webber found under the dash.
I don't beIieve this. This is identicaI.
I reckon there's a reaI possibiIity here.
- Can I photograph this? - You can cut it out if you want to.
It's incredibIe. They must be cracked! Nobody's gonna beIieve that Iine of buII.
Let me get this straight. In ten minutes,
I'm supposed to have taken the baby back to the tent, put her down,
put on my tracksuit pants, right?
Carted her off to the car,
cut her throat, cut her head off with the naiI scissors,
stuffed her body in the camera bag - have you seen the size of that?
And I hurry up and cIean up the bIood out the car, then pick up a can of baked beans
because Aidan, who's been here aII the time, watching, I suppose, is stiII hungry.
So I take him back to the tent and take off my tracksuit pants
and sprinkIe bIood - my own baby's bIood - round the tent, and on Reagan.
And then...
When do I make the IittIe dingo tracks round the tent? Round then, I suppose.
Then we have a happy race back to the barbecue, as if nothing had happened.
It sounds preposterous but that is the Crown's case.
Look what I found.
It's exactIy the same as the spray under our dashboard.
Good on you, mate.
- That's the good news today. - What's the matter?
- They reset the triaI for September. - September?
I'II be seven months pregnant. I'II Iook Iike Humpty Dumpty.
They can't do that. The press'II sIaughter us!
They shouId go back to GIenis, bIess her souI.
Oh, wait a minute.
I might be abIe to Iet this out just enough.
Let's see this. Mm, yes.
MichaeI! Any Iast-minute requests?
This is your Iast chance.
Boys.
Come on in, then! HeIp me cIose up these suitcases.
Come on. Hop up here. Come on.
Just bung you on here. Squash it down.
That's it.
Speculation here in Darwin is whether the most publicised pregnancy this decade...
(Michael) Lindy and I are most gratefuI for your offering to put us up, Pastor.
We thought you'd be better off here, away from the craziness,
where we can keep an eye on you, as it were.
Here we are. It's not the HiIton, but under the circumstances...
He can't mean us to Iive in a garden shed.
The shower and toiIet's down the path, under the house.
The media'II Iove this. They'II know every time I go to the Ioo. This is impossibIe.
I think we may be more comfortabIe where we booked.
I took the Iiberty of canceIIing that. It'II be gone by now. There's not a bed in town.
Thanks to us.
Look at that face! It'd turn miIk sour.
Burn the bitch!
The Chamberlains arrived at Darwin court today for the first day of their trial
for the murder of their baby daughter Azaria.
Lindy was wearing a pink and white frock with white accessories.
Women are trying to work out when the baby is due, and also the zodiac.
My guess is Scorpio.
(audience shouts out suggestions)
Your job in this case is to administer justice according to Iaw.
Not according to rumour, not according to preconceived notions of.
You wiII hear much of this, Iadies and gentIemen,
for the simpIe reason that possibIy the pubIicity concerning this matter
has been without precedent in our Iifetime.
You see in this court a coupIe of cameras.
I don't want you to feeI that you're being directIy teIecast to AustraIia.
That is not so. They were put in for the convenience of the press.
(cheering)
OK, who wants to be in it? Tickets are a doIIar apiece.
The one who gets the birthday gets the Iot.
Was there anything in Mrs ChamberIain's demeanour on her return to the barbecue
that indicated anything abnormaI had happened?
No. She seemed soIeIy concerned with feeding Aidan more food.
Was she covered in bIood?
(Sally) No.
As to the baby's cry, did that cry appear to you to be cut off?
Going from experience with other babies, yes.
lt was a relatively uneventful day
as eyewitnesses to that tragic night at Ayers Rock gave evidence.
The witnesses from across Australia
shed little light on the events that led up to the disappearance of baby Azaria.
Everyone that was there were her friends, her witnesses.
- They were aII Adventists. - They didn't know each other!
- It was a rituaI kiIIing! - They pIanned it aII, did they?
The buckIe gave me very strongIy positive reactions for bIood.
What about the spray pattern?
The pattern under the dash
gave me a very positive reaction for foetaI haemogIobin.
Correct me if I'm wrong, Mrs KuhI, but you've got 22 positive reactions
for the presence of foetaI bIood... um, haemogIobin, from these tests.
That is correct.
Did the tests Iead you to an opinion
of the person whose bIood you found and the age of that person?
They did.
It was consistent with the bIood having come from a baby under three months.
(murmuring)
You bitch!
What about when you took the jury to view the car?
She was behind me, staring. I couId feeI her burning hoIes through my back.
She just stares! She's a witch, you know.
I can't stand the way she fIutters her eyes at the jury. Makes me want to vomit.
I reckon she's got something going with that copper, too.
Mm-hm! Active IittIe monkey tonight!
- Come have a feeI. - Not just now, my dear.
And what about the outfit? PoIka dot.
PracticaIIy the same as mine. Not to mention the hairdo.
It's easy enough to disIike the woman without her adding insuIt to injury.
That is a demonstration photograph of an Ouchterlony plate.
- What the fuck does that mean? - Buggered if I know.
It's the what?
You can get a positive reaction to miIk.
It's not the same type of reaction as bIood, but you do get one. Can.
- Vomit? - Due to the traces of bIood in it, yes.
- SaIiva? - No.
- Never? - Not that I have seen.
- NasaI secretions? - There is often bIood in those secretions.
- The answer is yes? - Yes.
If bIood was in saIiva, the answer wouId be yes?
Yes.
- Rust? - Sometimes. Sometimes not.
You can get a positive reaction to rust?
Sometimes, with some rusts. Yes.
Is it a fact that after four days' screening,
you cannot prove the presence of bIood in the compartments
or the base of the ChamberIain camera bag?
No. My report states that.
What about the reaI thing? The actuaI OuchterIony pIates at end of your tests?
- Do you produce those? - No.
- They're in Sydney, are they? - No.
- Where are they? - They have been destroyed.
- AII of them? - Yes.
- Whose decision was that? - It's standard procedure in our Iaboratory.
Professor Chaikin, you examined the tufts from the camera bag
to see whether they couId have come from the jump suit.
I did, yes.
I wouId, if you don't mind, Your Honour, demonstrate it by cutting it.
(laughter)
The mighty Chaikin!
- Get off! - And now, for my next trick...
And you cut it. Some tufts faII off.
And you can shake some off.
Are you abIe to express an opinion as to whether a dingo's teeth made those cuts?
I wouId say no.
These are Lindy ChamberIain's scissors.
Are these the scissors you first used in your cutting tests?
Yes.
- And? - They came apart.
The scissors you used for the tests, are they Iarger than the ChamberIains'?
Yes.
- So far more efficient for your purposes? - Yes.
I concede that the ChamberIain scissors, as I received them,
couId not cut jump suit materiaI.
- They're trying to bIame a dingo? - Have you seen a dingo using scissors?
Not reaIIy.
- Lindy Chamberlain showed no emotion. - There's Mum and Dad!
Can we ring 'em?
Maybe tomorrow, eh?
We have to turn the air conditioning off. I'm coId.
- You can't possibIy be coId. - I'm freezing.
Then put a bIanket on yourseIf.
- I'd rather have the air conditioning off. - Leave it. I'm roasting!
You seem to forget I've got a IittIe furnace bIazing away in here.
If you want my company, then put a bIanket on.
The Iast thing I want now is to put a bIanket over me.
- Go in the other room then. - AII right, I wiII.
We shouId have got that zip fixed so it was safe.
Love, it wouIdn't have made any difference.
We shouId have got it fixed and seen to it that it was zipped up.
What about the dingo they toId us about that cIawed its way into the tent for food?
We shouId have zipped up the tent!
You mean I shouId have zipped it up. Isn't that what you mean? Say it!
Say it! Have the guts for once to say it!
- GirIs, did you make your T-shirts? - Yes, we did.
Can you imagine a situation where the dingo was abIe to attack the chiId,
pick it up and carry it by the face?
No. Dogs usuaIIy go for the back of the neck or the shouIder.
Now, in this case, having regard for the condition of the jump suit,
can you see the chiId being grabbed by a dog by the back of her neck?
Not from examination of the coIIar of the jump suit, no.
WouId you have a Iook at this photograph, pIease, Mr Simms?
Do you concede, having seen the photograph,
that a dog couId easiIy encompass the head
of a chiId of Azaria's size in its jaws?
WeII, if that doII's head is not being forced into the dog's jaws,
I wouId accept that.
(murmuring in gallery)
Mr Harris, what is the purpose of a dingo gripping the head of the prey?
The purpose is to immobiIise the prey immediateIy,
and preferabIy kiII it at the same time.
There'd be very IittIe bIood because the heart wouId stop pumping.
I have documented a dingo running with a 20Ib baby kangaroo in its mouth
over a distance of some 200 yards.
We've heard evidence a dingo in the famiIy tent was seen to shake its head.
That's quite consistent. The shake's obviousIy intended...
to break the neck.
You are now to be shown videotape of an experiment performed at an AdeIaide zoo.
WhiIe you're Iooking at this tape, recaII the evidence of Mr Simms
where he concurred, because of this experiment,
a dingo couId take out a baby goat from a suit
whiIe undoing onIy the two top buttons.
And is therefore reasonabIe to assume
that a dingo eating a baby human being out of its suit...
is quite within the bounds of probabiIity.
How's our side doing?
WeII, we figure we're up against about four not-guiItys and four don't-knows.
- The women are the big probIem. - Remind them where they Iive.
Professor Cameron, in your view is there any evidence on those articIes of cIothing
which suggests the chiId was kiIIed by a dingo?
I saw no evidence on these garments to suggest
a member of the canine famiIy was invoIved.
In your opinion, is there any evidence suggesting the chiId was not kiIIed
by a member of the canine famiIy?
There is evidence to suggest there was an incised wound around the neck.
In other words, a cut throat.
(public gasps)
This photograph was taken using uItravioIet Iight.
You can see the pattern of bIoodied fingers.
And here, what may be a thumb. It's the impression of a hand of a smaII aduIt.
- That's a thumb? - If that's a hand, I'm a virgin.
WouId you aIign your finger aIong the mark that impressed Professor Cameron?
I object to that. The hand is fIat.
Noted.
How many smudges do you see?
One, two, three, four.
WouId you hoId your finger up, pIease?
One, two, three.
We're gonna take some of the wind out of Professor Cameron's saiIs tomorrow.
- We're gonna bring up the Confait case. - What's that?
This bIoke Confait was murdered in EngIand.
Three boys were sent to prison for Iife, based on Professor Cameron's evidence.
Three years Iater, the evidence was totaIIy discredited and the boys were freed.
Turns out they'd been nowhere near the pIace at the time of death.
The media are gonna be pIeased. I gotta go to the Ioo again.
Decoy time.
- Here she comes! - It's not her.
Professor Cameron, when you gave evidence in the Confait case,
you weren't armed with the correct knowIedge of the circumstances.
I agree entireIy.
I want to suggest you have done the same thing in this case.
I shouId Iike to show the professor photograph 10B.
WouId you caII that a neat bundIe?
No.
Did you swear ''I reIy entireIy on Dr Scott's evidence
that there was no saIiva present on the jump suit?''
Correct.
Yet Dr Scott states ''There is no guarantee there is no saIiva eIsewhere.''
There was no saIiva present on the sampIes.
He said ''There is no guarantee there is no saIiva eIsewhere.''
I wouId accept that.
ln court, John Phillips QC told how evidence
presented by Professor Cameron in a London murder trial was discredited.
That's siIIy, sweetheart. Gran Ioves you.
- She won't Iet me pIay outside. - She's just doing what Mummy toId her.
It's too dangerous for you to pIay outside now.
Because we're in the papers so much and on the teIIy.
SiIIy peopIe get siIIy ideas in their head.
We wouIdn't want one of them to come and get you, wouId we?
Yeah, won't be much Ionger now, sweetheart.
(laughs)
I've been Iooking at reactions given by the different antisera
against the bIood sampIes taken from the car.
I think the court is famiIiar from the past
that the antiserum known as antihaemogIobin
has in it antibodies that react with both the aIpha and beta moIecuIar chains
which are found in haemogIobins.
For exampIe, a sampIe couId have been obtained from the baby's cIothing.
Such a modeI wouId have made a perfect controI to see if your serum was working.
Jesus, how many more days of this?
The triaI faces five days of forensic evidence that even experts can't agree on.
How is a jury supposed to make concIusions from this evidence?
We couId dispense with the jury.
OrthotoIuidine tests, OuchterIony pIates and eIectrophoresis?
Give you ten bucks if you can get haptogIobin into a headIine.
We shouId be asking why none of the AboriginaI trackers
used in the search for baby Azaria
have been caIIed to give evidence at this triaI.
You can't believe those bludgers. They're always drunk.
MichaeI.
MichaeI. You must get up.
I don't know what I'm going to say.
Just teII them the truth, sweetheart.
Keep caIm. Don't Iet them rattIe you.
And Iisten carefuIIy.
Is that the truth? That your wife toId you she saw a dingo coming out of the tent,
she thought it had Azeria... sorry, Azaria.
And you didn't ever ask her why she thought it had Azaria?
The tent was empty.
I'm sorry. CouId you speak up?
The tent was empty, Mr Barker.
She'd seen the dingo and the baby was gone.
Did you not ask her did she see the baby being carried by the dingo?
I don't recaII asking her that. I couId have asked her.
You teII us you don't remember?
I don't remember asking that question.
Do you remember if she toId you if she saw the dingo carrying the baby?
She never toId me she saw the dingo carrying the baby in its mouth.
Pardon?
She never toId me she saw the dingo carrying the baby in its mouth.
In her mouth.
In its mouth.
Did she ever teII you she didn't see the baby in the dingo's mouth?
- You'II have to repeat that question. - Did she ever teII you
she didn't see the baby in the dingo's mouth?
Perhaps Mr Barker means not what you've heard her say...
She did... She did... She did...
- I'm sorry. - That's aII right if you don't understand.
I'm not...
I'm aware of...
I think what you're trying to ask me...
I'II ask Mr Barker to put the question again?
Yes, pIease.
WouId you put it again, pIease, Mr Barker?
Did she ever teII you she did not see the baby in the dingo's mouth?
I can't answer that question specificaIIy.
Did she ever teII you she saw nothing in the dingo's mouth?
She toId me the baby...
She toId me the dingo appeared to have nothing in its mouth.
I think.
When did she teII you that?
I can't say.
I don't know.
Get your face straight before MichaeI comes in.
He needs aII the heIp he can get.
WeII?
- How did I go? I want the truth. - You're doing fine.
You had Barker working hard, sweetheart.
Jesus, mate, you're a bIoody bad witness.
If you'd been under the hammer for hours and hours, you wouIdn't be in a fit state.
He couIdn't answer the question because he was a mess.
If he makes ChamberIain Iook so emotionaIIy incompetent,
there's no way anyone wiII beIieve he couId keep up such a fantastic story.
The cIothing your chiId Azaria was wearing,
couId we have the exhibits, pIease? The jump suit?
- How are you feeIing? AII right? - Yes, thank you, Your Honour.
Let me know if you're not.
Perhaps I can approach this in a different way, Your Honour?
Without opening any of those articIes,
can you confirm they were the cIothing your chiId was wearing?
Yes.
Right, put the cIothing back.
PIease state what other articIe Azaria was wearing.
She had a white knitted marquee matinee jacket
with a paIe Iemon edging.
What approximate age was this matinee jacket Azaria was wearing?
It had been given to me by a friend who'd used it on two chiIdren before me.
Some of the jury are upset now.
We'II take a short break. The court wiII rise for ten minutes.
- The jury were upset. That's good. - If it was for Lindy.
If it was for the baby, it's not so good.
CouId be bad.
I can't Iet that out any more.
BIowed if I know what I can wear tomorrow.
I've never seen you quite so Iarge. Maybe if you cut down on the eating just a IittIe...
You mean ''quite so fat'', don't you, MichaeI?
You hate fat, right? I've never been quite this fat, have I?
I'm twice my normaI pregnancy weight. I wonder why.
You can't stand to Iook at me.
You're so afraid I'II never get thin again, the way you Iike it.
You threatened once to Ieave me if I got fat.
WeII, darIing, if Mr Barker has his way,
the decision may be right out of your hands.
How are you bearing up, Lindy?
How are you bearing up, MichaeI?
Did you teII ConstabIe Morris about the matinee jacket?
I did mention it.
He was on the move.
You heard him say that you said nothing about a matinee jacket.
It's quite possibIe he was...
too far away to hear.
What's so important about this matinee jacket?
It expIains the Iack of saIiva on the jump suit, Mary.
You're missing the point. If he can prove she's Iying about the matinee jacket,
she couId be Iying about the rest. If she's Iying, she's guiIty.
There's none on the jump suit,
so she's saying that the jacket is missing cos it had the saIiva on it.
You toId us yesterday, Mrs ChamberIain,
that when you saw the dingo shaking its head,
it was haIfway through the fIy screen.
It was on the move, through the fIy screen.
Do you know there was no bIood found on the fIy screen?
I presume there hasn't been cos it hasn't been mentioned.
Do you say this dog had its head haIf through the fIy screen,
shaking a bIeeding baby?
As I said again and again yesterday,
it was emerging through the fIy screen.
Shaking its head vigorousIy?
I couIdn't teII you now whether it was shaking its head
as it was going through or before it was through.
Its obvious movement was shaking the fIy screen at some stage.
It was a matter of from the time I first saw it to when it was in the back of the tent.
It was a matter of a few seconds. Very, very fast.
And moving.
What it had in its mouth, we now know, according to you, was a bIeeding baby?
WeII, that's my opinion.
Pardon?
That is my opinion.
- Is there any doubt about it? - Not in my mind.
Is it mereIy your opinion or something you know is a fact?
Something my heart teIIs me is a fact.
Other peopIe don't think so.
- Did the cIean fIy screen surprise you? - No. There was some on the poIe.
It doesn't reaIIy surprise me that there was none there.
It wouId depend on the angIe of the animaI or which angIe the wounds were.
Mrs ChamberIain, you say this chiId was in the mouth of a dingo
which was vigorousIy shaking its head at the entrance to the tent.
That is what you firmIy beIieve. Is that right?
That's right.
The dog having taken Azeria from the bassinet.
- (whispers) Azaria. - (judge) Take it steady, Mrs ChamberIain.
You saw bIood on the parka?
Yes.
- WouId you Iike a speII? - I'd prefer to go on with it, Your Honour.
I don't want you to answer when you feeI distressed. WouId you Iike a break?
I'd prefer to go on. It's been going on for two years and I'd Iike to get it over with.
You say the bIood on the parka must have come from the baby.
Yes.
When it was in the dog's mouth?
Somewhere around that time.
- What other time couId it have come... - Look, Mr Barker, I wasn't there.
I can onIy go on the evidence of my own eyes.
We're taIking about my baby daughter.
Not some object!
I know it's difficuIt, but you must hoId your temper.
- You sound too harsh, too angry. - I am angry.
It's not going over weII with the jury. Try and be more demure.
I am the way I am and the jury wiII have to get used to it.
Mrs ChamberIain, when this case is over, I wiII get the heII out of here.
You couId stay here for a fucking Iong time.
- Don't taIk to my wife Iike that. - I'm toId ''Don't taIk Iike you usuaIIy taIk''.
''Watch how you hoId your mouth, you Iook too sour.''
''Don't get angry. Don't ask too many questions.''
''And never Iaugh or you're an uncaring bitch.''
I can't cry to order and I won't be squashed into a dumb act for the pubIic.
Or for you.
Is it not the case that your husband decIined to search on that Sunday night
because he knew the baby was dead?
- And he knew you had kiIIed her. - DefiniteIy not.
You invented the story of the dingo removing the baby from the tent.
I did not invent that story, Mr Barker.
It's the truth.
The prosecutor put many questions to Mrs ChamberIain when she was in the stand.
But there was one aIIegation, a most important aIIegation, that was never put.
It was the aIIegation that wouId have started with the words:
''Mrs ChamberIain, the reason you cut your chiId's throat was...''
The most important aIIegation.
And it was never put.
It was never put because Mr Barker,
one of the best men in the business,
just cannot think of any reason why she wouId do it.
No doubt the ordinary crocodiIe wouId have gone out of its way to eat this baby.
But our experience as AustraIians teIIs us the dingo does not bear such a reputation.
Now, what is this dingo supposed to have done?
It managed, if her story is true, to kiII the baby in the bassinet,
drag it from the basket, shake her head vigorousIy at the entrance to the tent,
then carry her off in such a way that Ieft virtuaIIy no cIues in the tent
in the way of bIood or hairs or anything eIse.
It Ieft no bIood or drag marks at the entrance to the tent.
It was abIe to pass by the chiId's mother, in fuII view,
without discIosing or reveaIing it was carrying a baby.
It managed to kiII the chiId, with the jump suit aII buttoned up.
If you accept Professor Cameron, it buried the body, having undone one top button.
So, aII in aII, Iadies and gentIemen,
it was not onIy a dextrous dingo, it was a very tidy dingo.
(laughter)
There is some common ground between Mr PhiIIips and the prosecution.
That is that this is a case of simpIe aIternatives.
Either a dingo kiIIed that chiId
or she was murdered.
A dingo or murder.
Mr Barker shifted the onus of proof from the prosecution to the defence
by shifting the emphasis from the aImost incomprehensibIe forensic evidence,
cIaiming it was a case of simpIe aIternatives.
He aIso cIaimed the matinee jacket was a fabrication by Lindy ChamberIain.
Mate, that Barker bIoke's as cunning as a shithouse rat.
Beauty, eh?
2:1 against for a hung jury.
Shh!
If ever there was a time when dingoes were a probIem at Ayers Rock,
it was in August 1 980.
I ask you, and you'II bear this in mind,
if your wife had murdered your chiId in that car,
what wouId you have done over the ensuing months?
WouId you stiII have the car? WouId it have been thoroughIy scrubbed?
WouId the scissors stiII be Ieft in the car? Matters such as that.
If Mrs Lowe heard that cry,
you may think the onIy inference you can draw is that it was Azaria's Iast cry.
That Azaria was stiII Iiving.
She was not and couId not have been Iying dead in the car.
I don't Iike the way the jury went out. They wouIdn't Iook at me.
- The judge summed up in our favour. - He aImost instructed for an acquittaI.
We're home and hosed, mate.
Do you beIieve a dingo wouId take a baby? Yes or no?
- No. - What did Mr Harris say about it?
Anyone for a cup of tea?
- Can we sort out the bIood thing first? - Forget it. None of us understands it.
The best thing for us is if she's found guiIty!
You're a bastard, Mark!
Why are they taking so Iong?
MichaeI.
If I go in...
(whispers) ..I think we shouId get a divorce.
Nonsense. I won't dignify that by discussing it.
- You couIdn't handIe things on your own. - Rubbish.
Mr Foreman, if you'll be good enough to stand.
Mr Foreman, ladies and gentlemen of the jury,
are you unanimously agreed upon your verdict?
We are.
Do you find the accused, AIice Lynne ChamberIain,
guiIty or not guiIty of murder?
GuiIty.
- Is that the verdict of you aII? - Yes.
Bastards!
Thank you, Mr Foreman. You may sit down.
AIice Lynne ChamberIain, you have been found guiIty of murder.
There is onIy one sentence I can pass on you,
that you be imprisoned, with hard Iabour, for Iife.
- GuiIty! - (whistling and cheering)
- What's Iife in this town? - For ever.
Watch him, he's going to faII.
- Do you beIieve I'm innocent? Do you? - Yes, MichaeI. I do.
- Then how can they do this to us? - They don't know you.
The prison car has arrived.
Mrs ChamberIain.
This is ridicuIous.
It's ridicuIous.
I Iove you.
I can't be without you.
You're gonna have to now, Iove. And the boys need you.
The dingo was innocent!
ln a sensational conclusion to the most talked-about case
in Australian legal history,
Alice Lynne Chamberlain was today found guilty
of the murder of her daughter Azaria,
and sentenced to life imprisonment with hard labour.
Her husband Michael was found guilty of being an accessory to the murder.
Sentencing for Mr Chamberlain was postponed
until court resumes tomorrow am.
Gran, what's going on?
Chief Justice Muirhead sentenced Michael Chamberlain to 1 8 months in prison
after he'd been found guilty of being an accessory to murder.
The judge suspended Michael's 1 8-month sentence
in, he said, the interests of the motherless boys.
Placing Mr Chamberlain on a three-year bond...
What about the fuckin' mother? Kids need their mothers.
Daddy! Daddy!
The government has again refused Lindy Chamberlain's appeal
to keep her baby with her after the birth in Berrimah prison
where she is serving a life sentence for the murder of her daughter Azaria.
That's it. One more push.
One more. Good. Good.
Good girI.
- (nurse) It's a girI. - Good girI.
It's a girI.
- It's a girI. - Can we get a picture?
Here we go, Mrs ChamberIain. She's yours to hoId for one hour.
That's aII, I'm afraid.
You have to put your hand under her neck, Iike this.
AII right, mate. I know.
Reagan. Bring us a toweI, there's a boy.
Come on, mate. I'm not very good at this.
Lindy and Michael Chamberlain lost their high court appeal today
on a vote of three to two,
ending over two years of legal and political battles.
(Michael) l am bitterly disappointed at the decision that's been made today.
l'd like to affirm that Lindy and l are innocent people,
and that we will not stop fighting until our names are clear.
l'd like to thank those members of the public...
Jeez, taIk about fIogging a dead horse.
Finally, this case isn't over...
Mummy! Mummy!
- There she is! - Mummy!
- There's your mummy. - There's Mummy.
Wave to Mummy. Let Mummy have a Iook at you.
(Aidan) KahIia, there's Mummy!
- There's Mummy. - Mamma.
That's your mummy.
Why do you believe there is such a surge of support for the Chamberlains,
despite the constant legal affirmation of their guilt?
Legal processes have prevented the previous submission
of much of the evidence we now present.
For example, it proves that the reagent used
to detect the presence of foetal blood, in the car and on the bag,
was not suitable for the purpose.
That's supported in writing by the West German manufacturers of the reagent.
As for the spray pattern found under the dashboard, the ''arterial spray'',
we've discovered the same pattern in 1 1 other similar model Toranas.
The substance isn't blood.
lt's believed to be sound-deadeners applied in manufacture.
As regards the dingoes, further examination has shown...
The arteriaI spray was the same spray they had on 1 1 other modeIs!
Stop! We're not having another dinner party ruined by those peopIe.
I don't care what new evidence you've got. She's guiIty.
He must have faIIen from up there.
Stupid bastard, trying to cIimb that side.
Jeez, the dingoes have had a go.
Hey, Iook!
Five and a half years after the disappearance of Azaria Chamberlain,
- police have found what is believed... - Lindy, come and Iook.
The jacket was found during a search of the area
where the body of a fallen climber was discovered by a tourist.
The body was found 1 50 metres from the spot
where Azaria's jump suit was found in 1 980.
From Ayers Rock, police have found an article of clothing
which may be connected with the Azaria Chamberlain case.
There is a possibility it is the matinee jacket
Lindy claimed Azaria was wearing on the night of her death over five years ago.
The find is considered by the Chamberlains' attorney to be significant.
The absence of the matinee jacket was crucial in Lindy's conviction.
The situation with the jacket is that tests wiII be carried out in MeIbourne,
to determine if it is the same jacket
Mrs ChamberIain cIaimed her daughter was wearing.
Why has Mrs ChamberIain been reIeased before any tests have been conducted?
The jacket's discovery has no bearing on my decision to reIease Mrs ChamberIain.
- What is your decision based on? - It has been on compassionate grounds.
Here she comes! Here she comes!
Oh, Iook. We're here.
Oh, MichaeI, Iook at the ribbons!
Mum!
Mum! WeIcome home, Mum.
Are you reaIIy here for good, Mum?
For good and ever, Iove.
For good and ever.
(applause)
Thank you.
Oh, Iook at this!
Oh, how beautifuI!
Look at the fIowers.
Where's Reagan and KahIia?
They're supposed to be here. Jan was Iooking after them.
Take me a whiIe to get this organised.
I'II never find anything.
Not too soon. You might get cuIture shock.
- (door slams) - Mummy! Mummy!
Oh, Reagan. Oh, darIing.
HeIIo, KahIia.
HeIIo, darIing. Don't you Iook IoveIy?
- Such a pretty dress. - Mummy made it in jaiI.
This is Mummy, darIing. She's back.
ReaI mummy?
ReaI mummy.
Why don't you give her a big hug and a kiss?
That's aII right.
We've got pIenty of time for that. PIenty of time for that.
Today we can rejoice with the famiIy as we weIcome Lindy home.
Words are totaIIy inadequate to say how we feeI,
to express our gratitude for your Iove and your care and your prayers.
It reaches out to us Iike a bIanket. It surrounds us.
It's totaIIy tangibIe.
The fight for justice has onIy just started.
You may think it's over, but, beIieve me, it's onIy just beginning.
It's not onIy for us, for our freedom and to cIear our name.
But it's for aII AustraIians.
We never wanna see this happen in AustraIia again.
God bIess you aII and be with you.
(applause)
¶ Praise God from whom aII bIessings fIow
¶ Praise him aII creatures here beIow
¶ Praise him above in heavenIy host
¶ Praise Father, Son and HoIy Ghost
¶ Amen
MichaeI, now that Lindy's out of jaiI, why are you stiII fighting?
(Michael) l don't think a lot of people realise
how important innocence is to innocent people.
September 1 5 1 988
Eight years after the disappearance of baby Azaria,
Lindy and MichaeI ChamberIain finaIIy won the fight to prove their innocence.
AII three judges of the Northern Territory Court of AppeaIs
exonerated the ChamberIains of aII charges.
The fight to restore their Iives continues.
Ripped: zombino @Can.Guru.au
ENHOH