The Dingo Did It

Azaria Chamberlain, the 9-week-old child who disappeared 32 years ago in Uluru, Australia, was officially declared dead as a result of “being attacked and taken by a dingo.”

This finding by coroner Elizabeth Morris in the fourth inquest serves as the official cause of death in the child’s disappearance.

Azaria’s parents, Michael Chamberlain and Lindy Chamberlain-Creighton, now divorced, were exonerated from charges of accessory after the fact and murder, respectively, in 1988. The first coroner’s inquest in 1980-81 found that a dingo took the baby, but a second inquest based on more forensic evidence found the Chamberlains guilty. Lindy was sentenced to life imprisonment in 1982, but was released in three years, after Azaria’s jacket was found in Uluru.

The Chamberlains’ story has been told in books, on TV, and in a feature film, “A Cry in the Dark” (1988), starring Meryl Streep as Lindy Chamberlain and Sam Neill as Michael Chamberlain. Following the coroner’s finding, Michael Chamberlain said, “It has taken too long [but] I’m here to tell you, you can get justice even when you think all is lost.”

Read about the coroner’s findings:

“Dingo took Azaria Chamberlain, coroner finds”

Watch an interview with journalist Malcolm Brown as he reviews the case:

“After 32 years of speculation, it’s finally official: a dingo took Azaria”