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Subscribe to RSSAn emotional day for Australian mother Lindy Chamberlain-Creighton. Decades after contesting an accusation of murdering her 9-week-old baby, a coroner has finally ruled that baby Azaria had been killed by a dingo. NBC's Sarah James reports.
A 32-year legal mystery over the death of a baby in Australia's outback took a new twist on Tuesday when a coroner ruled that infant Azaria Chamberlain was stolen by a dingo, bringing closure to a case that split national opinion and attracted global headlines.
A Northern Territory coroner told a packed courtroom Tuesday that a dingo or dingos took Azaria Chamberlain from a campground near Uluru - a haunting monolith formerly known as Ayers Rock - ABC News Australia reported.
Her parents always maintained their daughter was taken by a dingo, an Australian native wild dog. Her body was never found.
Her mother Lindy Chamberlain served three years for murder. Her father, Michael Chamberlain, was given a suspended sentence for being an accessory. Both were exonerated in 1987 but Azaria's official cause of death remained undetermined until now.
The case was made into a major motion picture, “A Cry in the Dark,” starring Meryl Streep as Lindy Chamberlain, in 1988.
"Obviously we are relieved and delighted to come to the end of this saga," Lindy Chamberlain, now known as Lindy Chamberlain-Creighton, told reporters outside the court.
Michael Chamberlain told reporters in the Northern Territory capital Darwin that the report gave those involved a chance to move on.
Patrina Malone / EPA
Lindy Chamberlain-Creighton, speaks with media, as her ex-husband Michael Chamberlain (right) watches on outside the Darwin's Magistrate Court in Darwin, Australia, June 12.
"This has been a terrifying battle, bitter at times, but now some healing, and a chance to put our daughter's spirit to rest," he said.
'Attacked and taken by a dingo'
Northern Territory Coroner Elizabeth Morris found evidence from the case proved a dingo or dingoes were responsible for nine-week-old Azaria's death and ruled that her death certificate should read "attacked and taken by a dingo."
"What occurred on 17th August, 1980, was that shortly after Mrs Chamberlain placed Azaria in the tent, a dingo or dingoes entered the tent, took Azaria and carried and dragged her from the immediate area," Morris said.
In an emotional finding, Morris then offered her condolences to the Chamberlains and one of their sons, who were in the Darwin court room.
AAP via EPA
A handout photograph made available by the Australian news agency AAP showing the camping area, including Lindy Chamberlain's tent, where her daughter Azaria went missing, near the Uluru sandstone rock, Northern Territory, central Australia, Aug. 17, 1980.
"Please accept my sincere sympathy on the death of your special loved daughter and sister Azaria. I am so sorry for your loss," she said to the family. "Time does not remove the pain and sadness of the death of a child."
A first inquest in 1981 supported the parents' account but, a second inquest in 1982 overturned that finding and recommended Lindy and Michael Chamberlain stand trial over Azaria's death.
Lindy Chamberlain, then pregnant with her fourth child, was convicted of murder and sentenced to life imprisonment. Michael Chamberlain was convicted of being an accessory and given a suspended sentence.
A judicial inquiry, known as a Royal Commission, overturned the convictions in 1987, leading to Lindy Chamberlain's release. A third inquest in 1995 returned an open verdict.
The latest inquest, however, heard new evidence of several dingo attacks on humans, including details of how a nine-year old boy died in Queensland after being attacked in 2001.
Msnbc.com staff and Reuters contributed to this report.
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Leave a Comment:
And why couldn't the coroner come to this conclusion THIRTY years ago?
Elaine Benes knew that the dingo ate the baby :D
@BHowes: My thoughts exactly! I visited Australia some 6 years after the baby went missing and it was still big news then. I can't believe I'm seeing a news headline here regarding this case so many years later.
If i were this child's father,hell any member of her family i would hunt dingos everyday of my life legal or not, limit or not. No dingo alive would ever be safe as long as i was alive. I would hunt out their dens as well. Horrible way to lose a child.
sica mni waka igleb
Okicize Wicasa Yata Pi
And now I am 100% certain that you ain't an Ind'in. If you was really an Ind'in, you would not be wishing for the death of all dingoes. You would understand that the dingo what killed the child was just bein' a dingo -- not a blood-thirsty, psychopathic human.
"a chief fighting a battle", eh? Well, "chief", not only is your avatar picture offensive, so is your thought on how to treat animals that are just bein' what and how Tunkasila made 'em.
The dingo was being a dingo. I used to have a dog that was part cattle dog and part Australian shepard, and part retriever, and we drove by some cows one day. He hadn't ever seen one, but went nuts trying to get to them. Instinct is amazingly strong, and hunger drives instinct to be even stronger. Why hunt them down?
Back in my Water Meter reading days, a customer had Dingos, they would bite on to my meter jeeps tires and go around and around. I never would read that guys meter until he came out of the house to watch the dogs.
BHowes...Maybe, they were able to isolate dog DNA on the clothing that they found long ago. 32 years ago this wasn't possible.
drain...You made a good decision--that could have saved you from serious harm. Postal workers should refuse to deliver mail to dogs that are aggressive as well and some do. Reading a meter isn't worth getting a serious dog bite. Common sense--a rare commodity these days.
More topnotch reporting by msnbc.com staff. This article has virtually no information. Was the baby's body ever found? If not, why is the coroner any better at determining whether the baby was killed by dingos than anyone else walking the streets?
Hey, you undereducated, overpaid MSNBC writers. "Went missing" is a British idiom not used in this country. The word is "disappeared", "vanished", etc. Think for yourselves for once and stop mimicing everything you hear on TV.
I agree. I cringe every time I hear a reporter or any American use the phrase "went missing". Not because it's a British idiom, but because it make no damn sense. Where is "missing"? And how do you get there? By bus???
It happened 30 years ago, and yet most people here could answer your questions without googling it. Stop being so lazy.
You think MSNBC doesn't employ reporters around the globe?
I am not sure why she was not exonerated before. Just here in this State, there have been 3 cases in this year where regular dogs - not Dingos- have killed 3 babies by tearing them apart while the parents were not looking.
The fact that the Dingo took the baby away from the camp site, and they were not able to find any physical evidence, does not mean that she was lying. It was probably a female dog that was feeding the pups.
"Went missing." Wow, people will whine about anything.
I am starting to favor "went missing" over vanished or disappeared to describe the unexplained absence of someone or something. Things don't ever just "vanish" - that's a magician's trick - they have gone somewhere, we just don't know where. In other words they are missing without explanation. As to the question "Where is missing?", that is the point of the idiom, the location of something that is missing is unknown. And "How do you get there?" Nobody knows! Which makes the phrase "went missing" perfectly descriptive.
To my ear at least, went missing is becoming as familiar as went shopping, went hunting, went native, went ballistic, went postal, et al.
A campground full of people and you lose your kid to a pack of wild dogs? How old was she? No one happen to notice a pack of wild dogs roaming about the campgrounds? I think being from Australia one would know of the potentially dangerous wildlife. Thats kind of like camping in the plains of Africa and then letting your kid roam about and explore. Might want to keep an eye on your little kid. Wild animals kill to survive, not for fun. To blame a wild animal for trying to survive is like blaming a mountain for sitting still. How about planning on wildlife in the area and keeping the kids within sight? Just an idea.
I camp out every year here in NH and even here when I get out of the tent to pee in the middle of the night I keep an eye out for the wildlife in the area. No, we don't have wild dogs but we have black bear, moose, and other large enough wildlife that could cause problems for you.
The reason this is still news and why the Chamberlain family's exoneration is considered so important is because before Azaria Chamberlain disappeared, Australians didn't really fear the wild... or 'the bush' as we call it. That's why this event was so confronting. To admit that Azaria was taken by a dingo was to admit that the outback was a more dangerous place than we wanted to believe it was. A real tragedy that destroyed the lives of a whole family.
It is up to parents to protect their children !
To the original poster, I couldn't agree more. Also, they don't say what "evidence" this coroner had that disputed the previous other reports.
It only takes one Dingo. Most, if not all, canines, when going for the kill, will grab the neck or head if the prey is small enough for the latter. When I lived in the US SW, Coyote took a child from her backyard and no one ever heard or saw a thing. the poor girls body was found a day later after the hunt began for what was hoped to be a missing child. No one called for a mass killing of Coyotes either. It was a tragic event, where Man had encroached upon wilderness (West side of Albuquerque). Horrible, yes, but it happens, sadly, in Nature. Her parents moved away to a State that doesn't have wild Coyotes, but it could easily have been feral dogs who had formed a pack after their families had dropped them off on the side of a road, no longer wanting a "pet".
You don't blame an animal for acting like an animal, and you don't blame a family who has already lost a child, especially to an animal who knows how to hunt without being seen. No one had seen any Dingoes, and the parents had made the reasonable presumption Azaria would be safe in their tent. The fact that she wasn't couldn't have been foreseen by them. Had they let he wander around by herself, then blame them.
I love that people take the time to read an article, decide that it is poorly written, then get on here and complain about it. Can't you just stop reading it? Not only do you waste your time reading, but you continue to waste your time writing about it!
LindaD, why don't you research the matter and find out what 'evidence' they have. Do you have to be spoon-fed? Geez, the people on these posts are such ninnies!
I was left wondering what new evidence they have. Not a very good article at all.
what a surprise, wild animals are wild animals. as for the lack of body, it was a young infant - they likely ate the bones
@bhowes - totally agree!!! the funny part is they reversed the original findings and dragged this crap and family to 30 years of BS....a clear example of "life is not fair"
@ ShakingMyHead61
Actually, yes I do need to be spoon-fed; I don't have any arms.
The Chamberlains were exonerated and Lindy Chamberlain released from prison because they found the baby's jacket in a dingo den about three years after she was sent to prison. They have been fighting ever since to get the official death certificate changed. I am not sure why it took so long to get this done in light of the fact that they found the bloody jacket in the dingo den back in 1986 or '87. The death certificate should have been changed back then at the same time the Chamberlains was exonerated and Lindy Chamberlain was released from prison. I guess it took a few more dingo attacks on babies to convince the coroners office that they screwed up and reverse the findings again back to what the original findings were at the original inquest in 1981. I am not sure what prompted the reversal of the initial findings at the second inquest in 1982, but it sure did take them a long time to admit they screwed up and give this family some peace. Even though the courts exonerated the Chamberlains 25 years ago it took the coroners office until now to admit they were wrong and revert back to the original findings.
I wish best of luck to the family that were so badly effected. 32 years for justice to prevail is a terribly long time, a lifetime by many accounts. Their daughter would have had their grandchildren by now. So much pain and loss for them.
Then you need to go back to school and learn how to comprehend what you read. The Family was originally convicted because the baby just went missing "while camping", no evidence was found and the court would not believe a wild animal just "took the child". This article explains that since their conviction there have been several proven cases where this has indeed happened which makes the Chamberlains' defense that dingos did it very plausible. Defendants don't have to prove it actually happened, just prove it was possible , this would remove them as the main suspects.
If folks want to know about the case look it up. It is over 30 years old. Why should the reporter rewrite everything? Look it up.
Atticus, Azaria was eaten by the dingo. Consumed whole, there was nothing left to find. Her outer garment was found outside a female dingo's den. Azaria's arterial spray was found on the tent fly. Grabbed by the cranium, dingoes shake their prey and break the neck before running away. Azaria felt little pain. Her neck was broken and she instantly bled out. She was long gone before she was eaten. In Australia everything's protein.
My sincere apologies for those upset by the previous description. Nevertheless, this is what happened to the infant according to the forensic evidence. I for one am grateful that she didn't suffer long. It's a small blessing, true, but a blessing nonetheless.
Now the official word is out all the conspiracy nuts should leave these people alone to grieve. This was a horror and a tragedy that happened to 4 people, the parents and Azaria's siblings who were traumatized by what transpired. Her brothers deserve peace, too. They all loved her and lost her.
Articus rules.....third paragraph says babies body was never found....gotta' read it all!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=oz884EUAqi4
To AtticusRules and the other 25 that "uped" your comment....the article clearly says "the body was never found" all it takes is a little reading before you decide to bash the reporter
This was a true case of trial by Media and PublicOpinion. The public was outraged at the idea that a dingo could take a baby out of a tent in a populated campground and no one saw anything. No one heard anything. There were re enactments to prove no dingo could carry a baby, arguments abounded. Because Mom had gone to check on the baby she was guilty. Mom was cleared by a court and retried because the people and the media would not let the story go. No one would believe a Dingo could kill a baby. It must have been Mom & Dad. Their life was a living hell. Mom spent 3 yrs in jail away from her remaining children. Guess there's no double jeopardy Down Under. So the debate has continued for 30+ years and this is supposed to magically end it.
Good Luck George Zimmerman. Hope it doesn't take 30+ years for you to be proven innocent.
george zimmerman and this lady have nothing in common. george will found guilty of something because they know george killind an unarmed person.
I didn't think they ever found the babies body, so how did he come to this conclusion at all?
The susected Dingo, later incarcerated for unrelated crime, was overheard bragging about the incident to a cell mate.....
At the time they didn't think Dingo's were big enough to carry away a baby. Several other cases occurred that proved they were and that they in fact did prey on infant humans. It put the entire case under a new light and subsequent investigation revealed it was more likely than that of murder. This conclusion is not based on evidence of this particular event, it's a speculative conclusion of what likely ocurred. There was absolutely no evidence that the mother was guilty, just that the child was missing.
Other news articles note that 1) body was found with teeth marks on bones, and 2) dingos had been seen and implicated in multiple other infant attacks over the last 30 years. Which is why coroner finally changed the report (but only after the mother pushed to have the case revisited).
The wonderful world of technology has come a long way.
what does "susected" mean?
They had also found the baby's clothes, torn and bloody I believe..pretty far away from the tent....
An aboriginal tracker was brought in the night the baby disappeared, and tracked a dingo carrying a heavy object, but the police called off the search and basically discounted the tracker's opinion. If they'd listened to him and stayed on the trail, they probably would have found the body that night.
The National Enquirer reported this years ago. In a related story, bigfoot was determined to be the father.
flbikerchick,
I read that too. Those aboriginal trackers are amazing. Those guys can darn near tell you what color the shoe is of the person they're tracking. If they were tracking me, heck with it, "... F'it. I give up. You win.."
Forensic evidence, Carrie.
PMart, there was never a body in this case. Azaria was consumed entire. Her outer garment was later discovered outside a dingo's den.
Thank you all for the wonderful answers and great information. I have had few friends in Australia and it's always a hot debate, so I try not to stir the hornets nest with questions.
I had no idea there were other reports of Dingos carrying off babies but I suppose if a dog can do it here in the states, why can't a hungry wild dog in the outback.
Have a great day y'all.. :)
There was no new evidence, they just got tired of having the open case so found some coroner to say it was the dingo and that is that. Maybe now the story will go away and I won't have to see it on the headlines anymore.
brenda, you are cold. How would you feel if it had been you. You don't have to read this.
It is my understanding that the child was not found, but that pieces of clothing were found. The clothing had puncture marks and blood on them that indicated it was a dog attack. I may be wrong about the body not being found, but, having owned a Queensland Blue Heeler, I know that they are quite capable of dragging a baby if wild and untamed. Food is scare in that part of the country and dogs will eat whatever is available. Our Heelers have been awesome companions and trained from birth what the pack order in our family was. Still, strangers were very wary of entering our property without our presence. No one to blame here. It could have been a bear in the Pacific Northwest or a cougar. Camping is entering the environement and home of wild animals and there are dangers. I believed the story from the start. Too bad this woman had to go through so many years of grief and abuse. Very sad event.
My part cattle dog could drag me down a street without my feet touching the sidewalk...felt that way, anyway. He pulled me all the way down a flight of outdoor steps once and I never touch a step. That dog could have pulled me away dead weight, and he wasn't big. He was just very strong. I don't see why a dingo couldn't drag away a small baby if hungry or with pups. My dog looked almost exactly like a dingo and was built like one, and I don't see why one couldn't pull a child away.
my thoughts exactly Brenda...lets move on...
@brenada & AreYouBuyingThis: So sorry if this 30 + year old story being in the news again is so annoying to you. Clearly other peoples' misfortune and unanswer questions about nature and history are too hard for you to 'wrap your little brains around' -- apparent if any story is any longer than a TV spot for candy or involve of any more complex words or thoughts) iit is beyonf you. Time for you to go update your facebook status to "clueless' --As the article said, this has beena a national story and had been having people take sides and accusing each other of things and put forth all kinds of things about this whole situation for many years (and was made into a movie in 1987) -- . So this final report does indeed give it closure. True that this news story did not say what the new evidence was or who requeted this 3rd inquest --but at least there is some closure. Now we can (hopefully) move on.
Really Brenda? Don't read about it and certainly don't comment on it!!! Nobody's forcing you and how would you feel if it were to happen to you? Ignorance....and for God's sake people the article says there was never a body found!!!! Third paragraph, check it out!
Thanks, The Painful Truth and Cheryl.
I imagine if Brenda and AreYouBuyingThis were accused and then convicted of a crime they didn't commit, sent to prison for what turned out to be 3 years (Thank God) instead of the life sentence handed down by the judge and subjected to decades' worth of reliving the horrible crime of the murder of their child--they would quickly move on...Geez.
This kind of tragedy / miscarriage of Justice will continue as along as The Media and the Court of Public Opinion out weigh the American Justice System. Just think if Trayvon Martins Parents hadn't copyrighted his name and had Sharpeton and Jackson leading parades. George Zimmerman would be home with his family going to counceling for shooting another human. The guilt, the burden, must be horrible even when acting in self defence. Found to have acted in self defence and released.
That's right, Brenda, because it's all about you, isn't it?
Mo, I hate to disabuse you of your notion, but the case of Azuria Chamberlain took place in Australia, not the American Justice System. A miss is as good as a mile.
You guys are too funny, @The Painful Truth, it's called a spell checker, use it. @Peridot, no it's not all about me, it's about a story that should have been put to rest a long time ago. @Momcat99, people get blamed for things every day, so what, are you going to cry and make a movie out of every one of them? BORING!!
You guys really need to take a chill pill, quit kicking a dead horse, and move on. Like I am going to do after this comment.
Later
What a nightmare for the poor parents to keep reliving the death of her child sad.
I will never understand why it is so important to go "camping" when you have a little baby. Parents are just selfish sometimes. Ever hear of a babysitter who can stay home with the baby while you go camping? Of course I feel sorry for them losing their baby, but really! First job of parents is to keep your babies and kids safe.
If she left the baby home with a babysitter, then you would claim she was a bad mother. She was in a campground and it should have been safe.
you have no thumbs up for good reason
That is a ridiculous statement, "I will never understand why it is so important to go "camping" when you have a little baby". My wife and I had 3 beautiful children, took all of them camping from 6 months old, and had many joyous memories of our early camping days. One is now a backcountry ski guide in Alaska, one is a kayak guide in the Pacific Northwest, and the 3rd owns a fantastic bed and breakfast in the backcountry of Alaska. They learned to love the outdoors from a very early age, and it shows in their chosen professions and their outdoor adventures. I am sorry to say that your children will probably never experience the joy of the outdoors. They will probably love the asphalt streets of the big city though....
AllPeopleRights. Judgmental statements like yours are all too common. Usually made by people who never had kids. If you have kids you should understand that parents want to keep their children with them. I know I would never trust a "babysitter" to keep my child for a few days unless it was my own parents and even then I would worry and miss 'em something terrible. If a parent loves camping or boating or just taking a walk they want to share that with their children. It's one of the best things about having a family. But things can go wrong. Bad things happen. It doesn't mean the parent was negligent because it happened. So if a mom puts her baby in a stroller and takes a walk down the street and someone drives by and decides to shoot at the baby, or runs them down accidentally it would be the mom's fault? I guess you think we should all be terrified of doing anything with our young children or keep them "safe" in the arms of a babysitter who could turn out to be a sick evil serial killer or pedophile. Then that would be the mom's fault too I guess!
Yeah, Keep those kids safe,Warp them up in bubble wrap & never, never let them step outside. Helicopter parents make me sick. Thats why kids are overweight, get them outside!
Why is it that people just can't understand that bad things happen for no apparent reason and no one is to blame. I agree with gofor...get your kids out of the house. I admit that we ran the mountains and along side rivers as children and often wonder how I made it to be an adult...but, I had those adventures and the memories will last me a lifetime.
Dave - exactly how do you come to the conclusion that the children of AllPeopleRights will never experience the "joy of the outdoors" from his/her statement? He/she does not in any way state that he/she has no interest in introducing kids to nature. I can guarantee you that a 6-month-old baby has no idea whether it is indoors or outdoors. Kids don't understand the concept of camping until they are older than that.
BTW - running a bread and breakfast is not exactly an occupation associated with the outdoors, Einstein, regardless of whether it is in the back country of Alaska or in Manhattan. In addition, being a ski guide or kayak guide is not exactly a stellar career path. Most people do those activities as an avocation, not a vocation. Sounds more like your kids are immature and refuse to get real jobs.
"Helicopter parents." Heheheheh, good one.
@Atticus,
It doesn't matter if they recognize outdoors as opposed to indoors. It matters that they have the experience. I took my 6 month old to Niagara Falls years ago and the look of wonder in his eyes was reward enough.
Everyone else always thinks they know best when it comes to parenting. When will people stop judging others??
Reading some of these comments inspired by this news story and all the side tracking agruments and persoanl attacks about "parenting' and nature and such -- only stresses the kind of strong reactions the origianal events and news story provoked -- people took sides and made verbal and personal attacks on the parents and accused each other of things which lead to the inquests and the crime story and the trial of the mother and the re-trial -- and all the rest. Clearly this story is stil a "polarizing' matter -- even 30 + years after it happened. Might be woth watching the 1987 movie again -- to get a better idea of what happended and why.
uh, 9 week old baby. Ever hear of breastfeeding?
I'm not sure I would go camping in the outback with an infant that must have been left unattended for some amount of time for it to have been taken. I wouldn't go camping in the dang dessert anywhere. How about go to the Amazon and camp with an infant? How about in the desert in Iraq? Death Valley? Crazy!
the only thing crazy is you think you know everything.
Camping in Amazon with an infant was pretty wonderful , my husband and I have done it many times with our three kids and we love it and we are all still alive and well.(Amazon Youth Hostel. Maues Amazon-Brazil)
Look at the picture. They weren't in "The Outback", they were in a very popular campground. Notice the fence, the graded area where the tent is, the picnic table, the camper and trailer in the background.
Hoodie-2290570
They were in the outback - Uluru sandstone rock -formally known as Aires Rock is in the heart of the outback.
***********************************************
The baby was not left alone, It was taken while they slept. The Mother thought at first that the baby crawled away until she saw tracks. No one believed her until a baby sweater was found years later that had blood on it that matched the baby's but DNA was not possible due to the long exposure outside. The sweater had teeth marks on it that was consistent of a Dingos.
And what of the people that LIVE in the Amazon? Are they expected to be celebate? I don't think people should take their children to places like Reno or Las Vegas and leave them in game rooms. Much more dangerous in my humble opinion.
happyjoy - you do realize that no one cares, right?
niece1964
I agree with you 100%, small kids should stay home with babysitter, specially babies, because animals have a excellent sense of smell, and babies do smell milk, and are a prey for the wild animals, and Amazon do have giant anacondas; and they have human meals every day at the mines, as workers are having their lunch, they just disapear; giants tarantulas, venous spiders and snakes, all kinds of hungry wild animals, including indians that do eat humans, I know very well, because I am Brazilian and Amazon it is in my Country, and camping there with kids, it is very irresponsible of parents, they should protect kids, not expose them to danger.
The remarks about what you would or would not do --or take your baby - all have been gone over and over since this first happened. This is a different time and place. The peole invloved are human and inperfect. What they did or did not do --or if you or anyone else would have done the same thing or not -- is all beside the point. I (and I assume most all of you) never meet these people or were ever in a situation like this one (we can hope, anyways). Would i have done the same thhing -- I would say no-- but i was not there and i was not them. Jusging other people you have never met or do not know anything about is not really very fair (oand none too bright). Could a dingo take her baby? -- yes, it could -- did it? i don't know -- but this inquest seems to have made that finding. Nothing will bring back that little baby or cahange what that tragic event has done to the people involved -- surly we here are not going to prove or settle anything.
AtticusRules.....you do realize that no one cares to see your smart a** comments about this article or anybody else's comments, for that matter????
Seems that some people are only here because they are frustrated individuals who don't have the cojones to assert themselves in their real lives, so they achieve a measure of satisfaction by posting bitter little missives at complete strangers under a screen name. Please, Grow a pair and post something helpful instead.
Gitana and niece1964......your parents were also very irresponsible for not raising you better! To even think something like this , much less write it or say it out loud!!!! You think nobody should take their kids camping, just where and how were you raised? You've been sheltered apparently if you've never experienced these things!! This doesn'rt happen to everybody, just the unfortunate ones and not very many of them but it shouldn't keep people from enjoying these things! You're just going to live your life in fear and not do fun, exciting things because of a few incidences? Think not!!! Women die in child birth all of the time, do you expect women to just stop having babies because of this reason? Don't think so!!! I feel sorry for your kids as they're leading sheltered lives also!!! If you have any, that is! You probably don't or you wouldn't have made a comment like the one you made!
Our 3 kids have been camping since they were in diapers !! Now they're in their 30s and still have a great love for the outdoors all three of my kids climb, snowboard, backpack and are a joy to be around ....what do yours do sit on the couch and eat while playing xbox games ...!
so did they let the woman out of prison? if you ask me she is the biggest victim here.
All I can think of is Elaine on Sienfeld. Sorry.
LOL ! Me too! The very first thought that entered my mind was...... Dingo?....... Baby?........
Elaine Benes !
"The Dingo 'ite ya baby."
I just can't believe I had to go through six other comments and their replies before seeing the first mention of
"The dingo ate your baby"
Yes.. "the dingo ate mybaby' -- this news event is where these words from (and is a famous line from the movie made based on the story). That ws what the mother said. That was what "elaine' was quoting.. You watched TV sitcoms in the 1990's -- good for you. Well.. at least now you know where that line really came from -- and the real tragic story behind these words.
First thing I thought of but not all I think of.....funny, funny episode!
Consider yourself the parent.
Imagine, losing your child then being persecuted for it - accused of murder and accessory to murder and convicted - only to be overturned years later.
And now, 30-years later and the memory is still being dug up, the poor mother essentially still being made to defend herself, although as far as the law is concerned, she's already been exonerated.
Couldn't agree more. This was over 30 years ago and I can't believe what this poor family has been through. This should have been put to rest a long time ago.
A Dingo Ate My Baby!!!
I was thinking it my self when I saw the headline... we are going to hell.
also guilty. we all are.
Yep. Me too.
Guilty as charged.
(But it's stll funny!)
I thought it was a ding bat ....
Mr Mud,
what kind of comment is that? sarcasm or fun? very insensitive one.. no heart feeling for the parents, I guess you do not have kids...
Hahahaha!! That's all I thought of when I saw the article. "A dingo 'ite my baby." Yes, I'm going to hell, but for so many other reasons! LOL
I sincerely hope this brings healing to the family.
I believe that some years after the baby went missing a bloody sweater or jumper was found in the rocks that was identified as belonging to baby Azareas. Maybe that was when the parents were exonerated? No idea of the time line.
Azareas, really? The correct spelling is right in front of you in the article and you are too lazy to look it up?
Atticus- Shut up. Freakin' troll.
Very sad story...and for thirty years now. They did find portions of the baby's clothing in a den area where there were dingos. This poor family should have been cleared of murder a long time ago. There was a story about the clothing on this vine a few weeks ago.
There was new evidence (which the hard of thinking missed) when the baby vanished there were no documented cases if children attacked by Dingoes, now there are cases they can review. The entire case against her was based on the fact that no one thought a Dingo would attack a child. The corner back then did not have that information, this one did.
What this is a good object lesson in rushing to judgement and letting the media try our cases for us---but I doubt we will listen.
"the hard of thinking"
Classic!
@lokay5...idiot!
"what this is, a good object less lesson in rushing to judgement and letting the media try our cases for us."agree completely with the content of this statement!!!!! (just not the sentence structure..before somebody else makes a nasty comment on it. lol)
Seriously, this poster has a point. We read an article and then start trying and convicting poeple in this country jsut like we were the appointed judges, prosecutor and juries!!! Dozens of stories currently that have received an amazing number of comments beyond anything I've seen in the last couple of years. Especially high in self appointed court officials commenting is the TM/GZ story. Prime example of how the media has to pick a story, turn it into a RACIAL case, then beat it like a dead horse to get get any kind of article about it. Consider the recent story about what GZ bought at commissary after recently being sent back to jail. Howabout some real news??? How about some journalistic integrity and hey, actual journalism for a CHANGE!!!??? This article about this babies disappearance has so little information that posters have to get into arguments over it. Is this by the writer and editors design or just SUPER lousy journalists?!?!?!?!
The article wasn't meant to tell the entire story about Azaria Chamberlain's disappearance and the case against her parents. This was meant to be an update about the current event: the reopening of the coroner's inquest for the new finding.
Those of us who have followed the story from the beginning are familiar with the facts. Anyone with an internet connection can find the rest of the story for themselves or visit the public library. The film starring Meryl Streep was close to documentary in its facts. If you're not inclined to do your own research, see that.
I think a John Doe warrant should be issued for the dingo
Don't you mean Fido?
If the dingo is still alive after all this time, they ought to capture it and put it on display in a zoo as the world's oldest dingo.
The dingo's long since dead. They're members of the dog family and have similar lifetimes. It's been dead and gone for two decades or more.
This family was not only destroyed, but robbed of the dignity to mourn the loss of their child like any normal parents. Domesticated canines have been known to devour children. Why was it so hard for authorities to fathom that a wild dog could do the same? Thirty years? That's a crying shame.
Excellent point!!!
More than once I've heard of incidents where pet owners have died and nobody noticed for quite some time. Meanwhile the pets ran out of food and had to actually feed off their owner. Know of a person with diabetis that is quite severe. Enough to have damaged her feet and toes so that some of her toes were basically dead appendages needing amputation. Well, her dog ate one of those dead toes. Animals have certain instincts that humans can never control period.
Animals are exactly that. Dingos are nothing more than wild dogs. They seek out their prey to eat and survive (like any other wild animal), Your family dog might not be right out of the wild -- but if left to its own "devices" and without any fod for a given period of time -- it too will seek out and eat whatever it can find. I too have heard stories a person dieing inside their house -- and were not found for a long period of time -- the pet dog (or cat) runs out of food -- The police fnal go into the house -- to find the decompsing dead body of the owner -- and that the pets -- having gone without food for a while -- have eaten parts of the dead body. The same is true of humans eating other humans -- to survive --nature and the need to survive is like that folks!
Conspiracy theorists ran with the idea that dingos could do no wrong and wouldn't attack a child or infant. That's what destroyed this family and their marriage. Denial.
I dont believe it, sorry but how many 'a dingo ate my baby' cases are there? I have read about two. Maybe I just dont understand why a dog would attack a human child or even a baby cow. Its weird.
I don't know where you live but....We have dogs kill cattle. We have them pull baby calfs from the mothers when she is giving birth to them and tearing them to pieces then taking the mother down and these were neighbor dogs that normally wouldn't do this. There are dogs out there that are tame but when they get with other dogs turn into something completly different. My sister just had a expectant cow a couple months ago attacked by a group of wild dogs killed her and ripped the baby out too.
The smell of blood fear the noises anything they do not like will cause animals to do these things. Sometimes it is if they just make a wrong move that they feel is offensive.
Not to long ago a family dog killed the new born baby in the home (it was on msn). Dogs kill people all the time (certain breeds). We have people and kids killed alot by dogs (not naming breeds) in our state.
When I lived in upstate NY we had packs of 20-30 dogs roaming wild attacking cattle and even a couple people. They finally went around and told everyone to keep their dogs inside for a specified period of time and a posse went out and shot every stray dog they could find
@ Daisy Snow, It's not a dog. It is a wild animal. Wild animals kill human beings who venture into THEIR territory often.
Not a "dog". A DINGO! Look it up.
It is the territory of the dominant species. Any animal kills a human and they find out that it is all human territory. You will never argue that point after someone you love gets violently, very, very, painfully ripped apart and consumed while still breathing.
http://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/article/Newborn-dead-after-family-dog-attacks-2155225.php
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/18/makayla-darnell-newborn-dog-attack-ohio_n_1528857.html
These are just two stories of domesticated dogs, family pets, killing babies, in just the last month! A wild dingo, a member of the canine family, would be just as dangerous, if not more so.
Healthy Male
Wrong. Anyone stupid enough or ignorant enough to venture into the territory of wild animals, thinking that they will be 100% safe while in the territory of wild animals simply because "humans are the dominant species", practically deserves to be attacked by wild animals.
That's the trouble with the White Man's world: The inhabitants think that the Universe is going to live by their rules. You venture into the bear's house, the wolf's house, the leopard's house, the tiger's house, the rattle snake's house, or even the dingo's house -- you live by THEIR rules. Not yours.
*anyone who embraces the White Man's love of money and belief that everything exists for the benefit of Homo sapien sapien lives in the White Man's world.
Daisy - you are right , you don't understand. A basic course in biology or zoology should enlighten you about the ways of animals. They need to eat just like us, except they can't go to the grocery store so they hunt. They bring down the largest animal they can without harm to themselves; that is frequently a baby animal, calf or lamb or child. You have to get smart or at least get the smarts of your forebears (which were sizable enough or you wouldn't be here). A survivor learns to play by the rules of the "jungle" and respect the animals they live among. Anyone who tries to live by man's rules in the wild will be known as a corpse.
"...violently, very, very, painfully ripped apart and consumed while still breathing."
I know the feeling. I was married once.
lokay5 - with your attitude, you probably deserved it.
I lived in Alberta a few years ago - a kid, not a baby, was killed by a coyote while I was there. Dingos are wild animals, just like coyotes. It is entirely possible. Don't know why it was not accepted as plausible back then.
consider it--TRY this then...IT'S NOT A PET DOG, IT'S A WILD ANIMAL, A WILD CANINE!!!! seriously wasn't a necessary comment from you. You know exactly what the poster meant.
The Quacked One...Yes, you are the quacked one, you ruser name says alot and your comment completes your self profile. Absolutely NOT necessary with the remarks about "the white man's world". Try "in man's world", period. All races, creeds, colors, religious any political leanings NOT just "the white man".
And I dont understand why you would call yourself Daisy Snow. You dont have to understand.
Really? Are you saying that your little "Fluffy' does not eat? How exactly do you think wild dogs (or wolves, foxes, or any kind of cat or other animal, etc) get their food? Think a wild dog or a wolf just walks into the nearest PetSmart and buys a bag of Purnia and a chew toy? -- You must live a very charmed life. But..on the other hand..I am sure there is alot of stuff in life you just don't "understand" --
Daisy should consider visiting the dingos at her local zoo. Get right in the cage with them, Daisy, and let them demonstrate.
All wild animals should read up on the law. It is illegal for them to hunt and kill a human.
Daisy, just an education, period, would do you some good!!! Not sure of your age but you definitely need one!!!
You're a bimbo Daisy. Thanks to something called favoritism, jerks in the workplace get promotions they don't deserve, and then run a good company into the ground.
Some jerk who didnt deserve to have authority ran this family into the ground.
Hope you're not a favorite in the workplace, for the sake of the other employees and the company.
Obviously I didn't phrase that right, I meant it seemed fishy in this case. I didn't believe that a dingo took her baby...not that it couldn't happen.
@jdoyle: But of course love hearing sexist comments, keep it up moron
Terrible tragedy! I Still consider this a tragedy how in the world these parents should have never had to go through all of this in the first place. What a shame that they went through all that time and still 30 years later finally just getting someone to prove a dingo did this. Duh, it is a wild dog a wild animal they kill things small things that includes babies.
That is like the bears that have killed babies in the states and us blaming a parent for the baby when all the time it was a bear that was agitated by the crying baby.
This was an injustice and these people should be paid back monentarily for the injustice they have received if they have not yet.
Well if you're gunna take your baby camping, don't leave it unattended where a dog could get it. Actually, don't do that EVER! And in Australia of all places: ALL the animals there are trying to kill you!
The baby was in a tent and the parents just outside visiting with other campers. A very reasonable activity. They thought the baby was asleep and didn't hear anything. A dog will instinctively go for the neck and smother the prey--they are not able to cry for help. Get off your holier than thou stool and come on down here and live with the rest of us mere mortals.
Hey brainflash, you better not ever leave a baby unattended anywhere. Not even in its crib in your house.
If YOU let a baby die in your house, even of natural causes such as disease or a spider bite, then YOU will be the horrible parent.
Don't know much about Australia do you. No bears, no cougars, no wolves. There are far more predator species in America than Australia. Dingo had never really been considered a threat before this incident.
Are you saying that these people should not live in Australia? That is where they were because they are Australians. Going inot he "outback" (not the eatery, by the way) to camp is in fact done very often. Camping, fishing, hilking, etc. Most like people who live near any body of water go to the beach, live near mountains, they hike, climb and camp out . For as long as we still have an wilderness and a natural wolrd -- we human should learn to accept and live with it and the living things that live there too -- and have long before we, humans came along. Yes, we have the machines, guns and "big brains' --(even if we don't always use them all the time or very well) -- It is important to learn and understand and respet your own enivornment -- be it the mountains, the oceans, the forrests, or the four lane highway just outside your house.
The Quacked One - I was lectured by a doctor once when my son got hurt (nothing serious) in his crib - she basically said that I shouldn't have taken my eyes off him even though he was sleeping in his crib (not sure when I was supposed to sleep or use the restroom, but...).
Brainflash, no parent can possibly be on guard 24/7. It simply cannot be done. I speak as a parent. One must sleep sometime, go to work, eat and use the loo, unless one is rich and can hire teams of nannies to raise the children for one. Then what's the point of having children?
Azaria's parents were close by, they were not neglectful. Mrs Chamberlain had just served supper to her other 2 children. One of her sons was still hungry so she went to the car to get another can of beans for him. I don't remember what was on the menu, perhaps they were having beans on toast, an Australian classic.
A busy mother of three, Lindy had nursed her 2-month old infant to sleep. Azaria was a breast-fed baby. Lindy had carefully put the baby into her bed inside the tent and closed it up before preparing dinner for her husband and two sons. The fly on the tent was in need of mending but she zipped it closed. (The fly had been repaired once but had broken again on this trip.) The Chamberlain family were veteran campers.
From the picnic table where she was heating the food, Lindy heard a cry. She caught a glimpse of the dingo with Azaria and immediately knew what had happened. She knew at once there was no hope for rescue for her tiny daughter. This was confirmed by the later finding of the arterial blood spray on the tent.
The media circus and the mass denial of the people did a lot of harm to the innocent members of the Chamberlain family. There were accusations made that Azaria had been sacrificed in a Satanic ritual. Some people claimed the meaning of Azaria's name meant sacrifice. It goes on. A film documentary was made of these baseless conspiracies and distributed internationally. It was despicable. All of this was the result of bad forensic work and conspiracy theories.
Jaryd Atadero disappeared from a trail almost in front of other hikers. He ran a little way ahead of the groupl & vanished. Every one in the group was a suspect & there was plenty of debate whether a cougar could grab a 3 yr old & run without being seen. Four years later his remains were found and the question was unequivocally answered.
The Australian authorities were bent on convicting this family for nature's acts. Period. The philosophy is that when there is a dead or missing child, someone has to pay. And these people have paid enough. What possible motive would that mother have had to kill & hide her baby? She had other kids that were of an age to drive their mom nuts; she never harmed them.
The state should be ashamed of itself for traumatizing this family yet again. We can only hope they will get a chance to personally see what this tragedy feels like.
As for the moronic comment about taking your infant camping: frontier women and Native American women gave birth on the trail, bundled up the kid & kept on with their tasks. Nobody would ever have said that the big wide world was no place for a baby. Frankly kids who grow up in the natural environment are practically fearless and handle anything the world throws at them. They are so much smarter about life and their place in it. I hope the family didn't stop enjoying the out of doors, it is essential to the rejuvenation of one's spirit.
Really can't compare cougars and dingos. Long history of cougars attacking humans, not so with dingos.
Not a lot of cougars where this happaned-- But a lot of wild dingos. There have been bears who go after trash and pets in Northern New Jersey -- which are near wooded areas and mountain. This kind of stuff happens when man goes into places that are or recent were the natural living enivornments of wild animals.--So, until we pave over the whole world , melt all the ice caps, dry up evey lake. ocean and river, flatten every mountain and kill every other living thing on the planet -- we humans might actually have to deal with nature. Co-exisitant and respect is key.
last 8...You are wrong. You need to talk to the local natives if you believe that Dingos have not been a problem in Australia before this incident. They will tell you otherwise. These dogs hunt in packs and have been responsible for the loss of many cattle and sheep--why not a baby? Get your facts in line before you post. Dingos have had a bad rep in Australia for a very long time. Some of it is warranted--some not. They deserve to live and eat also, but so do the Outback Ranchers.
GET IN MY BELLY!
Tasteless would be an understatement.
I think the U.S. should make sure there are lots of packs of wolves running all over our public parks and private, individual owned lands. Then we can have someone's young child hauled off and eaten alive like the wolves do to newly born calf elk and deer. They go for the soft organs first, before the prey is dead, by ripping open the gut cavity and eating the liver, stomach, intestines, and eventually the heart and lungs which at that point brings a merciful end to the terror and pain of the little calves and fawns. Wolves are cruel.
Wolves are not cruel. They do not have the thought capacity to be "cruel." They do what they do out of instinct. Most animals eat their prey in this manner. It's the easiest way to do so.
So how many DOCUMENTED cases of wolves hauling off human babies and such do you happen to have access to? In more than THREE HUNDRED YEARS of European documentation of the happenings and everything on the North American Continent, how many DOCUMENTED cases of wolf attacks on human children?
And you say wolves are "cruel"... Wolves are "cruel" because they are trying to SURVIVE, you moron. Wolves do not have "human" traits -- they have WOLF traits. If you want to end cruelty in the world, how about putting an end to WAR and HUMAN OPPRESSION? Or do you get off on killing an animal just because it is doing what GOD programmed it to do?
No, there has never been a cruel wolf. Humans are the species that is very often cruel. You really do have this nature thing mixed up, don't you, kh? Humans do horrible things and often ARE aware they are being cruel. They don't do it just to survive, but sometimes for fun or status. I would trust a wolf over many humans I have met. You know where you stand with other animals much better than humans.
The more I know about people
The more I like wolves, and bears, and lions and tigers oh my.
You do understand that there are more reported cases of wolves actually saving humans than attacks. As far as to my knowledge, there is not a case of an unprovoked attack by a wolf. So if you have access to a case where they can prove the human did not do anything to provoke the wolf and prove it was a wolf, I would love to see it. Some cases where the wolf was blamed, it came out it was a coyote.
khenk.....what is wrong with you??? So, so wrong on many levels, seems you also need an education!!!
Please Don't Feed the Troll
Dingos are Australia's Coyotes (though Dingos are actually reverted-to-wild domestic dogs (also called pariahs). They tried to say the same thing about coyotes here in the US, but numerous attacks on children & even small adults put the lie to the liberal anti-hunting bias. Many states pay a bounty on them.
Saxxon
Oh my, another Reich-winger who needs to go back to school. Dingoes are NOT domesticated dogs gone feral, bubba. Dingoes may be "canines" -- but they ain't close to bein' feral dogs.
As for the "liberal anti-hunting bias", I know a lot of Reich-wingers who are anti-hunting. They're also anti-gun, anti-stupidity and anti-ignorance. But at least they base their opinions on FACT and TRUTH, unlike certain Reich-wingers who automatically equate anyone who dares to disagree with them as "liberal".
Quacked, read this article and learn some facts. Dingoes are in fact decedent from ancient domesticated dogs.
And the "Reich" wingers, as you call them, that you know sound like they really are from the Third Reich. Real conservatives value personal freedom and the ability to live without fear from criminals both in and out of the government.
decedent: n. a dead person
You may want to change your screen name....
Maybe the "screen name" is backwards; more like "Stupid people - feeding" --or is a joke -- Like a fat person being called slim.
Bonzer!!
The Dingo Ate My Baby
i hope they sued some @!$%# down there for a bunch of cash they deserve it..
They did get some one million plus, but it was no where near enough to cover the almost five million in legal fees.