Baby Daughter That Vanishes Into Thin Air On A Camping Trip Causes Decades Of Controversy

The coroner’s findings prompted a second investigation into the case, during which a second coroner determined that the blood on the baby’s clothes indicated her throat was slit. The new coroner also noticed a small adult handprint on the baby’s clothes when held up to ultraviolet light.

Because of this evidence, in February of 1982, both Michael and Lindy were arrested for the suspected murder of baby Azaria. The prosecutors believed that Lindy cut the child’s throat in the family car, though no blood or murder weapon was ever found.

The Chamberlains stuck to their defense throughout the case: a dingo ate their baby. The jury didn’t believe it, and Lindy—who was already nine months pregnant with her next child—was given life in prison. Michael received a sentence of 18 months for being an accessory to the crime.

At the time of the sentencing, 77 percent of Australians believed Lindy to be guilty of the crime. Before and after she started serving her sentence, people were constantly watching her and judging her. “If I smiled, I was belittling my daughter’s death. If I cried, I was acting,” she said at the time.

Because the Chamberlains were members of the Seventh Day Adventists Church, a religion not commonly practiced in Australia, the public scrutinized them even more intently. Rumors started that their daughter’s name, Azaria, meant “sacrifice in the wildness” (it actually meant “God helped”).