Lindy Chamberlain, pictured arriving at court today, was convicted of murdering her daughter in 1982. Michael, her now former husband, was convicted of being an accessory. Both were later cleared after new evidence emerged supporting their story, and the saga was turned into a film starring Meryl Streep, A Cry in the Dark, in 1988.
Chamberlain became the most hated woman in Australia during the original court case, when she was widely criticised for displaying little emotion at her daughter’s death in court.
The coroner’s record still states the cause of death as “unknown” and a body has never been recovered.
The fourth inquest into the case opened today after the three previous ones failed to agree on a cause of death, with the last one – in 1995 – finding that there was not enough evidence to prove a dingo was responsible.
The Chamberlains have since gathered new evidence of dingo attacks on children and hope to convince the Northern Territory coroner of the circumstances of Azaria’s death, ending a case that has haunted them for 32 years.
A recent poll showed that many Australians remain doubtful that a dingo could have been responsible for the death.
Picture: Getty
