Coroner rules dingo took Australian baby in 1980

Ending a global sensation that spawned a Meryl Streep movie:

AUSTRALIA: A coroner Tuesday ruled that a dingo snatched baby Azaria Chamberlain from a tent in the Australian desert 32 years ago, ending a case that caused a global sensation and spawned a Meryl Streep movie.

Azaria disappeared from the tent near Uluru, or Ayers Rock, in 1980 in an incident that sparked decades of debate in Australia over whether her mother Lindy, who was jailed for murder, was responsible for the infant's death.

"I find that a dingo took Azaria and dragged her from her tent," said coroner Elizabeth Morris in the Darwin Magistrates Court, adding that the evidence was sufficiently "adequate, clear, cogent and exact".

"It is clear that there is evidence that in particular circumstances a dingo is capable of attacking, taking and causing the death of young children," she said.

Lindy, now known as Chamberlain-Creighton after remarrying, always insisted a dingo took the baby, but her version of events was widely doubted by the Australian public.

The finding means she and her ex-husband Michael Chamberlain, who were both in court, have finally won recognition that a native wild dog killed their child.

"Please accept my sincere sympathy on the death of your special and loved daughter... Azaria," Morris said. "I'm so sorry for your loss. Time does not remove the pain and sadness of the death of a child." AFP