‘Dingo Ate My Baby’: Sam Neill Opens In Miniseries About The True Story About What Happened To Azaria

On the night of August 17, 1980, while at a family camp in Uluru, Lindy Chamberlain’s world fell apart when a dingo took her baby Azaria from the family tent, and the girl was never seen again. nine weeks.

The disappearance led to a series of court cases and investigations that landed a 72-year-old Chamberlain in jail for life in 1982, before she was finally acquitted in 1986.

Now, in a two-part miniseries titled Lindy Chamberlain: The True Story, a critical look uncovers the investigation into the death of Azaria Chamberlain, detailing what led to Lindy’s trial, conviction, jail time for murder and her eventual exoneration. .

Narrated by Sam Neill, who played Michael Chamberlain in the 1988 film about the case, and was also named an executive producer on the new miniseries, it reveals new details of the family’s experience following Azaria’s disappearance, including exclusive interviews. home videos and letters.

An initial investigation in Alice Springs supported Lindy and Michael Chamberlain’s claim that a dingo had entered the store and taken baby Azaria away. Then further investigation and a 1981 inquest was conducted in Darwin.

Chamberlain was accused of killing her son and jailed for life in a murder trial in 1982, while Michael Chamberlain was convicted as an accessory.

As a result, Chamberlain spent more than three years behind bars, despite having filed many appeals.

In 1986, Chamberlain, who is a kiwi, was exonerated after an Azaria article of clothing was found near a den of dingoes. As a result, she was released from jail and received $ 1.3 million in compensation for her false imprisonment.

Speaking to Channel 10’s The Project about the documentary, Neill told host Lisa Wilkinson about the “terrible judicial error” against Chamberlain.

“More people should have stood up and said, ‘This is clearly wrong,'” Neil said, criticizing the Northern Territory police department and local politicians who refused to participate in the documentary.

“They are guilty as hell,” Neill said.

“I think they are ashamed, you know. You were wrong. Man up because you are men, man up and admit it and apologize. It doesn’t take much, you know. Don’t go to the grave without making your peace with what you did.” .

In the first episode of the series, Lindy broke down describing the moment she found out that Azaria had been taken out of the store. She said her son, Aiden, spent “years” blaming herself for the baby’s disappearance.

“We didn’t know that he had blamed himself for not zipping the store,” Lindy explained.

“[He] did not notice that the zipper was broken. But it wouldn’t have made any difference, they [dingoes] they were smart enough to get in. “

The public wrote thousands of letters to Lindy, which were either deeply cruel or incredibly kind.

Despite some of the cruel words, Lindy kept many of those letters that paint a very vivid picture of the backlash she faced from the public.

“Lindy, you should hang it on the nearest tree,” read a letter. “99.5% of people know that you are guilty.”

“Murderer, murderer,” read another. “You murdered the baby because it was not normal.”

“Your husband should divorce you and get a good wife for his wife, not a murderer.”

Lindy Chamberlain: The True Story premieres Sunday, September 27 at 7.30 pm on the 10th and can be seen in game 10