Michael Chamberlain's life of legal hell

Michael Chamberlain, the father of Azaria Chamberlain, has died aged 72.

MICHAEL CHAMBERLAIN'S LIFE AND LEGAL SAGA:

* August 17, 1980 - Nine-week-old Azaria Chamberlain goes missing from her family's tent during a holiday at Uluru. Her bloodied clothing is found a week later at the base of Uluru.

* February 20, 1981 - The first inquest into Azaria's disappearance finds that she was taken by a dingo.

* November 18, 1981 - The inquest findings are quashed by the Northern Territory Supreme Court after a police search finds suspected evidence, including blood in the Chamberlains' car. A second inquest is ordered.

* February 1982: The second inquest overturns the first finding and commits Lindy and Michael Chamberlain to trial.

* October 29, 1982: Lindy Chamberlain (now Chamberlain-Creighton) is found guilty and sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of Azaria; Michael Chamberlain is given a suspended sentence for accessory after the fact to murder.

* April 29, 1983 - An appeal is unanimously rejected by the Federal Court.

* February 22, 1984 - The High Court upholds the conviction.

* February 2, 1986: Azaria's jacket found at Uluru.

* February 7, 1986: Lindy Chamberlain is released from prison on compassionate grounds. A Royal Commission is ordered in April.

* June 2, 1987: The Royal Commission finds the trial verdicts were unsafe and unsound.

* September 15, 1988: The Northern Territory Criminal Court of Appeal quashes the convictions and finds the Chamberlains innocent of murder.

* June 1991: The Chamberlains finalise their divorce. Linda marries Rick Creighton the following year; Michael marries Ingrid Bergner in 1994.

* December 13, 1995: A third inquest into the death of Azaria delivers an open finding.

* June 12, 2012: A fourth inquest finds that Azaria was killed by a dingo.

* January 9, 2017: Michael Chamberlain dies aged 72 after complications from leukaemia.


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Source: AAP


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