A Cry in the Dark Page #4

They just peel it like an orange.

lf you'll notice here,

on the hands, for instance,

there is blood as well.

- Tough little nut.

- You could crack walnuts on her face.

Don't you understand they're using you to

sell their papers? People love this rubbish!

But they put us on the front page. We're

all over the television. I won't have it!

- This has got to stop.

- What they'd already written was worse.

I tried to correct them

and give them the facts.

Will you listen to me?

These people aren't interested in facts.

I'm told there's no trace of saliva

on the clothes. None whatsoever.

What, none?

Our experiments tell us the cuts on the

jump suit weren't made by dingoes' teeth.

Fine.

Jesus Christ!

The forensic blokes reckon there's

no way a dingo could have killed that kid.

Not by the state the clothes were in.

I tell you, these bloody Chamberlains!

They wouldn't know the truth

if it bit 'em on the arse.

Hello!

- Hi. Mrs Chamberlain?

- Yes. Lindy.

Graham Charlwood.

We spoke on the phone.

Now I can put a face

to the voice. Come in.

- I see you're packing up.

- We're moving back to Avondale College.

- My husband's study leave came through.

- I'm glad I dropped by.

- Gathering information for the inquest.

- It's about time something was done.

The Northern Territory police

have been hopeless.

I'm from the Northern Territory police.

Oops.

- This is my husband Michael.

- Graham Charlwood.

Feeling is high in Alice Springs

as the first sessions

of the Azaria Chamberlain inquest start.

Alice Springs is

the focus of the nation's media.

- Do you still have faith in your religion?

- Our faith has been strengthened by this.

Pastor, you believe Azaria's death

was an act of God?

Mrs Chamberlain, is it true you felt

depressed after the birth of Azaria?

Was Azaria's death a punishment

for travelling on your Sabbath?

Is it not the case that you wrote

some sort of thesis on dingoes at college?

It is not the case.

That's a press invention.

That arose from the Woman's Day article.

I thought it came from a newspaper.

Was the Woman's Day article accurate?

No. It was the most

inaccurate article of all,

or at least of the ones that I've read so far.

In fact there are only about five reporters

who write exactly what you say.

The rest of them use a little bit of licence.

Perhaps I could read you

something from Dr Brown's report.

''There were several small cuts

in the baby blankets,

but there was no evidence

of tooth marks.''

Well? Teeth cut, don't they?

A forensic dentist finds

no evidence of tooth marks.

- Does that concern you?

- Of course it concerns me.

But if he can't say what happened,

how can he say what didn't happen?

So you're not prepared

to accept his expertise in...

I'm not saying that. I'm saying what

I'd like is a full answer, not a half answer.

I'd like to know more than anyone else...

what happened to my...

my baby daughter.

They're a native creature of this country,

not a scapegoat!

Yeah? What about 'em?

They're still a wild animal.

They're native to Australia!

They're beautiful.

If you tell me that that b*tch is innocent

and a dingo is guilty,

I'll punch your f***in' head in.

Choice! That's really lovely, Reg.

Hands up all those that think she's guilty.

Come on!

Now, Mr Chamberlain.

Pastor!

Pastor.

If I could ask about

the hair colouring of the baby

in the photograph you took of

Mrs Chamberlain at Ayers Rock.

I'm sorry.

Would you repeat that, please?

If I could ask about the hair colouring

of the baby in the photograph you took.

We seek a short adjournment,

Your Worship.

We support the application, Your Worship.

Court is adjourned for five minutes.

Someone's threatened to kill you.

We think they're in the courthouse.

ln Alice Springs a death threat interrupted

the Azaria Chamberlain inquiry.

Justice Barritt ordered 24-hour protection

for the Chamberlains after a threat...

Justice Barritt will move the Azaria

Chamberlain inquest to Ayers Rock,

to make an inspection of the Chamberlain

campsite and the barbecue area.

Justice Barritt,

how accurate a re-creation is this?

Mr Chamberlain, what were you cooking?

Michael! Where were you

when you heard the baby cry?

I don't believe it.

Well, that's it.

Why should I let them know how I feel?

From now on, I'm gonna

keep myself to myself.

Not gonna show them anything.

People can turn on you like

a pack of hungry animals.

What a racket! Probably be a bomb.

Don't be ridiculous.

- There's a bomb, is there?

- You've been informed, have you?

No.

Well, yeah. There's a bomb.

We'll have to go out by the pool. When

we open the door, the media goes nuts.

Waiting for a pyjama shot.

I told you, Michael!

To you, Pastor and Mrs Chamberlain,

and through you, to Aidan and Reagan,

may I extend my deepest sympathy.

You've not only suffered the loss of your

beloved child in tragic circumstances,

but you've all been subjected

to months of innuendoes, suspicion

and some of the most malicious gossip

ever witnessed in this country.

I've taken the unusual step of permitting

these proceedings to be televised today

in the hope that,

by direct and accurate communication,

such innuendoes, suspicion

and gossip may cease.

This case clearly emphasises

that a choice has to be made

between dingoes on one hand,

and tourism on the other.

Cheeky bastard. On national television!

l've had the occasion to criticise

the work of the Northern Territory police...

- He doesn't know sh*t from clay, this fella!

- What's his religion?

..reporting of the sprayed blood stain

on the exterior of the tent,

resulted in this investigation being

diverted in the wrong direction.

I'm satisfied that Dr Brown,

an acknowledged expert

on bite marks of humans,

used his best endeavours

to learn what he could

of what had been, until this case,

an unknown field.

In the light of

his straightforward admission,

that he had no experience

in examining bite marks in clothing,

it'd be dangerous to rely on

his evidence in that regard.

I doth find

Azaria Chantel Loren Chamberlain,

a child of nine weeks of age...

- I think they're both bloody guilty.

- Shut up. Listen and learn something.

..met her death when attacked

by a wild dingo,

whilst asleep in the family's tent

at the top camping area, Ayers Rock.

l further find that neither

the parents of the child,

nor either of their remaining children,

were in any degree

responsible for this death.

I find that the name ''Azaria''

does not mean and never has meant

''sacrifice in the wilderness''.

I find that after her death,

the body of Azaria

was taken from

the possession of the dingo

and disposed of by an unknown method,

by a person or persons, name unknown.

Court is adjourned.

Sergeant Charlwood, are you upset

by the coroner's decision?

Why do you think people

wouldn't accept the dingo story?

Perhaps because

this is the first in Australia.

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