Criminal Investigation: Lindy Chamberlain Case Study Analysis

This essay provides an in-depth analysis of the Lindy Chamberlain case, focusing on the investigation process and the nature of the evidence presented. It begins by outlining the criminal law context and the specifics of the Azaria Chamberlain case. The essay then details the investigative process, highlighting the steps taken by the Australian Supreme Court, including immediate response, information gathering, scene release, analysis, report development, and finding sharing. It critically evaluates the effectiveness of each step, noting both positive and negative aspects of the investigation. Furthermore, the essay examines the nature of the evidence, differentiating between substantive and adjective law, and assessing the evidentiary value of oral, written, and physical evidence. It discusses key pieces of evidence, such as blood samples and witness statements, and addresses controversies surrounding forensic evidence. The essay concludes by summarizing the importance of law in guiding individuals and maintaining societal peace, while also reflecting on the investigative processes and evidence laws applied in the Azaria Chamberlain case, ultimately leading to Lindy Chamberlain's exoneration.

ESSAY

TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
MAIN BODY..................................................................................................................................3
The investigative process.............................................................................................................3
Nature of the evidence and the way it was received....................................................................5
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................6
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................1

INTRODUCTION
Criminal law can be state as the body of law that define the various crime committed by an
individual such as murder and criminal conspiracy (What is criminal law? 2021). Along, with
this law has been made to protect the right of an individual that are living in the society beside
this it determines the punishment of criminal offence such as penalties and judicial trial
The present study is based on the famous case Lindy Chamberlain that is related to the
murder mystery of their own baby Azaria that was held in Red centre desert of the Australia in
1980. Moreover, the report will discuss on the investigation of the case done by the judiciary
and the way nature of evidence revived by the legal system. Lastly, study will throw light on
how Lindy was held guilty for the murder in the quoted case.
MAIN BODY
The investigative process
Investigation process can be defined as the systematic approach of inquiry and examine
an individual for collecting the data related to suits or report. In simple words, it can be defined
as the process of gathering the information in order to find out the truth about the incident. In the
present case it was investigated that Alice Lynne Chamberlain was held guilty for the charge on
murdering her own daughter at Azaria at Ayers rock on 17 august 1980. While the Michael
Leigh chamberlain was convicted under the charge of the being the accessory for the murder. For
thorough investigation there are seven steps followed by the jury of the Australia supreme court
in the context of the present case such as it the first step in the investigation is Responded
Immediately in this the investigator coordinate with its team to find out the depth of the case.
Moreover, the duty of the investigator is to collect the equipment that are found in the case. In
the present case, the jury has convicted every evidence in the judicial custody that were involved
in the case so that punishment can be given to the lindy.
The second step is Gathering information followed by the investigator in order to
collect the relevant data related to the case or incident (Anderson., 2017). In case of Lindy the
investigation team has sealed the site where the incident has taken place and all the suspected
were investigated personally as well as the photos and document were taken. Along with this, the
blood sample was taken from the tent so to recognise the victim and the damage cloth of Azaria's
were taken in order to identify the gap of the case and at the same time collect proper
information regarding the evidence. The third step followed by the investigator is to Release the

scene in the quoted case after gathering the relevant situation the investigator and the team has
released the spot of the crime. So that general public can use that spot and enjoy their holiday. in
the fourth step the investigator has Perform the analysis in the case of Lindy the investigator
has adopted the two way of analysing such as listing the crime in the chronological order so that
it can write down the incident step by step as it will help in clearly understanding the crime.
Moreover, in the second step the crime was recorded in the logical manner likewise it has
collected the blood sample for every suspect that was present at the incident in order to recognize
the true criminal.
This is one of the important step of Investigation in this step the investigator has Develop
a report of the investigation as on the basis of this jury will take the judgment (Handayani and
et.al., 2017). In the present case the report contained the personal information regarding Lindy,
Azaria and Michele as well as the people that was present at the time of crime. Along, with this
the photographs of incident and the suspect was also attach in the document so that jury can take
the right decision regarding the case.
The last step of the process was Share the finding in the quoted case there was three
scientific finding in the case such as blood sample and the object likewise scissor and towel was
shared to the jury so that it can help in understanding the nature of the crime.
In the present case I have experienced that investigation process that was held by the jury
had ups and down such as in the first step the investigator has responded very well such as it has
seized the place of the crime so that the no criminal can go and remove the evidence. However,
there was negative point related it that no information was given to the family of the suspect. In
the second step the investigator has collected the information on the basis of oral and written
evidence that was an appropriate way of gathering information as it allows the jury to understand
the situation of the case (Middleweek., 2017). Furthermore, in the third stage of releasing the
scene I think it was a bad decision cause the criminal can enter that place and remove the
evidence that can create a conflict for the jury while declaring the punishment.
In the finding stage the investigator has done the work very efficiently as it has collected
the minor and the major evidence that was very helpful in making in the final report. In addition
to this the investigator has done the great job in finding but it has only focused on the scientific
finding instead of that it should have tried collecting the physical object such as clothes of the

baby and the personnel interview would help in collecting more evidence. That would have
result in finding the culprit.
Nature of the evidence and the way it was received
Evidence can be defined as the proof of the fact that are related to any issue. In simple
words, the evidence means and include all the statement that are permit by the court and required
to be made before by the witness (Notes to legal concept.,2021). Moreover, it is of two type oral,
documentary and demonstrative likewise map, diagram, models and charts. The nature of
evidence can be classified in the two type substantive and adjective. The substantive law
basically defines the right and duties of the individual. On the other hand, the adjective law can
state the rights and duties of person may have against government or any other individual along
with this both this law can be used in criminal and civil case (Wainger and et.al., 2018).
Furthermore, the oral and written, physical (objects) evidence do have high level of
evidentiary value in the court and the hearsay is not given major importance in the court because
no judgment can be give on that basis (Cheng and Nunn., 2018) In the present case there was
various evidence such as human blood was found in the car likewise on the window, near side
hinge of the diver seat, camera bag and in the tent where the baby was sleeping. Moreover, Mrs
Lowe was the first suspect who state that she heard the Azaria cry first and saw that Mrs.
chamberlain was shouting “that the dog got my baby”. Along, with this the question was raised
on the forensic evidence in the trail and was accused of the murder on the basis as the
haemoglobin test and it was similar to the blood found in the car (Parker and et.al., 2018).
But later, it was found that the result of the report was not correct and the blood sample
that was found in the tent was not similar to Mrs. Chamberlain. Furthermore, in the last evidence
it was found that Dingo was responsible for the death of baby as there were foot print present
near the tent and some suspect has seen that female dingo was removing the bundle of meat and
leaving the intact behind (Kaye, 2017) Lastly, it was found that cause of death was due to the
attack of dingo and Mrs. Chamberlain was falsely accused and was awarded with the
compensation of $1.3 million for the wrongful imprisonment and mentally harassment. Beside
this the family received the condolence form the court and the death certificate has been
registered and no suspect was held guilty for the offence (Friesen and et.al., 2019)

CONCLUSION
From the above report it can be concluded that law is very necessary for guiding the
individuals regarding their rights and duties towards government and other person. As well as it
plays crucial role in maintaining the peace in the society. Moreover, the study also summarized
about the criminal law that basically define the types of crime and their punishment such as trial
and death sentence. Generally, it was made to protect the rights and duties of the individual
living in the society. In addition, to this the report has depicted on the investigation processed
used by the jury for finding the appropriate evidence related to Azaria case. Lastly, the study has
shed light on the evidence law definition and the nature of the act such as substantive and
adjective. As well as the process used by the jury for the actual of the victim in the case.

REFERENCES
Books and journals
Cheng, E. K. and Nunn, G .A., 2018. Beyond the witness: Bringing a process perspective to
modern evidence law. Tex. L. Rev. 97. p.1077.
Kaye, D. H., 2017. Digging into the foundations of evidence law. Michigan Law Review. 115(6).
pp.915-934.
Parker, M. and et.al., 2018. Law as clinical evidence: a new ConstitutiveModel of medical
education and decision-making. Journal of bioethical inquiry. 15(1). pp.101-109.
Friesen, J. P and et.al., 2019. System justification: Experimental evidence, its contextual nature,
and implications for social change. British Journal of Social Psychology. 58(2). pp.315-
339.
Wainger, L. A. and et.al., 2018. Evidence of a shared value for nature. Ecological
Economics. 154. pp.107-116.
Middleweek, B., 2017. Dingo media? The persistence of the “trial by media” frame in popular,
media, and academic evaluations of thes Azaria Chamberlain case. Feminist Media
Studies. 17(3). pp.392-411.
Anderson, F., 2017. ‘Photographing Lindy’: Australian press photography and the Chamberlain
case, 1980–2012. Media International Australia.162(1). pp.7-18.
Zulyadi, R., 2020. Police's Role in Investigation Process of Fraud Criminal Act of Civil Servants
Candidate (Case Study of Police Station Binjai). Britain International of Humanities
and Social Sciences (BIoHS) Journal. 2(2). pp.403-411.
Tsai, F. C., 2021. The Application of Blockchain of Custody in Criminal Investigation
Process. Procedia Computer Science. 192. pp.2779-2788.
Handayani, I. G. A. K. R and et.al., 2017. The application of article 359 of the criminal code in
the investigation of the death of post-operative patients. J. Advanced Res. L. & Econ.. 8.
p.1517.
Online references
What is criminal law?., 2021. [Online]. Available through
<https://www.alllaw.com/articles/nolo/criminal/what-is-criminal-law.html>.
1

Notes to legal concept.,2021 [Online]. Available through
<https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/evidence-legal/notes.html>.
2