Lindy Chamberlain ’off to join her family’

Press, 10 February 1986, Page 4

Lindy Chamberlain ’off to join her family’

NZPA-AAP Darwin Almost 48 hours after her release from prison, Lindy Chamberlain yesterday apparently left Darwin, heading home to a reunion with her husband, Michael, and young family at Cooranbong, near Newcastle, on the New South Wales central coast. Mrs Chamberlain, who was released from Berrimah jail on Friday afternoon, spent the next two nights at the home of friends seeing wellwishers and supporters. She consistently refused to appear for interviews and photographs in spite of a large news media group camped outside the suburban house.

Her solicitor, Mr Stuart Tipple, arrived on Saturday afternoon and is thought to have left with Mrs Chamberlain yesterday, avoiding cameras and news crews. Mrs Chamberlain was taken from her hideaway early on Saturday and moved to a new place. An airport van delivered two persons, who looked like Mrs Chamberlain and Mr Tipple, to a Brisbane-bound plane at

Darwin yesterday afternoon, but television cameras and journalists caught only a brief, distant glimpse as they climbed the plane’s boarding ramp. Mr Tipple, who spoke with journalists on Saturday evening, said Mrs Chamberlain was in high spirits but very tired.

“We believe we have won the decisive battle. We have now got a mopping up exercise to carry out to win the war,” he said.

Announcing Mrs Chamberlain’s release, the Northern Territory At-torney-General, Mr Marshall Perron, said an inquiry would be held into her case. The terms of reference had not been drawn up or the composition of the inquiry body decided, but the Government would consider introducing enabling legislation in the March sittings of the Legislative Assembly, he said.

Mrs Chamberlain, sentenced to life imprisonment in 1982 on a murder charge after the death of of her daughter, Azaria, will not be returned to prison regardless of the

result of the inquiry. Mr Tipple and other Chamberlain supporters want a full inquiry to lay the matter finally to rest.

“I think it is essential that the terms of reference be as wide as possible,” said Mr Tipple.

“That is to include all the information given at the earlier inquests as well as at the trial, and wide enough to take in any additional evidence.

“The rules of evidence should not be as strictly adhered to as in the normal appellate courts.”

It was essential that whoever headed the inquiry had wide experience in trial work and criminal hearings. “Probably the best person would be a suitable Federal Court judge,” he said. For reasons of convenience, Mr Tipple said he would also like the inquiry held outside Darwin.

The Northern Territory Government’s shock decision on Friday has prompted speculation over what tipped its hand, but Mr Tipple said he was still not sure what spurred the releasee of Mrs

Chamberlain. An application for a -judicial inquiry accompanied by alleged new forensic evidence was rejected last November by Mr Perron. Mr Tipple discounted the baby’s jacket found last Sunday by police at Ayers Rock and later identified by Mrs Chamberlain as belonging to Azaria. “I cannot really see that the material found recently was the real reason for calling an inquiry,” he said. “If that was the case I would have thought they would have waited until some forensic testing had been carried out. “It would have been much easier on them to call the inquiry following the receipt of our submissions.”

Mr Tipple said the Northern Territory Government had chosen a harder course.

“I suppose one can’t help think of the Biblical quote about the Lord moving in mysterious ways — one has to say the Northern Territory Government moves in much more mysterious ways.” Further report, page 2