STORY: The case that split the nation," by reporter Malcolm Brown, published in the Sydney Morning Herald on February 25, 2012.
GIST: "But there always was direct evidence that the dingo had taken the baby. Two campers, Bill and Judith West, heard a dingo growl near the tent. There were dingo paw prints at the entrance. There were drag marks in the sand and an indentation consistent with a baby's jumpsuit and people actually followed dingo tracks for a time away from the campsite. All that was set aside when the Northern Territory Police and Crown received advice from a British forensic expert, Professor James Cameron, who had examined stains on the baby's jumpsuit and concluded the baby had had its throat cut. Forensic biologist Joy Kuhl identified blood in the Chamberlain's car and some of their possessions, including a camera bag, and on further analysis found it contained foetal haemoglobin.........With what appeared to be damning new evidence, a forensic tidal wave brought in experts from all over Australia and the other side of the world. Even though, in this case, the alleged offence was infanticide, for which some women do not even face court. The Chamberlains went on trial, Lindy convicted of murder in October 1982 and sentenced to life imprisonment – a mandatory sentence for murder in the Territory – and Michael given a suspended sentence for being an accessory after the fact. Yet virtually all the scientific evidence that comprised the Crown case was torn apart in the royal commission conducted by Justice Trevor Morling in 1986-87. It turned out there was no blood in the car, or so little as to be inconsequential. What had been found was remnants of sticky fluid such as caramel milkshake which had attracted particles of copper dust, prevalent in Mt Isa where the Chamberlains lived, and it was the copper oxide that had given a positive result to a test for the presumptive presence of blood."
THE ENTIRE STORY CAN BE FOUND AT:
GIST: "But there always was direct evidence that the dingo had taken the baby. Two campers, Bill and Judith West, heard a dingo growl near the tent. There were dingo paw prints at the entrance. There were drag marks in the sand and an indentation consistent with a baby's jumpsuit and people actually followed dingo tracks for a time away from the campsite. All that was set aside when the Northern Territory Police and Crown received advice from a British forensic expert, Professor James Cameron, who had examined stains on the baby's jumpsuit and concluded the baby had had its throat cut. Forensic biologist Joy Kuhl identified blood in the Chamberlain's car and some of their possessions, including a camera bag, and on further analysis found it contained foetal haemoglobin.........With what appeared to be damning new evidence, a forensic tidal wave brought in experts from all over Australia and the other side of the world. Even though, in this case, the alleged offence was infanticide, for which some women do not even face court. The Chamberlains went on trial, Lindy convicted of murder in October 1982 and sentenced to life imprisonment – a mandatory sentence for murder in the Territory – and Michael given a suspended sentence for being an accessory after the fact. Yet virtually all the scientific evidence that comprised the Crown case was torn apart in the royal commission conducted by Justice Trevor Morling in 1986-87. It turned out there was no blood in the car, or so little as to be inconsequential. What had been found was remnants of sticky fluid such as caramel milkshake which had attracted particles of copper dust, prevalent in Mt Isa where the Chamberlains lived, and it was the copper oxide that had given a positive result to a test for the presumptive presence of blood."
THE ENTIRE STORY CAN BE FOUND AT:
PUBLISHER'S NOTE: The Toronto Star, my previous employer for more than twenty incredible years, has put considerable effort into exposing the harm caused by Dr. Charles Smith and his protectors - and into pushing for reform of Ontario's forensic pediatric pathology system. The Star has a "topic" section which focuses on recent stories related to Dr. Charles Smith. It can be found at:
http://www.thestar.com/topic/charlessmith
Information on "The Charles Smith Blog Award"- and its nomination process - can be found at:
http://smithforensic.blogspot.com/2011/05/charles-smith-blog-award-nominations.html
Harold Levy: Publisher; The Charles Smith Blog; hlevy15@gmail.com;
