"That was that after Mrs [Lindy] Chamberlain placed Azaria in the tent, a dingo or dingoes entered the tent, attacked Azaria and dragged or carried her from the area." Justice at last for the Chamberlains ... coroner rules that a dingo did take baby Azaria from a tent in 1980. Ms Morris said she accepted the findings of the royal commission, conducted by Justice Trevor Morling in 1986-87, which had painstakingly gone through all aspects of the forensic evidence. She also took into account three deaths of children, in Queensland, NSW, and Victoria following attacks by dingoes or dingo-cross dogs. She said: "Mr and Mrs Chamberlain, Aidan and your extended families, please accept my sincere sympathy over the death of your dear and loved daughter Azaria."

Ms Morris said that amended death certificates had already been prepared stating that a dingo had taken the baby and they were ready for collection by Michael Chamberlain and Lindy Chamberlain-Creighton (as she is now known after remarrying) immediately after the court adjourned. The amended death certificate for Azaria Chamberlain, with the cause of death now stated as being "attacked and taken by a dingo". Credit:Glenn Campbell The hearing was an ironic repeat of the first coroner's inquest in 1980-81 when Michael and Lindy Chamberlain had sat together before coroner Dennis Barrett, who agreed to telecast his findings nationwide that a dingo had taken the baby. Since then, the Chamberlains divorced and both remarried. Lindy Chamerlain after the coroner's verdict. Credit: Glenn Campbell

But in Darwin last night, they hugged each other and in the court this morning they sat together, with family members beside them. They hugged again after the finding. Following new scientific evidence in 1981, Mr Barrett's inquest finding was quashed and a new inquest ordered under coroner Gerry Galvin. That inquest heard evidence that blood from Azaria had been found in the Chamberlains' car on a pair of scissors and other possessions. Azaria Chamberlain, with her mother Lindy. Mr and Mrs Chamberlain, Aidan and your extended families, please accept my sincere sympathy over the death of your dear and loved daughter Azaria On the strength of this and other evidence from forensic experts, the Chamberlains went on trial in September 1982, Lindy for murder and Michael for being an accessory after the fact.

In November 1982, a Supreme Court jury in Darwin found the couple guilty. Mrs Chamberlain was sentenced to life imprisonment and Mr Chamberlain, convicted of being an accessory after the fact of murder, received a bond. Mrs Chamberlain served three years in jail and though her appeals to both the Federal and High courts failed, new evidence and the finding of Azaria's matinee jacket at the base of Uluru in 1986 prompted the Northern Territory government to release her and order a royal commission. The Chamberlains were exonerated, had their convictions quashed and were compensated. But both sought a coroner's finding that a dingo had taken the baby. A third coroner's inquest under John Lounds returned only an open verdict, which left open the possibility that one or both of the Chamberlains might have been implicated in their daughter's death.

After the finding was delivered today, Ms Chamberlain-Creighton and her son Aidan, who was six at the time Azaria disappeared, embraced. Spectators in the packed court clapped loudly and the Chamberlains went off to get their certificates. Outside, an emotional Ms Chamberlain-Creighton said she was "relieved and delighted to come to the end of this saga." "No longer will Australia be able to say that dingoes are not dangerous and will only attack if provoked ... We live in a beautiful country but it is dangerous." Mr Chamberlain thanked the "courageous and independent coroner" for her finding, saying she was "speaking for the dead".

"This has been a terrifying battle," he told reporters. Loading "Bitter at times, but now some healing and a chance to put our daughter's spirit to rest. "It has taken too long [but] I'm here to tell you, you can get justice even when you think all is lost," he said.