Police to interview man over dingo baby death claims

An Australian pensioner is to be interviewed by police after claiming he can provide conclusive proof that a dingo savaged a baby girl to death 24 years ago, officers confirmed today.

Frank Cole, 87, will be asked to provide a statement after he told a newspaper that he shot dead a wild dog after seeing two-month-old Azaria Chamberlain’s bloodied body still in the animal’s jaws in 1980.

The infant’s mother Lindy was convicted of murdering her daughter, but later cleared of the crime after fresh evidence supported the claim that a dingo had snatched the child.

Her story, which remains one of Australia’s most notorious criminal cases, was immortalised in the 1988 Hollywood film, A Cry in the Dark, starring Meryl Streep and Sam Neill.

Mr Cole said he had shot the dog soon after Azaria disappeared from a campsite near Uluru, formerly known as Ayers Rock, in 1980.

Grahame Kelly, assistant commissioner of the Northern Territory Police, said today: “At the appropriate time, the Northern Territory Police will speak to Mr Cole to obtain a statement in regards to his claims.

“Until that statement is obtained, it is inappropriate to comment on the impact of the claims by Mr Cole.”

The pensioner said that he did not tell police what he had done at the time, in August 1980, because he feared he would be fined for shooting the dog.

Though he claims one of his friends took away Azaria’s body from the scene, he said he believes the man may have buried the baby’s body in his Melbourne garden, raising hopes that the infant’s corpse could finally be recovered.

Mr Kelly confirmed that his force will seek assistance from police in Melbourne, but did not reveal if that will involve making a search of the address.

A spokesman for Mrs Chamberlain, who served four years in prison after her conviction, said she was aware of the new claims and believed they were a matter for police.

Azaria’s death was the first recorded fatality attributed to a dingo attack in Australia and there has been only one similar fatal attack since.

Former Northern Territory province officers have greeted the developments in the case with scepticism, suggesting Mr Cole may have timed his claims to coincide with a new TV movie into the incident.