The Chamberlain Case It is especially difficult to lose a loved one. The pain is expounded when that loved one is a young child. The pain can be compounded by anger when the loved one suffering the loss becomes the main suspect in the death/disappearance of the child. This was the case of Michael and Lindy Chamberlain. After suffering a devastating loss of their nine week old daughter, they were met with harsh accusations and hurtful rumors of somehow being involved in her death. Discussion The Chamberlain’s were camping at Ayers Rock in the Australian outback, on August 17th 1980. Lindy professed to have been cooking dinner for her oldest son a few yards away from the tent in which her younger son and infant daughter were already sleeping (Owens, 2009). Lindy claims that she was startled by what sounded like a short sharp cry. Lindy Chamberlain raced to her tent in time to observe a dingo backing out and away from it. She chased after the animal momentarily and then returned to find her daughter missing. This ensued a massive search and consequently a homicide investigation (Owens, 2009). Preponderance of the Evidence. There was significant evidence during the initial investigation of …show more content…
Chamberlain case. However, it was the interpretation of this evidence that put an innocent woman behind bars (Kyriakakis, 2012). The preponderance of the evidence was heavily based on unreliable forensic evidence and investigator bias. Inevitably it cost the young mother over three and a half years of her life in prison. (Northern Territory News, 2007) Circumstantial evidence cannot be used conclusively to determine an individual’s guilt or innocence. The evidence that was collected seemed to have no real basis of indication that the Chamberlains were involved in the disappearance of their daughter (Kyriakakis, 2012). According to reports the Chamberlains were at a campsite with over one hundred other people. When Lindy raised the alarm, the response from the nearby campers was immediate, so there was no time to hide or dispose of any evidence related to the case. Dissatisfied with the calmness of Michael’s and Lindy’s disposition, police authorities believed that their calmness was an indication of their knowledge that their daughter was already dead (Owens, 2009). This one false suspicion became the catalyst of four legal inquires, and three decades of public humiliation and doubt for the family (ABC Premier News, 2014). Erroneous Details The story of a dingo snatching young Azaria was just not plausible to police and political authorities. Yet, the Chamberlains stuck to their story (ABC Premier News, 2014). As the frenzy continued, the Chamberlains’ car would become a key piece of evidence. The investigators hypothesized that Lindy Chamberlain cut her infants’ throat while in the front seat of the car (ABC Premier News, 2014). Proving this phenomenal story would be difficult without a body. It is baffling to conceive, that if a baby’s throat were cut in an automobile, that there would be more than the simple existence of specks of blood (Northern Territory News, 2007). A key piece of evidence would come from under the dashboard of the vehicle. There was also other indications of blood randomly scattered around the car (Morrissey & Davis, 2007). This should have been an immediate indication, as blood spatter is generally not that random (Owens, 2009). It was later determined that the forensic technicians used the wrong type of blood reagent and it produced a false positive. The dashboard evidence and all the other “blood” evidence found in the car was false. This completely shatter the prosecution’s case, and inevitably secured the release of Lindy Chamberlain (ABC Premier News, 2014). Another curious aspect of this case was the manner in which the baby’s clothes were found. Rumors spread that they were folded up, inside out and hidden under a rock. However, this also proved to be untrue. The clothing was discovered by hikers, who immediately notified the park rangers. The Ranger, upon arrival, picked up and examined the clothing to see it there were any traces of the body among the torn pieces (Northern Territory News, 2007). The clothing was found under a rock, as it was later determined to be an overhead hanging rock. The area displayed drag marks, and it was here they believed the dingo stopped to get shade and devour his meal. Although it was never confirmed, about the clothing being folded up, that controversy did not stop the medical examiner, from reaching a new determination (Northern Territory News, 2007). The Concluding Perspective There were some extremely perplexing information associated with this case. The first was the fact that investigators could not contrive any reason or motivation as to why Lindy Chamberlain would want to kill her baby (Northern Territory News, 2007). Additionally, there was no opening for opportunity to perform what investigators initially claimed Lindy Chamberlain did, to cut the throat of her baby girl. Such a feat, would not only require her to be separate from her other children, but it would produce a horrific bloody scene. It is inconceivable, that in such a public place, with hundreds of witnesses in close proximity, Lindy Chamberlain would have the time and opportunity to perform the act and clean up as thoroughly as proposed, leaving only specs of blood in inconspicuous locations in the car. It would further have to be inferred, that she then stopped the bleeding and wrapped little Azaria up and pretended to lay her in a sleeper to cover up the deed. Lastly, her and her husband would then have to dispose of the body, without drawing any attention to themselves. The fact that the short distress cry was heard by more than one person, was an indication that baby Azaria was in the tent, alive, just as her mother indicated (Morrissey & Davis, 2007).
Witnesses confirmed that they saw a dingo running away from their location as Lindy Chamberlain was giving chase, and in the end forensics were able to prove the presence of hair, from the canine species, in the tent and on the clothing of Azaria Chamberlain (ABC Premier News, 2014). Additionally, the blood reagent, orthotolidene, that was used to test the vehicle, has the same reaction to oxidized copper. The Chamberlains were from a region called Mount Isa, where the major industry is the mining of copper (Northern Territory News, 2007). The blood was simply a confirmation of their
residence. It is a shamed that personal bias and unethical investigation caused a woman three years of hard labor. Inevitably, the strains of this case tore the family apart. Having to grieve the loss of her child, and then having the burden of bringing another to life while in prison, would take its toll on any person. It is reported that the Chamberlains became the center of devastating rumors of satanic sacrifice (ABC Premier News, 2014). It is of the utmost importance that crime scene investigators separate bias and emotion when investigating crimes. It is easy to become personally invested, especially when dealing with young innocent children. However, just as value is put on the victims life, the value of those suspected, should also be considered. It is a terrible tragedy to put someone in prison, for a crime they did not commit when the scientific capability is available to prove otherwise.
The first of the victims were two British backpackers who were touring Australia called Caroline Clark and Joanne Walters. They went missing in April of 1992 and were found in September of that year. They were found in a part of Belanglo State Forest known as “Executioner's Drop”. Joanne had been stabbed, possibly to the point of paralysis, and her zipper was undone, but the
Scott Peterson was an educated man from California Polytechnic State University where he graduated with a B.A. in Agricultural Business. He was married to his wife Laci Peterson who was also pregnant with their unborn son. In December of 2002 Laci Peterson went missing in the Modesto, California area where she shared a home with Scott. Once the investigation of Scott’s missing wife started authorities began to suspect Scott as a suspect in her disappearance. In April of 2003 a fetus and a female torso that was missing hands, feet, and a head were found on the shoreline of San Francisco Bay. The San Francisco Bay area was where Scott was boating the day of Laci’s disappearance. The body was later identified as Laci Peterson and the fetus as Laci and Scott’s unborn son. Scott was also arrested in the month of April shortly after the discovery of Laci and their son’s body and was later sentenced to the death penalty. Over the course of this paper I will cover the whole event of the disappearance of Laci Peterson, relating it to a sociological theory, the impact the event had on our society and how the media had influence over this national event.
Erick Larson wrote in Devil in the White City, “I was born with the devil in me. I could not help the fact that I was a murderer, no more than the poet can help the inspiration to sing – I was born with the Evil One standing as my sponsor beside the bed where I was ushered in the world, and he has been with me since” (Troy, Taylor). This statement was a quoted confession from Dr. H. H. Holmes himself in 1896. Holmes was the first major serial killer in America, even though he came after many others in his time. Thomas Neil Cream, the Austin Axe Murderer, the Bloody Benders, and Jack the Ripper came before him. His name was originally Herman Webster Mudgett. He was born on May 16th, 1860 in Gilman, New Hampshire. He was raised by his mother and father, who was a wealthy and respected citizen for 25 years. As a boy, Mudgett was always in trouble and was well known in his community for his rather sociopathic behavior. He would show cruelty to both animals and other children. The only thing keeping hope to society was the fact that he was an excellent student. He later changed his last name to Holmes in order to pursue both his medical and criminal careers. He had many other aliases in which he would hide under and try to derail the cops from finding him (Juan, Blanco). Holmes was medically trained to be a doctor and received his degree from the University of Michigan. He was not just into insurance fraud scams. His evil doings included forgery, claiming to find the cure for alcoholism, real estate scams, and pretending to have a machine that turned natural gas into water. He was quite the ladies man, had many wives, whom often had become his victims. Many of his medical partners became subject to him, also. He once even had three wiv...
David loved his step- mother very much and was often jealous of her other commitments and lack of soul attention towards him. During his early teens, David was informed that his step- mother had been fighting breast cancer for some time. He was previously unaware, and felt betrayed by his uninforming parents. Pearl's steady decline left him devastated, and her death in 1967 found him suddenly alone with his father (Bardsley 2001). Traumatic events like David losing his mother does a great deal to an individual's development in society due to the fact that there is no longer a positive cohesive whole unit as a family. We find that many people who lack a solid family background struggle later in life. An example of this would be the two guest speakers that spoke to our criminal justice class on November 12, 2001. Both individuals had parents who were once in jail or they had a limited relationship with.
When it come to the wrongdoing of serial murders the first thing people think of is that the offender is psychotic, white, abused as a child and experimented with animals. However that is not true, serial killers have different alternatives, motives and desires. Some are sexual sadist, act in necrophilia and are mission base serial killers. However people do not know that African-Americans consist of the largest racial minority group among serial killers, representing approximately 20 percent of the total amount of serial killers in America. (Bonn) Most believe that serial killers are white and other races are not likely to partake in that type of crimes. However two notorious well known black serial killers are Lemuel Smith & John Floyd
When Deborah was only sixteen she became pregnant with her first child by Cheetah and boy she liked when she was younger. Cheetah and Deborah got married and then had their second child. Deborah became very unhappy in the marriage because Cheetah started drinking and doing drugs. He started abusing Deborah. Cheetah pushed Deborah so much she almost killed him if it wasn’t for Bobbette. Deborah’s brothers Sonny and Lawrence were doing well except for Joe. Joe was another case. Joe went to the military, and the family was hoping that would do him good; but he came out worse than when he went in. Joe was threatened and beaten up by a boy named Ivy. Joe was in so much rage he went and stabbed him and killed him. Joe eventually turned himself in to the law, was convicted of second degree murder and sentenced fifteen years in prison.
A society that presumes a norm of violence and celebrates aggression, whether in the subway, on the football field, or in the conduct of its business, cannot help making celebrities of the people who would destroy it, (Lapham, 1985). Unfortunately, such acts of rampage have become a prevalent factor in the Canadian culture. As a result of endless media coverage, Canadians now are constantly bombarded with countless images of violence. Many of which often portray a victim avenging their opponent by force. Thus, indoctrinating individuals to believe that it is only through aggression that problems are resolved. Rather than being punished for acts of violence, those who commit such offenses are often praised for their “heroism”. In addition, the success of films like The Godfather, Gladiator, and Troy further aid in reinstating we live in a society that praises violence. Furthermore, this ideology allows for people to partake in violent acts with little or no backlash from ones community. However, when an person strays away from the “norm”, they are likely to then be viewed as a deviant. Such cases of rejection within a society, are often seen in the portrayal of serial killers. Although our society tends to condone violence when it is directed towards a specific individual(s), it does not allow the killing of innocent bystanders. Instead, crimes that are targeted against a number of people over a long period, entail the harshest forms punishments under the law. Sadly, in executing the law for said crimes, those in charge often face much public scrutiny. Such occurrences were apparent in the faulty murder investigations of Canada's most notorious serial killer Robert Pickton. This is due to the fact that, the negligence of the Vancou...
On June 20, 2001 a woman by the name of Andrea Yates, stunned the whole country with one of the most bizarre acts of violence that a parents could ever do to their own children. She called her husband at work and told him “I did it” confused by what was going on, he rush home only to find his house filled with officers of the law. The husband asked, “What is going on?”, and only to found out that his wife had drowned all five of their children.
as Jennifer, a victim states, “I feel our childhood has been taken away from us and it has left a big hole in our lives.”
The death of her child occurred while she and Leroy were watching a movie at a drive in theater. Her child then four months old was in the back seat. Studies have shown the amount of guilt a parent places upon themselves leads to emotional, psychological, and social consequences (Boyle 933 par 5). The relationship between the two parents becomes difficult to manage and needs tremendous care and guidance to maintain (Boyle 933 par 10). Of all the deaths a person might encounter, the death of a child is very traumatic and likely to lead to most severe consequences. It is reasonable to anticipate that families who lose children from SI...
A serial killer is traditional defined as the separate killings of three or more people by an individual over a certain period of time, usually with breaks between the murders. (Angela Pilson, p. 2, 2011) This definition has been accepted by both the police and academics and therefore provides a useful frame of reference (Kevin Haggerty, p.1, 2009). The paper will seek to provide the readers with an explanation of how serial killers came to be and how they are portrayed in the media.
A serial killer is a person who murders three or more people over a period of more than 30 days, with a "cooling off" period between each murder, and whose motivation for killing is largely based on psychological gratification. Most people do not understand what can make a person want to kill multiple people for no reason other than own satisfactional gain. In actuality serial killers have been studied for over hundreds of years, and the information that has been documented continues to grow. The research that I have gathered about serial killers focuses on their childhood development, the differences and similarities between men and female serial kills, and finally general information on how their brains operate and their motives for committing such harmful acts.
Serial killers have captivated the attention of scientists from the first signs of their existence to modern day. Interested by these killers’ inhumane actions, researchers set out to determine the cause of such graphic, horrific crimes. The brain has been brought into question regarding the motivation of these cold blooded killers. After extensive research, abnormalities of both the chemical composition and material makeup have been identified within the brains of numerous serial killers. These differences are more than mere coincidence, they are evidence that killers do not think in the same way. The killers’ drives and motives are irregular, just as their brains are. Not only are these variations interesting, but they are also crucial to the justice system in regards to the punishment of past, future, and present sequential murderers. It is important that as a society we learn the differences in the mind of a killer, and also recognize and understand them. A serial killer’s brain greatly differs in function from the average citizen’s brain due to physical variations in the brain and a different chemical makeup.
Robert Lee Yates is an American serial killer and he is from Spokane, Washington. He is also known as the Spokane serial killer. He was born May 27th, 1952. Yates is known to have murdered at least 13 women who were prostitutes working on Spokane’s skid row. After being convicted, Yates additionally admitted to two homicides that he did commit in Walla Walla, Washington in 1975 and a 1988 homicide that he committed in Skagit County, Washington. In 2002, Yates was indicted for murdering two women in Pierce County, Washington. He is currently serving his sentence on death row at Washington State Penitentiary.
Serial killers are people’s worst nightmare. They are very unpredictable. The smallest actions of another person will trigger the emotions of the would-be killer. Next, that specific action, verbal or physical, will become a motive for him or her. Now, there is a serial killer on the loose. Targeting anyone who triggers that specific emotion. The killer can strike any day, anyplace and at any time. No one will be expecting it. As stated, most serial killers do not kill without a purpose or a motive. Arthur J. Shawcross’s motive is being easily triggered, by verbal altercations, with other people. During his interviews, Arthur only tells excuses for his crimes. After I have read and reviewed Mr. Shawcross background and criminal history. I am linking neutralization theory to him. Neutralization theory holds that offenders adhere to conventional values while “drifting” into periods of illegal behavior. To drift, people must first overcome (neutralize) legal and moral values. This theory identifies with the writings of David Matza and his associate Gresham Sykes which they have developed in 1957 (Criminology