Amber Hagerman: The Legacy Behind the Amber Alert

 

An Amber alert (alternatively styled AMBER alert) or a child abduction emergency alert (SAME code: CAE) is a message distributed by a child abduction alert system to ask the public for help in finding abducted children. The system originated in the United States.

The Amber Alert was created about Amber Rene Hagerman, who was abducted and later found murdered on January 17, 1996. Alternative regional alert names were once used; in Georgia, "Levi's Call" (in memory of Levi Frady); in Hawaii, "Maile Amber Alert" (in memory of Maile Gilbert); in Arkansas, "Morgan Nick Amber Alert" (in memory of Morgan Nick); in Utah, "Rachael Alert" (in memory of Rachael Runyan); and in Idaho, "Monkey's Law" (in memory of Michael “Monkey” Joseph Vaughan).

In the United States, the alerts are distributed via commercial and public radio stations, Internet radio, satellite radio, television stations, text messages, and cable TV by the Emergency Alert System and NOAA Weather Radio (where they are termed "Amber Alerts"). The alerts are also issued via e-mail, electronic traffic-condition signs, commercial electronic billboards, or through wireless device SMS text messages.

The US Justice Department's Amber Alert Program has also teamed up with Google and Facebook to display information regarding an Amber alert when geographically relevant searches are entered into Google, Yahoo!, Bing, and other search engines. This is a component of the Amber alert system that is already active in the US (there are also developments in Europe). Those interested in subscribing to receive Amber alerts in their area via SMS messages can visit Wireless Amber alerts, which are offered by law as free messages. In some states, the display scrollboards in front of lottery terminals are also used.

The decision to declare an Amber alert is made by each police organization (in many cases, the state police or highway patrol) investigating the abduction. Public information in an Amber alert usually includes the name and description of the abductee, a description of the suspected abductor, and a description and license plate number of the abductor's vehicle if available.

Activation criteria

An example of a July 2010 Amber alert from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where electronic LED billboards, such as this one in Sheboygan, Wisconsin, owned by Lamar, are used to relay details of the incident to the public.

An Amber alert is displayed on cable TV by the Emergency Alert System. Generated via a DASDEC or a One-Net EAS/IPAWS encoder used by a NJ cable system.

The alerts are broadcast using the Emergency Alert System, which had previously been used primarily for weather bulletins, civil emergencies, or national emergencies. In Canada, alerts are broadcast via Alert Ready, a Canadian emergency warning system. Alerts usually contain a description of the child and of the likely abductor. To avoid both false alarms and having alerts ignored as a "wolf cry", the criteria for issuing an alert are rather strict. Each state's or province's Amber alert plan sets its own criteria for activation, meaning that there are differences between alerting agencies as to which incidents are considered to justify the use of the system. However, the U.S. Department of Justice issues the following "guidance", which most states are said to "adhere closely to" (in the U.S.):

Law enforcement must confirm that an abduction has taken place.

The child must be at risk of serious injury or death.

There must be sufficient descriptive information about child, captor, or captor's vehicle to issue an alert.

The child must be under 18 years of age.

Many law enforcement agencies have not used #2 as a criterion, resulting in many parental abductions triggering an Amber alert, where the child is not known or assumed to be at risk of serious injury or death. In 2013, West Virginia passed Skylar's Law to eliminate #1 as a criterion for triggering an Amber alert.

It is recommended that Amber alert data immediately be entered into the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) National Crime Information Center. Text information describing the circumstances surrounding the abduction of the child should be entered, and the case flagged as child abduction.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police's (RCMP) requirements in Canada are nearly identical to the above list, with the exception that the RCMP is notified. One organization might notify the other if there is reason to suspect that the border may be crossed.

\When investigators believe that a child is in danger of being taken across the border to either Canada or Mexico, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, United States Border Patrol and the Canada Border Services Agency are notified and are expected to search every car coming through a border checkpoint. If the child is suspected to be taken to Canada, a Canadian Amber Alert can also be issued, and a pursuit by Canadian authorities usually follows.

Incidents not meeting alert criteria

For incidents which do not meet Amber alert criteria, the United States Department of Justice developed the Child Abduction Response Teams (CART) program to assist local agencies. This program can be used in all missing children's cases with or without an Amber alert. CART can also be used to help recover runaway children who are under the age of 18 and in danger. As of 2010, 225 response teams have been trained in 43 states, as well as Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico, the Bahamas, and Canada.

Namesake

Amber Hagerman

Amber Rene Hagerman (November 25, 1986 – January 15, 1996) was a nine-year-old girl abducted while riding her bike in Arlington, Texas. Her younger brother, Ricky, had gone home without her because Amber had wanted to stay in the parking lot for a while. When he returned with his grandfather, they only found her bicycle. A neighbor who had witnessed the abduction called 911.

On hearing the news, Hagerman's father, Richard, called Marc Klaas, whose daughter, Polly, had been kidnapped and murdered in Petaluma, California, in 1993, and Amber's mother, Donna Whitson (now Donna Williams), called the news media and the FBI. They and their neighbors began searching for Amber.

Four days after her abduction, near midnight, a man walking his dog discovered Amber's naked body in a creek behind an apartment complex with severe laceration wounds to her neck. The site of the discovery was less than five miles (8 km) from where she was abducted. Her murder remains unsolved.

Texas program development

Within days of Amber's death, Donna Williams was "calling for tougher laws governing kidnappers and sex offenders". Amber's parents soon established People Against Sex Offenders (PASO). They collected signatures hoping to force the Texas Legislature into passing more stringent laws to protect children.

God's Place International Church donated the first office space for the organization, and as the search for Amber's killer continued, PASO received almost-daily coverage in local media. Companies donated various office supplies, including computers and Internet service. Congressman Martin Frost, with the help of Marc Klaas, drafted the Amber Hagerman Child Protection Act. Both of Hagerman's parents were present when President Bill Clinton signed the bill into law, creating the national sex offender registry. Williams and Richard Hagerman then began collecting signatures in Texas, which they planned to present to then-Governor George W. Bush as a sign that people wanted more stringent laws for sex offenders.

In July 1996, Bruce Seybert (whose own daughter was a close friend of Amber) and Richard Hagerman attended a media symposium in Arlington. Although Hagerman had remarks prepared, on the day of the event the organizers asked Seybert to speak instead. In his 20-minute speech, he spoke about efforts that local police could take quickly to help find missing children and how the media could facilitate those efforts. C.J. Wheeler, a reporter from radio station KRLD, approached the Dallas police chief shortly afterward with Seybert's ideas and launched the first ever Amber Alert.

Williams testified in front of the United States Congress in June 1996, asking legislators to create a nationwide registry of sex offenders. Representative Martin Frost, the Congressman who represents Williams' district, proposed an "Amber Hagerman Child Protection Act." Among the sections of the bill was one that would create a national sex offender registry.

Diana Simone, a Texas resident who had been following the news, contacted the KDMX radio station and proposed broadcasts to engage passers-by in helping locate missing children. Her idea was picked up and for the next two years, alerts were made manually to participating radio stations. In 1998, the Child Alert Foundation created the first fully automated Alert Notification System (ANS) to notify surrounding communities when a child was reported missing or abducted. Alerts were sent to radio stations as originally requested but included television stations, surrounding law enforcement agencies, newspapers and local support organizations. These alerts were sent all at once via pagers, faxes, emails, and cell phones with the information immediately posted on the Internet for the general public to view.

Following the automation of the Amber alert with ANS technology created by the Child Alert Foundation, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) expanded its role in 2002 to promote the Amber alert.

International adoption

United States

In October 2000, the United States House of Representatives adopted H.Res.605, which encouraged communities nationwide to implement the Amber Plan. In October 2001, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children that had declined to be a part of the Amber alert program in February 1996 launched a campaign to have Amber alert systems established nationwide. In February 2002, the Federal Communications Commission officially endorsed the system. In 2002, several children were abducted in cases that drew national attention. One such case, the kidnapping and murder of Samantha Runnion, prompted California to establish an Amber alert system on July 24, 2002. According to Senator Dianne Feinstein, in its first month California issued 13 Amber alerts; 12 of the children were recovered safely and the remaining alert was found to be a misunderstanding.

By September 2002, 26 states had established Amber alert systems that covered all or parts of the state. A bipartisan group of U.S. senators, led by Kay Bailey Hutchison and Dianne Feinstein, proposed legislation to name an Amber Alert coordinator in the U.S. Justice Department who could help coordinate state efforts. The bill also provided $25 million in federal matching grants for states to establish Amber alert programs and necessary equipment purchases, such as electronic highway signs. A similar bill was sponsored in the U.S. House of Representatives by Jennifer Dunn and Martin Frost. The bill passed the Senate unanimously within a week of its proposal. At an October 2002 conference on missing, exploited, and runaway children, President George W. Bush announced changes to the Amber alert system, including the development of a national standard for issuing Amber alerts. A similar bill passed the House several weeks later on a 390–24 vote. A related bill became law in April 2003.

The alerts were offered digitally beginning in November 2002, when America Online began a service allowing people to sign up to receive notification via computer, pager, or cell phone. Users of the service enter their ZIP Code, thus allowing the alerts to be targeted to specific geographic regions.

By 2005, all fifty states had operational programs and today the program operates across state and jurisdictional boundaries. As of January 1, 2013, Amber Alerts are automatically sent through the Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA) program.

Canada

Canada's system began in December 2002, when Alberta launched the first province-wide system. At the time, Alberta Solicitor-General Heather Forsyth said "We anticipate an Amber Alert will only be issued once a year in Alberta. We hope we never have to use it, but if a child is abducted Amber Alert is another tool police can use to find them and help them bring the child home safely." The Alberta government committed to spending more than CA$1 million to expanding the province's emergency warning system so that it could be used effectively for Amber Alerts. Other provinces soon adopted the system, and by May 2004, Saskatchewan was the only province that had not established an Amber Alert system. Within the next year, the program was in use throughout the country.

Amber alerts may also be distributed via the Alert Ready emergency alert system, which disrupts programming on all radio, television stations, and television providers in the relevant region to display and play audio of Amber alert information. In 2018, Alert Ready introduced alerts on supported mobile devices. When an alert is broadcast, a distinct sound is played and a link to find more information is displayed onscreen. Currently, there is no way to deactivate Amber alerts on mobile devices in Canada, even if the device is in silent and/or Do Not Disturb modes, which has provoked controversy. These series of multiple blaring alarms going off in the middle of the night have caused residents to complain, often by calling 911. However, there are concerns that hearing repeated alarms may cause Canadians to ignore the alarm when the system is used to warn of life-threatening emergencies.

British Columbia

Translink, the corporation responsible for the regional transportation network of Metro Vancouver in British Columbia, Canada, displays Amber alerts on all their buses' digital signs reading "AMBER ALERT | Listen to radio | Bus #". Details of the Amber alert information are also available on screens at transit stations.

Quebec

The program was introduced in Quebec on May 26, 2003. The name AMBER alert was then adapted in French to Alerte Médiatique But Enfant Recherché, which directly translates as "Media Alert Goal of Child Recovery". To launch an AMBER alert, police authorities need to meet four criteria simultaneously and with no exceptions:

The missing person is a child under the age of 18.

The police have reason to believe that the missing child has been abducted.

The police have reason to believe that the physical safety or the life of the child is in serious danger.

The police have information that may help locate the child, the suspect and/or the suspect's vehicle.

Once all four conditions are met, the police service may call an AMBER alert. Simultaneously, all of Quebec's Ministry of transport message boards will broadcast the police's messages. The Société de l'assurance automobile du Québec (SAAQ) road traffic controllers also help with the search. Television and radio stations broadcast a description of the child, the abductor and/or the abductor's car. On the radio, the information is broadcast every 20 minutes for two hours or less if the child is found. On the television, the information is broadcast on a ticker tape at the bottom of the screen for two hours with no interruptions. After this, the ticker tape is withdrawn, but the police continue to inform the public through the usual means of communication.

Over the years, the program gathered more partners in order for the alert to be communicated on different media platforms. As in Ontario, lottery crown corporation Loto-Québec puts to the disposition of the police forces their 8,500 terminals located throughout the province. Some of these terminals are equipped with a screen that faces the customer, which makes it one of the largest networks of its kind to operate in Canada. The technology employed enables them to broadcast the message on the entire network in less than 10 minutes. In addition, the Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association (CWTA) offers most Canadians, upon free subscription, the possibility to receive, via text message, on their mobile devices AMBER alert notices.

Ontario

Ontario furthered its reach beyond media and highway signs by offering Amber alerts on the province's 9,000 lottery terminal screens.

After the abduction and murder of Victoria Stafford, an online petition was started by Suzie Pereira, a single mother of 2 children, who gathered over 61,000 signatures, prompting a review of the Amber Alert. There was some concern regarding the strict criteria for issuing the alerts – criteria that were not met in the Stafford case – that resulted in an alert not being issued. Ontario Provincial Police have since changed their rules for issuing an alert from having to confirm abduction and confirm threat of harm, to believing that a child has been abducted and is at risk of harm.

Mexico

Mexico joined international efforts to spread the use of the Amber Alert at an official launch ceremony on April 28, 2011.

Australia

The Queensland Police amber alert sound effect

The Australian state of Queensland implemented a version of the Amber alerts in May 2005. Other Australian states joined Queensland in Facebook's Amber Alert program in June 2017.

New Zealand

The New Zealand Police launched their version of the system in November 2017. On Activation, it will insert information about the missing individual in the news feeds of Facebook users in the target area, and News Media organisations are alerted.

Europe

France

In February 2006, France's Justice Ministry launched an apparatus based on the AMBER alerts named Alerte-Enlèvement (abduction alert) or Dispositif Alerte-Enlèvement (abduction alert apparatus) with the help of most media and railroad and motorway companies.

Netherlands

AMBER Alert Netherlands was launched in 2008. On February 14, 2009, the first Dutch AMBER alert was issued when a 4-year-old boy went missing in Rotterdam. He was found safe and sound after being recognized by a person who saw his picture on an electronic billboard in a fast food restaurant. He was recovered so quickly, that the transmission of the AMBER alert was halted before all recipients received it.

An AMBER alert is issued when a child is missing or abducted and the Dutch police fear that the life or health of the child is in imminent danger. The system enables the police to immediately alert the press and public nationwide, using electronic highway signs, TV, radio, social media, PCs, large advertising screens (digital signage), email, text messages, apps, RSS news feeds, website banners, and pop-ups. There are four key criteria in the Netherlands to must be met before an AMBER Alert is issued:

The child is (very likely) abducted by an unknown person or persons, or the child is missing and their life is in imminent danger

The victim is a minor (under 18 years of age);

There is enough information about the victim to increase the chances of the child being found using an AMBER alert, such as a photo, information about the abductor, or the vehicle used during the abduction;

The AMBER alert is issued as soon as possible after the abduction or disappearance of the child.

In 2021, Dutch police authorities proposed to merge Amber alerts into the Burgernet system. Parliament blocked the initiative. Dutch police continues to send Amber alerts through Burgernet as well as its own social media.

United Kingdom

On April 1, 2007, the AMBER alert system became active in North West England. An implementation across the rest of Britain was planned at that time. This was realized on May 25, 2010, with the nationwide launch of the Child Rescue Alert, based on the AMBER alert system. The first system in the UK of this kind was created in Sussex on November 14, 2002. This was followed by versions in Surrey and Hampshire. By 2005, every local jurisdiction in England and Wales had its form of alert system. The system was first used in the UK on October 3, 2012, with regard to missing 5 year-old April Jones in Wales.

Ireland

In April 2009, it was announced that an AMBER alert system would be set up in Ireland, In May 2012; the Child Rescue Ireland (CRI) Alert was officially introduced. Ireland's first AMBER alert was issued upon the disappearance of two boys, Eoghan (10) and Ruairí Chada (5).

Serbia

The AMBER alert system, called "Pronađi me" (transl. Find me), started operating in Serbia on October 25, 2023. It was first activated on March 26, 2024 due to the disappearance of two-year-old girl, Danka Ilić, in Banjsko Polje in Bor.

The alerts are distributed via SMS messages and TV programs.

Slovakia

Since April 2015, an emergency child abduction alert system "AMBER Alert Slovakia" is also available in Slovakia. (www.amberalert.sk)

Ukraine

On 22 September 2021, Ukraine's Ministry of Digital Transformation, the National Police of Ukraine and Facebook announced the launch of AMBER alert in Ukraine.

China

On 15 May 2016, the Ministry of Public Security of the People's Republic of China announced the Ministry of Public Security Emergency Release Platform for Children's Missing Information in Beijing, which was soon rolled out to the rest of the country. It is run by the Criminal Investigation Department of the Ministry of Public Security and receives technical support from Alibaba Group. The platform pushes information of missing children confirmed by the police to the mobile phones of the people around the place where the children disappeared, to mobilize people in the area to find and provide feedback on clues related to abductions, trafficking, and related crimes in the area.

Ecuador

In 2018, Ecuador's Department of Security introduced its own Amber alert called Emilia alert, named after the abducted girl Emilia Benavides in December 2017.

Malaysia

In September 2007, Malaysia implemented the Nurin Alert. Based on the Amber alert, it is named for a missing eight-year-old girl, Nurin Jazlin.

Morocco

In March 2023, the General Directorate of National Security of Morocco developed a system in cooperation with Meta Platforms based on the Amber Alert, named "Tifli Moukhtafi" (lit. 'My child is missing'). The alerts are distributed via SMS and on platforms owned by Meta.

Russia

In 2019, Megafon developed its alert system called MegaFon.Poisk. It is oriented for all regions of Russia where MegaFon is represented and is used for searches of children and adults as well. For less than half of a year, the service has been used for searching of more than 250 people and in more than 30% of situations people called back with information about a lost person.

Retrieval rates

According to the U.S. Department of Justice, of the children abducted and murdered by strangers, 75% are killed within the first three hours of their abduction. Amber alerts are designed to inform the general public quickly when a child has been kidnapped and is in danger, so "the public [would be] additional eyes and ears of law enforcement". As of December 2023, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children said 1,186 children were recovered because of the Amber alert program.

A Scripps Howard study of the 233 Amber alerts in the United States in 2004 found that most issued alerts did not meet the Department of Justice's criteria. That is, 50% (117 alerts) were categorized as family abductions, e.g., a parent involved in a custody dispute. There were 48 alerts for children who had not been abducted at all, but were lost, ran away, involved in family misunderstandings (for example, two instances where the child was with grandparents), or as the result of hoaxes. Another 23 alerts were issued in cases where police did not know the name of the allegedly abducted child, often as the result of misunderstandings by witnesses who reported an abduction. Seventy of the 233 Amber alerts issued in 2004 (30%) were actually children taken by strangers or who were unlawfully travelling with adults other than their legal guardians.

According to the 2014 Amber Alert Report, 186 Amber alerts were issued in the US, involving 239 children, 60 of whom were taken by strangers or people other than their legal guardians.

Similar alerts

Some municipalities have used the wireless emergency alert system for categories of people beyond missing children.

In 2012, California created the Silver Alert for missing elderly people, followed by the "feather alert" for missing Indigenous people in 2022, and then the "ebony alert" for missing Black children and young women. Supporters of the ebony alert say that this will dedicate resources to missing Black youths that may not be given sufficient attention through Amber alerts.

Since 2008, Texas has implemented the "blue alert" for suspected cases of serious injury to police officers.

Controversies

Crime Control Theater

Some outside scholars examining the system in depth disagree with the "official" results. A research team led by criminologist Timothy Griffin reviewed hundreds of abduction cases that occurred between 2003 and 2006 and found that Amber alerts had little apparent role in the eventual return of abducted children. The Amber alerts tended to "succeed" in relatively mundane abductions, such as when the child was taken by a noncustodial parent or other family member. There was little evidence that Amber alerts routinely "saved lives", although a crucial research constraint was the impossibility of knowing what would have happened if no alert had been issued in a particular case.

Griffin and coauthor Monica Miller articulated the limits to Amber alerts in a subsequent research article. They stated that alerts are inherently constrained because success in the most menacing cases requires a rapid synchronization of several events (rapid discovery that the child is missing and subsequent alert, the fortuitous discovery of the child or abductor by a citizen, and so forth). Furthermore, there is contention between the need for rapid recovery and the prerogative to maintain the strict issuance criteria to reduce the number of frivolous alerts, creating a dilemma for law enforcement officials and public backlash when alerts are not issued in cases ending as tragedies. Finally, the implied causal model of alert (rapid recovery can save lives) is in a sense the opposite of reality: in the worst abduction scenarios, the intentions of the perpetrator usually guarantee that anything public officials do will be "too slow".

Because the system is publicly praised for saving lives despite these limitations, Griffin and Miller argue that Amber Alert acts as "crime control theater" in that it "creates the appearance but not the fact of crime control". Amber alert is thus a socially constructed "solution" to the rare but intractable crime of child-abduction murder. Griffin and Miller have subsequently applied the concept to other emotional but ineffective legislation, such as safe-haven laws and polygamy raids. Griffin considers his findings preliminary, reporting that his team examined only a portion of the Amber alerts issued over the three-year period they focused on, so he recommends taking a closer look at the evaluation of the program and its intended purpose, instead of simply promoting the program.

Overuse and desensitization

Advocates for missing children have expressed concerns that the public is gradually becoming desensitized to Amber alerts because of a large number of false or overly broad alarms, where police issue an Amber alert without strictly adhering to the U.S. Department of Justice's activation guidelines.

The timing of a July 2013 New York child abduction alert sent through the Wireless Emergency Alerts system at 4 a.m. raised concerns that many cellphone users would disable WEA alerts.

In 2024, the Texas Department of Public Safety sent a blue alert at 4:50 a.m. to cell phones across the state, some as far as eight hours' drive from the incident location. The alert prompted thousands of complaints to the Federal Communications Commission, along with public expressions of disbelief that the state government would expect private individuals to wake up in the middle of the night to search for the suspect.

Health effects

A family in Texas claimed their child suffered a ruptured eardrum and inner ear damage, resulting in permanent hearing loss and tinnitus, when an Amber alert was pushed through his earphones at an "ear-shattering volume".

Effects on traffic

Amber alerts are often displayed on electronic message signs. The Federal Highway Administration has instructed states to display alerts on highway signs sparingly, citing safety concerns from distracted drivers and the negative impacts of traffic congestion.

Many states have policies in place that limit the use of Amber alerts on freeway signs. In Los Angeles, an Amber alert issued in October 2002 that was displayed on area freeway signs caused significant traffic congestion. As a result, the California Highway Patrol elected not to display the alerts during rush hour, citing safety concerns. The state of Wisconsin only displays Amber alerts on freeway signs if it is deemed appropriate by the transportation department and a public safety agency. Amber alerts do not preempt messages related to traffic safety.

Influence

The United States Postal Service issued a postage stamp commemorating Amber alerts in May 2006. The 39-cent stamp features a chalk pastel drawing by artist Vivienne Flesher of a reunited mother and child, with the text "AMBER ALERT saves missing children" across the pane. The stamp was released as part of the observance of National Missing Children's Day.

In 2006, a TV movie, Amber's Story, was broadcast on Lifetime. It starred Elisabeth Röhm and Sophie Hough.

A comic book entitled Amber Hagerman Deserves Justice: A Night Owl Story was published by Wham Bang Comics in 2009. Geared toward a young audience by teen author Jake Tinsley and manga artist Jason Dube, it tells Amber's story, recounts the investigation into her murder, and touches on the effect her death has had on young children and parents everywhere. It was created to promote what was then a reopened investigation into her murder.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amber_alert

The Peterborough Ditch Murders

 

The Peterborough ditch murders were a series of murders that took place in Cambridgeshire, England, in March 2013. All three victims were male and died from stab wounds. Their bodies were discovered dumped in ditches outside Peterborough. In Hereford, two other men were stabbed but survived. The perpetrator was Joanna Christine Dennehy, a Cambridgeshire woman, who was later sentenced to life imprisonment with a whole life order.

Victims

Kevin Lee was a property developer, landlord, and lover of Dennehy. Lukasz Slaboszewski, a Polish national, met Dennehy through a shared interest in drink and drugs, and John Chapman was a housemate of Dennehy. Slaboszewski was killed at some point between 19 and 29 March 2013. Both Lee and Chapman were killed on 29 March. Lee's body was found the next day near Newborough; Dennehy had dressed his body in a black sequined dress before dumping the corpse. The bodies of Slaboszewski and Chapman were found on 3 April near Thorney with stab wounds.

After the killings, Dennehy was driven by her friend Gary Stretch (formerly known as Gary Richards) to Hereford, where she stabbed two men, chosen separately and at random, both of whom survived. Both men were dog walkers; she stole the second man's dog. Another man, travelling in the car unwillingly, was later cleared of criminal involvement in the attacks.

Victim selection and motives

Dennehy, born August 1982 in St Albans, Hertfordshire, grew up in nearby Harpenden and was an absent mother of two young children at the time of the killings. She specifically targeted men during her killing spree, telling her acquaintance Mark Lloyd that she did not wish to kill a woman, especially not a woman with children. Lloyd stated Dennehy had wanted to kill nine men in total, seeking to be like Bonnie and Clyde. Dennehy stabbed men for "entertainment", telling Stretch, "I want my fun. I need you to get my fun." She later told a psychiatrist that she had found murder to be "moreish" and that after the first killing, she "got a taste for it."

Court proceedings

In November 2013, Dennehy pleaded guilty to all three murders and two further attempted murders. Her sister Maria was unsurprised by the guilty plea and said, "I think she did that to control the situation. She likes people to know she's the boss." Dennehy was held on remand at HM Prison Bronzefield. Assessing psychiatrists later diagnosed Dennehy with psychopathic, anti-social, and borderline personality disorders. The trial began at the Old Bailey in London, where Dennehy could be seen laughing during proceedings, stating, "I have pleaded guilty, and that's that" when questioned about her decision. At one point during her trial, Dennehy stood up and told the presiding Mr. Justice Spencer, "I don't wanna be controlled by anybody. I don't want to be controlled by my lawyers, by the police, by anybody.”

On 28 February 2014, Mr. Justice Spencer called Dennehy a "cruel, calculating, selfish and manipulative serial killer” and sentenced her to life imprisonment with an additional order that she should never be released due to the premeditation of each murder. Spencer said further that Dennehy was sadomasochistic and lacked the normal range of human emotions. Dennehy was the third woman in the UK to be given a whole life tariff, after Myra Hindley and Rosemary West.

Two men, Richards, 47, and Leslie Layton, 36, stood trial, charged with a range of crimes relating to assisting Dennehy. Both decided not to give evidence in their defense. The jury began deliberation on 4 February 2014. On 10 February, Richards was found guilty of attempted murder, and Layton was found guilty of perverting the course of justice. On 12 February, Layton and Richards were convicted of all other charges.

Richards was sentenced at the Old Bailey alongside Dennehy to life imprisonment, with a recommended minimum term of 19 years. Layton was sentenced to a total of 14 years, and Robert Moore, 55, who admitted to assisting an offender, received a three-year prison sentence.

After the trial

After the trial, it emerged that the Probation Service was supervising Dennehy at the time of the murders as she had been convicted of assault and owning a dangerous dog. It was later concluded that the staff dealing with her were inexperienced.

Escape plot

Whilst she was on remand before the trial, Dennehy was housed in segregation at HM Prison Bronzefield, a Category A prison in Surrey. Prison staff found an escape plot in her diary, which involved killing or seriously injuring a prison officer, cutting off one of the officer's fingers, and using the amputated finger to fool the biometric system in the prison. Because of the plot, Dennehy was placed in solitary confinement from September 2013 (before the court proceedings) to September 2015 (after the proceedings). She claims isolation left her "tearful and upset" and led to self-harm.

The High Court of Justice rejected Dennehy's claim that her human rights had been violated. Government lawyers argued isolation was necessary due to the nature of Dennehy's offenses and the risk she could pose to the public if she were to escape. Mr. Justice Singh found solitary confinement was "by law (...) at all material times it has been necessary and proportionate".

Imprisonment

After her trial, Dennehy was returned to HMP Bronzefield. In 2018, she requested permission to marry her cellmate Hayley Palmer, to the dismay of Palmer's family, who feared Dennehy might endanger her. In 2018, both Dennehy and Palmer tried to kill themselves during a suicide pact. In June 2020, Dennehy was reported to be in a relationship with another prisoner, Emma Aitken, a 25-year-old serving a twelve-year sentence for her part in the murder of a man whose body was dumped outside a social club. In May 2021, it was again reported that Dennehy and Palmer, the latter since released from a sixteen-year robbery sentence, intended to marry.

In 2019, Dennehy was moved to Low Newton Prison in County Durham. Upon her arrival, she allegedly threatened to kill Rosemary West, who was moved to another prison. The government denied this claim.

In popular culture

Dennehy's story was featured in The Murderer & Me: Joanna Dennehy, a documentary that aired on Sky Crime in the UK and Ireland on 21 February 2021. Her former boyfriend and father to her children told his story in an episode of the documentary series The Killer in My Family, which aired on Discovery-owned channel Quest Red in the UK.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peterborough_ditch_murders

The Death of Azaria Chamberlain

 

Azaria Chantel Loren Chamberlain (11 June 1980, Mount Isa – 17 August 1980, Uluru) was a nine-week-old Australian baby girl who was killed by a dingo on the night of 17 August 1980 during a family camping trip to Uluru in the Northern Territory. Her body was never found. Her parents, Lindy and Michael Chamberlain, reported that she had been taken from their tent by a dingo. However, Lindy was tried for murder and spent more than three years in prison. Michael received a suspended sentence. Lindy was released only after Azaria's jacket was found near a dingo lair and new inquests were opened. In 2012, 32 years after Azaria's death, the Chamberlains' version of events was officially supported by a coroner.

An initial inquest held in Alice Springs in the Supreme Court supported the parents' claim and was highly critical of the police investigation. The findings of the inquest were broadcast live on television—a first in Australia. Subsequently, after a further investigation and a second inquest held in Darwin, Lindy was tried for murder, convicted on 29 October 1982, and sentenced to life imprisonment. Azaria's father, Michael, was convicted as an accessory after the fact (i.e., aiding the principal after the crime had been committed, but playing no role in the crime itself) and given a suspended sentence. The media focus for the trial was unusually intense and aroused accusations of sensationalism, while the trial itself was criticised for being unprofessional and biased. The Chamberlains made several unsuccessful appeals, including the final High Court appeal.

After all legal options had been exhausted, the chance discovery in 1986 of Azaria's jacket in an area with numerous dingo lairs led to Lindy's release from prison. On 15 September 1988, the Northern Territory Court of Criminal Appeals unanimously overturned all convictions against Lindy and Michael. A third inquest was conducted in 1995, which resulted in an "open" finding. At a fourth inquest held on 12 June 2012, Coroner Elizabeth Morris delivered her findings that Azaria Chamberlain had been taken and killed by a dingo. After being released, Lindy was paid $1.3 million for false imprisonment, and an amended death certificate was issued.

Numerous books have been written about the case, and there exist several pop culture references, notably using some form of the phrase "A dingo ate my baby" or "A dingo took my baby". The story has been made into a television movie, a feature film entitled Evil Angels (released outside Australia and New Zealand as A Cry in the Dark), a television mini-series, a theatrical production, a concept album by Australian band The Paradise Motel, and an opera (Lindy, by Moya Henderson).

Coroner's inquests

The initial coronial inquest into the disappearance was opened in Alice Springs on 15 December 1980 before Magistrate Denis Barritt. On 20 February 1981, in the first live telecast of Australian court proceedings, Barritt ruled that the likely cause was a dingo attack. In addition to this finding, Barritt also concluded that, after the attack, "the body of Azaria was taken from the possession of the dingo, and disposed of by an unknown method, by a person or persons, name unknown".

The Northern Territory Police and prosecutors were dissatisfied with this finding. Investigations continued, leading to a second inquest in Darwin in September 1981. Based on ultraviolet photographs of Azaria's jumpsuit, James Cameron of the London Hospital Medical College alleged that "there was an incised wound around the neck of the jumpsuit—in other words, a cut throat" and that there was an imprint of the hand of a small adult on the jumpsuit, visible in the photographs. Their Yellow Holden Torana was also seized in Queensland and flown by military aircraft to Alice Springs. Following this and other findings, the Chamberlains were charged with Azaria's murder.

In 1995, a third inquest was conducted, which failed to determine a cause of death, resulting in an "open" finding.

Case against Lindy Chamberlain

The Crown alleged that Lindy Chamberlain had cut Azaria's throat in the front seat of the family car, hiding the baby's body in a large camera case. She then, according to the proposed reconstruction of the crime, rejoined the group of campers around a campfire and fed one of her sons a can of baked beans before going to the tent and raising the cry that a dingo had taken the baby. It was alleged that at a later time, while other people from the campsite were searching, she disposed of the body.

The key evidence supporting this allegation was the jumpsuit, discovered about a week after the baby's disappearance about 4 km from the tent, bloodstained about the neck, as well as a highly contentious forensic report claiming to have found evidence of foetal haemoglobin in stains on the front seat of the Chamberlains' 1977 Holden Torana hatchback. Foetal haemoglobin is present in infants six months and younger; Azaria was nine-and-a-half weeks old at the time of her disappearance.

Lindy Chamberlain was questioned about the garments that Azaria was wearing. She claimed that Azaria was wearing a matinee jacket over the jumpsuit, but the jacket was not present when the garments were found. She was questioned about the fact that Azaria's singlet, which was inside the jumpsuit, was inside out. She insisted that she never put a singlet on her babies inside out and that she was most particular about this. The statement conflicted with the state of the garments when they were collected as evidence. The garments had been arranged by the investigating officer for a photograph.

In her defense, eyewitness evidence was presented of dingos having been seen in the area on the evening of 17 August 1980. All witnesses claimed to believe the Chamberlains' story. One witness, a nurse, also reported having heard a baby's cry after the time when the prosecution alleged Azaria had been murdered. Evidence was also presented that adult blood also passed the test used for foetal haemoglobin, and that other organic compounds can produce similar results on that particular test, including mucus from the nose and chocolate milkshakes, both of which had been present in the vehicle where Azaria was allegedly murdered.

Engineer Les Harris, who had conducted dingo research for over a decade, said that, contrary to Cameron's findings, a dingo's carnassial teeth can shear through material as tough as motor vehicle seat belts. He also cited an example of a captive female dingo removing a bundle of meat from its wrapping paper and leaving the paper intact.

The defense’s case was rejected by the jury. Lindy Chamberlain was convicted of murder on 29 October 1982 and sentenced to life imprisonment. Michael Chamberlain was found guilty as an accessory after the fact and was given an 18-month suspended sentence.

Appeals

An unsuccessful appeal was made to the Federal Court in April 1983. Subsequently, the High Court of Australia was asked to quash the convictions on the ground that the verdicts were unsafe and unsatisfactory. However, in February 1984, the court refused the appeal by a majority (3–2).

Release and acquittal

The final resolution of the case was triggered by a chance discovery. In early 1986, British tourist David Brett fell to his death from Uluru during an evening climb. Because of the vast size of the rock and the scrubby nature of the surrounding terrain, it was eight days before Brett's remains were discovered, lying below the bluff where he had lost his footing and in an area full of dingo lairs. As police searched the area, looking for missing bones that might have been carried off by dingos, they discovered Azaria's missing matinee jacket.

The Chief Minister of the Northern Territory ordered Lindy Chamberlain's immediate release, and the case was reopened. On 15 September 1988, the Northern Territory Court of Criminal Appeals unanimously overturned all convictions against Lindy and Michael Chamberlain.

The questionable nature of the forensic evidence in the Chamberlain trial, and the weight given to it, raised concerns about such procedures and about expert testimony in criminal cases. The prosecution had successfully argued that the pivotal haemoglobin tests indicated the presence of foetal haemoglobin in the Chamberlains' car, and it was a significant factor in the original conviction. But it was later shown that these tests were highly unreliable and that similar tests, conducted on a "sound deadener" sprayed on during the manufacture of the car, had yielded virtually identical results.

Two years after they were exonerated, the Chamberlains were awarded $1.3 million in compensation for wrongful imprisonment, a sum that covered less than one-third of their legal expenses.

The findings of the third coroner's inquest were released on 13 December 1995; the coroner found "the cause and manner of death as unknown.”

In December 2011, Elizabeth Morris, then one of the Northern Territory coroners, announced that a fourth inquest would be held in February 2012, which was to be done "largely about information provided by [the Chamberlains'] counsel about dingo attacks since the death of Azaria" as part of a campaign by the Chamberlains for a new inquest to establish that Azaria had been taken by a dingo. On 12 June 2012, at a fourth coronial inquest into the disappearance of Azaria Chamberlain, Morris ruled that a dingo was responsible for her death in 1980. Morris made the finding in the light of subsequent reports of dingo attacks on humans, causing injury and even death. She stated, "Azaria Chamberlain died at Ayers Rock on 17 August 1980. The cause of her death was as a result of being attacked and taken by a dingo." She subsequently offered her condolences to the parents and siblings of Azaria Chamberlain "on the death of [their] special and dearly loved daughter and sister", and stated that a new death certificate with the cause of death had been registered.

Media involvement and bias

The Chamberlain trial was highly publicized. Given that most of the evidence presented in the case against Lindy Chamberlain was later rejected, the case is now used as an example of trial by media, wherein media coverage and bias can adversely affect a trial.

Public and media opinion during the trial was polarized, with "fanciful rumours and sickening jokes" and many cartoons. In particular, antagonism was directed towards Lindy Chamberlain for reportedly not behaving like a stereotype of what would be expected from a grieving mother. Much was made of the Chamberlains' Seventh-day Adventist religion, including allegations that the church was actually a cult that killed infants as part of bizarre religious ceremonies.

One anonymous tip was received from a man, claiming to be Azaria's doctor in Mount Isa, that the name "Azaria" meant "sacrifice in the wilderness" (it actually means "Helped by God"). In addition to being the subject of a figurative witch-hunt, some claimed she was literally a witch.

It was reported that Lindy Chamberlain dressed her baby in a black dress. This provoked a negative opinion.

Subsequent events

Since the Chamberlain case, proven cases of attacks on humans by dingoes have been discussed in the public domain, in particular, dingo attacks on K'gari (off the Queensland coast), the last refuge in Australia for isolated pure-bred wild dingoes. In the wake of these attacks, it emerged that there had been at least 400 documented dingo attacks on K'gari. Most were against children, but at least two were on adults. For example, in April 1998, a 13-month-old girl was attacked by a dingo and dragged for about one meter (3 ft) from a picnic blanket at the Waddy Point camping area. The child was dropped when her father intervened.

In July 2004, Frank Cole, a Melbourne pensioner, claimed that he had shot a dingo in 1980 and found a baby in its mouth. After interviewing Cole on the matter, police decided not to reopen the case. He claimed to have the ribbons from the jacket that Azaria had been wearing when she disappeared as proof of his involvement. However, Lindy Chamberlain claimed that the jacket had no ribbons on it. Cole's credibility was further damaged when it was revealed he had made unsubstantiated claims about another case.

In August 2005, a 25-year-old woman named Erin Horsburgh claimed that she was Azaria Chamberlain, but her claims were rejected by the authorities and the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's Media Watch program, which stated that none of the reports linking Horsburgh to the Chamberlain case had any substance.

Later events

Michael Chamberlain died of leukemia on 9 January 2017, aged 72.

The National Museum of Australia has in its collection more than 250 items related to the disappearance of Azaria Chamberlain, which Lindy Chamberlain has helped document. Items include courtroom sketches by artists Jo Darbyshire and Veronica O'Leary, camping equipment, the Chamberlain family's car, outfits worn by Lindy Chamberlain, the number from her prison door, and the black dress worn by Azaria. The National Library of Australia has a small collection of items relating to Azaria, such as her birth records, as well as a manuscript collection which includes around 20,000 documents, including some of the Chamberlain family's correspondence and a large number of letters from the general public. Later, the actual car itself was sold to the museum by Michael Chamberlain.

Media and cultural impact

Movies and TV

The death of Azaria Chamberlain has been the subject of several books, films and television shows, and other publications and accounts. The John Bryson book Evil Angels was published in 1985, and subsequently adapted by Australian film director Fred Schepisi into a 1988 feature film of the same name (released as A Cry in the Dark outside of Australia and New Zealand), starring Meryl Streep as Lindy Chamberlain and Sam Neill as Michael. The film gave Streep her eighth Academy Award nomination and her first AFI Award.

In 2002, Lindy, an opera by Moya Henderson, was produced by Opera Australia at the Sydney Opera House.

The story was dramatized as a television miniseries, Through My Eyes (2004), with Miranda Otto and Craig McLachlan as the Chamberlains. This miniseries was based on Lindy's book of the same name.

Podcast

The death of Azaria and the story of the search, inquests, trial, and eventual exoneration of the Chamberlains were documented in a commercial podcast, A Perfect Storm: The True Story of the Chamberlains. The case was also covered by the Casefile podcast, episode 136, the debunking podcast You're Wrong About, the Killer Queens podcast, episode 180, and the crime podcast International Infamy with Ashley Flowers. This case was also covered in a 2024 episode of "The Red Thread".

Popular culture references

The event was satirized for US television series such as Seinfeld, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and The Simpsons, and became common in American pop culture with phrases such as "a dingo's got my baby!" and "a dingo ate my baby!". Lindy Chamberlain's release from jail is a significant event in episode three of The Newsreader. In the 1998 animated film The Rugrats Movie, a reporter makes a reference to this case by saying, "Is it true a dingo ate your baby?". Australian puppet-comedian Randy Feltface also referenced the event in his 2021 live show Purple Privilege, where he claimed he was "...born on the day Lindy Chamberlain's baby was eaten by a dingo."

Theatrical production

Playwright Alana Valentine conceived a production in 2013, featuring criticism and outrage towards Lindy Chamberlain surrounding the events and aftermath of the death of Azaria. The production continues a decade later; in 2023 amateur theater company Milton Follies starred Ashley Howes as Lindy.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_of_Azaria_Chamberlain