Main defence witness in trial of Michael and Lindy Chamberlain dies

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BARRY BOETTCHER: 1934 - 2024

Barry Boettcher made a backstage sojourn to Mount Isa successful 1984 successful the aftermath of the Azaria Chamberlain case. The lawsuit had seen Pastor Michael Chamberlain and his woman Lindy convicted implicit the decease of their daughter, Azaria, astatine Uluru connected August 1980.

The convictions – Lindy for execution and Michael for being an accessory aft the information – had been upheld connected entreaty and the substance seemed settled. Except, of course, that it was not.

Boettcher, retained by the defence, had argued successful grounds that foetal haemoglobin could not person been identified successful humor samples taken from the Chamberlain’s car. The Crown had argued that it could be, and that the humor had travel from Azaria, and the assemblage had seemingly sided with her.

Ultimately, that brought successful the backstage travel to Mount Isa, the municipality the Chamberlains had lived anterior to their ill-fated travel to Uluru. At Mount Isa, Boettcher applied tests connected assorted items, including his ain motel wall, to spot whether Ortho-tolidine, the re-agent utilized for to trial for the presumptive beingness of blood, could supply a affirmative result.

It did, and past the atrocious information started to go apparent: that successful each probability the re-agent being utilized successful the Chamberlains’ car and connected their possessions had indicated not the beingness of humor astatine all, but of copper particulate which was everyplace successful Mount Isa and had affixed itself to sticky surfaces successful the Chamberlains’ car. The expected beingness of humor had enactment the Chamberlains successful the frame. The expected recognition of foetal haemoglobin had convicted them.

Boettcher successful his laboratory successful 1984.

The horrible information was that determination had ne'er been immoderate blood, and each the fuss and fuss implicit the recognition of foetal haemoglobin had been implicit thing that did not exist. Of course, the Crown forensic biologist, Joy Kuhl, had not been capable to observe the beingness of foetal haemoglobin and Boettcher had said she could not.

But determination was a batch much enactment to beryllium done than simply incidental tests astatine Mount Isa to overturn the decisions of an eons-old strategy of justness that was meant to person had important information mechanisms, oregon to sway the Northern Territory authorities and Crown who believed they had to marque a basal against a mob outcry.

Boettcher and a fistful of dedicated Chamberlain supporters nevertheless beavered away, going to the German institution that had produced the reagent utilized by the Crown forensic biologist, Joy Kuhl. Boettcher took his lawsuit to his nonrecreational colleagues successful the Australian Society of Immunologists. The world-renowned immunologist Sir Gustav Nossal was archetypal to motion a missive endorsing Boettcher’s disquiet, followed by 30 different starring scientists.

The letter, publicised nationally, had a profound interaction and added to the clamour which yet forced the Northern Territory’s government’s manus successful appointing a royal commission, starring to the exoneration of the Chamberlains. Boettcher, past prof of Biological Sciences astatine the University of Newcastle, had been unsuccessful successful the witnesser container successful the proceedings due to the fact that his method mentation went mode implicit the heads of the jurors. In the aftermath of the conviction, immoderate disapproval was directed astatine him, but arsenic Boettcher displayed passim his life, you cannot support a bully antheral down.

Boetcher of Newcastle University with show of his forensic enactment connected the Chamberlin lawsuit successful 1984.

Boettcher was calved successful Tumby Bay, South Australia, connected September 7, 1934, the 2nd lad of a pastrycook, Albert Boettcher and Ilma (née Haigh). It was Depression times and the household moved often truthful Albert could get work. They went to Berri, adjacent the Murray River, Mildura and past Footscray.

Boettcher finished his schooling astatine Melbourne Boys’ High and though not matriculating, went to Melbourne Teachers’ College to go a superior schoolhouse teacher. Adept astatine swimming and h2o polo, helium started teaching successful agrarian Victoria and astatine Tanybryn helium met a trainee nurse, Moira Henriksen, whom helium joined successful 1955. They acceptable disconnected for their honeymoon with Barry riding a motorbike and his bride successful a sidecar.

Boettcher did a correspondence people to matriculate, travelling to Melbourne to bash laboratory enactment successful chemistry and physics, and got archetypal people honours successful some those subjects. He started a subject grade astatine Adelaide University connected an Education Department scholarship. Moira worked to supply other wealth and Boettcher worked astatine weekends connected specified things arsenic digging a pit for a septic vessel and putting up fences.

Initially drawn to physics, helium switched to genetics and biochemistry. Graduating, helium got a occupation with the South Australian Department of Education. The archetypal of 4 sons, Karl, was calved successful August1962. In 1963, Boettcher accepted a assistance to bash a PhD grade astatine the University of Adelaide, selecting arsenic his thesis: Genetic Control of Blood Group Substances successful Body Secretions. Awarded his doctorate successful 1966, helium was present gathering an planetary estimation successful humor groups, assemblage secretions and reproduction.

The 1981 Azaria Chamberlain inquest takes spot nether shadiness wherever the Chamberlains camped.

Boettcher lectured astatine Flinders University and was invited to enactment successful the First International Symposium connected Reproductive Immunology successful Varna, Bulgaria, wherever helium was elected arsenic a councillor connected the governing body. In 1967, an International Biological Programme was initiated to analyse effects of radical adopting caller and antithetic diets. “This was based connected the principle, notably projected by Rev Thomas Malthus, that, arsenic the colonisation of the world increases, it volition outstrip the capableness of the world to supply food,” Boettcher said. “I felt that [Indigenous Australians] ate a protein-rich fare and mightiness not beryllium capable to readily accommodate to a precocious carbohydrate, Western diet. I felt that I could bash this arsenic portion of the study.”

As portion of his research, helium went with arsenic squad to the Northern Territory and camped astatine Uluru. Boettcher was made an honorary subordinate of the Jungala radical of the Warlpiri tribe. “In aboriginal years I collaborated successful an planetary survey of DNA sequences of Neanderthal origin,” Boettcher said. “[Aboriginal people] person a akin proportionality of Neanderthal DNA sequences connected the X chromosome arsenic Caucasians. In different words, Aboriginal ancestors mixed with Neanderthals earlier migrating to Australia and New Guinea. We person communal ancestry, on with each different humans, but the sub-Saharan Africans – who did not intermix with the Neanderthals. I wrote to the Yuendumu Council, relating this conclusion, pointing retired that, since we person communal ancestry, determination is nary technological ground for racism successful Australia.”

Boettcher and colleagues initiated the studies of achromatic humor compartment antigens, which has led to the capableness of providing kidney transplants to Aboriginal radical needing them.

Boettcher attended a league astatine Cambridge University organised by the Population Council, took up a Harkness Scholarship allowing him to question to the United States and attended an planetary genetics league successful Tokyo, followed by a league successful Geneva connected fertility control.

In Alaska, Boettcher visited a Naval Arctic Research Station wherever helium took trips to cod humor and saliva samples from Inuit people, and continued his studies connected starch digestion. In 1971, helium took the presumption of instauration prof biologic sciences astatine Newcastle University. After further overseas trips to Scandinavia and France, helium was engaged by Stuart Tipple, the lawyer acting for Michael and Lindy Chamberlain, to springiness grounds connected the recognition of foetal haemoglobin connected humor said to person been recovered successful the Chamberlains’ car.

Ultimately vindicated, Boettcher went connected to go an adept witnesser successful galore ineligible cases, usually arsenic a defence witness, though doubly helium was a Crown witness, engaged by a erstwhile pupil who had go a policeman. He was progressive successful the enquiry into the condemnation of Douglas Rendell, convicted of the murder. Boettcher gave captious grounds successful the judicial enquiry into Rendell’s conviction, which exonerated Rendell.

Following the Chamberlains’ palmy exertion to person their archetypal convictions struck from the record, Boettcher past approached the NSW authorities subordinate for Wallsend, John Mills, astir having the condemnation of a idiosyncratic quashed and removed from the grounds aft it had been demonstrated that that idiosyncratic had been wrongly convicted. Mills introduced a backstage member’s measure to that effect and the measure succeeded.

Boettcher, who retired successful December 1993, became a subordinate of the Order of Australia successful 1998 for services to biologic subject and acquisition and to reproductive immunology. The politician successful presenting the grant lone commended connected Boettcher’s publication successful the Chamberlain case.

Boettcher’s estimation arsenic a defence adept got him progressive arsenic a defence adept successful further tribunal cases involving blood, secretions and DNA. These included the assistance to the lawyer for Bradley Murdoch, who had been accused of the execution of an English tourer Peter Falconio successful the Northern Territory. He presented reports to the Australian Academy of Forensic Science, including 1 connected the Rendell case, wherever the technological issues truly disturbed him. Unsound procedures, helium said had been accepted by courts. He gave his last grounds successful 2017 astatine the property of 82.

Barry Boettcher died successful Newcastle connected April 23. He is survived by his wife, Moira, sons Karl, Todd and Craig, girl Kristine, 8 grandchildren and 2 great-grandchildren.