Disappearance of Lynette Dawson

Lynette Joy Dawson (born 1948) was an Australian missing person who disappeared on 9 January 1982, leaving two daughters and her husband, Chris Dawson.[1] Her whereabouts are unknown, but two coronial inquests have found that she had been murdered.[2] In December 2018, Chris Dawson was charged with her murder and, in June 2019, pleaded not guilty.

Lynette Dawson
Born
Lynette Joy Simms

1948
New South Wales, Australia
Disappeared9 January 1982 (aged 33)
Mona Vale, Sydney,
New South Wales, Australia
StatusMissing for 39 years and 28 days
NationalityAustralian
Spouse(s)Chris Dawson
(m. 1970; div. 1983)
Children2

Background

Lynette Simms and Chris Dawson, both aged sixteen, met at a high-school function in 1965. They were married in 1970 at St Jude's Church, Randwick in Sydney[3][4] and later had two children.[5]

A former professional rugby league footballer for the Newtown Jets, Chris Dawson was a physical education teacher at Cromer High School. In 1981, he commenced an extramarital affair with student Joanne Curtis. In October 1981, Curtis temporarily moved into the Dawson family home at Chris Dawson's invitation.[3]

Dawson was phoned by her mother on 8 January 1982, the last time they would communicate with each other.[6] She planned to meet her mother and family at Northbridge Baths the following day, but she never arrived.[6] Curtis permanently moved into the Dawson residence on 10 January 1982.[3] Chris Dawson reported his wife missing on 18 February 1982, six weeks after her disappearance.[3] Chris Dawson claimed that she left after marital problems caused over her Bankcard spending. In a statement to police, he suggested that there was a possibility that she joined a religious organisation. Chris Dawson finalised divorce proceedings against Dawson in 1983; and the following year married Curtis.[3]

Investigation

Early investigations by New South Wales Police were inconclusive. The NSW State Coroner conducted two coronial inquiries into the disappearance of Dawson.

At the first inquest held in February 2001, the Deputy State Coroner Jan Stevenson determined that Dawson had been murdered and that her killer was someone she knew. The coroner recommended charges be laid; however Nicholas Cowdery QC, the NSW Director of Public Prosecutions, assessed that there was insufficient evidence for a criminal conviction.

A second inquest, held in February 2003 by State Coroner Carl Milovanovich, recommended Chris be charged with the murder of Dawson.[3][7][8][6] Cowdery again refused to prosecute Dawson, citing the lack of evidence.[3]

In April 2018, following extensive investigations, NSW Police requested the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions to review its brief of evidence.[3]

Chris Dawson was arrested in Queensland in December 2018, extradited to New South Wales, and charged with the murder of Dawson.[9][10] He was granted bail;[11] and in June 2019 pleaded not guilty to her murder.[12] In February 2020, he was committed to stand trial for the murder of Dawson.[13] He is also facing a charge of carnal knowledge with a girl between the ages of 10 and 17. This charge relates to his time as a teacher in the 1970s and 1980s.[14]

Media

A 16-part Australian crime podcast series, The Teacher's Pet, by Walkley Award winning journalist Hedley Thomas, was broadcast in 2018 with large amounts of evidence that was not collected by any of the police investigations.[15] The series has close to 30 million downloads[16] and was made unavailable in Australia (in consideration of the ongoing legal proceedings), and has created a large media and public interest in the case.[15]

See also

References
  1. "Lynette Joy Dawson". Australian Missing Persons Register. n.d. Retrieved 27 September 2018.
  2. "The Teacher's Pet: The unsolved murder of Lyn Dawson". The Australian. 15 May 2018. Retrieved 27 September 2018.
  3. Chung, Laura (5 December 2018). "Timeline of the disappearance of Lynette Dawson". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 11 July 2019. (subscription required)
  4. "DPP reconsiders evidence in suspected Dawson murder". The Australian. Retrieved 28 September 2018.
  5. Clare Stephens (11 July 2018). "The Teacher's Pet: The faces behind the gripping true crime story". Mamamia. Retrieved 24 October 2018.
  6. "Sydney police 'hand dig' Lynette Dawson's home in 1982 cold case". Guardian Australia. 12 September 2018. Retrieved 25 October 2018.
  7. "DPP reconsiders evidence in suspected Dawson murder". The Australian. Retrieved 28 September 2018.
  8. "Chris Dawson presented a handwritten statement to police". Retrieved 27 September 2018.
  9. "Chris Dawson from Teacher's Pet podcast arrested by Homicide Squad". ABC News. Australia. 5 December 2018. Retrieved 5 December 2018.
  10. McGowan, Michael (4 December 2018). "Chris Dawson arrested and expected to be charged with murder of Lyn Dawson". Guardian Australia. Retrieved 22 February 2019.
  11. Reddie, Mark (17 December 2018). "Chris Dawson granted bail after being charged with wife Lyn's alleged murder". ABC News. Australia. Retrieved 22 February 2019.
  12. McKinnell, Jamie (20 June 2019). "Chris Dawson pleads not guilty to wife's murder in Teacher's Pet case". ABC News. Australia.
  13. "Chris Dawson committed to stand trial". The Sydney Morning Herald. 13 February 2020.
  14. McKinnell, Jamie; Reddie, Mark (20 June 2019). "Clairvoyant claims at Dawson murder trial as former teacher faces historic sex charge". ABC News.
  15. Murray, David (17 August 2018). "The Teacher's Pet: Podcast on hold pending further developments". The Australian. Retrieved 25 October 2018.
  16. "Chris Dawson: Husband faces murder trial over 1982 disappearance of wife". BBC News. 2020-09-25. Retrieved 2020-11-25.
  • "Lynette Joy DAWSON". Australian Missing Persons Register. – includes transcripts from various media reports and publications
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