The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline. Though her whereabouts and body are still unknown, coroner's police investigations have concluded that she was killed. The garment had multiple cut marks consistent with stabbing. On January 9, 1982, Lyn was due to meet her mother at Northbridge Baths, where Chris worked. The court also heard on Wednesday a taped phone conversation between Marilyn Dawson and the twins' parents, Joan and Sid. Dawson did not give evidence during the two-month trial, which finished on 11 July. Australian Story first covered the story of Lyn Dawson nearly 20 years ago. Though no remains have been found and Chris Dawson maintains his innocence, it seems that the case may finally be coming to a close. Things we all take for granted. She was absent from the NSW Supreme Court on Tuesday where Justice Ian Harrison found her father guilty of her mother's murder. And then there were Dawson's lies. Then, in 2001, the first coroners inquest was held. Shanelle finally shared her side of the story in an explosive 60 Minutes interview and others involved are also now speaking. Dawson, 74, faced a judge-alone trial during which his lawyers argued it was possible Lynette abandoned her young daughters and the family's Bayview home in January 1982. In a year or five, you might not even remember who Lynette Dawson was. The U.S. Navy Is Drafting New Internal Guidelines For Reporting UFOs, 44 Harrowing Photos Captured Inside The Warsaw Ghetto During The Holocaust, What Stephen Hawking Thinks Threatens Humankind The Most, 27 Raw Images Of When Punk Ruled New York, Join The All That's Interesting Weekly Dispatch. When journalist Hedley Thomas transfixed by the story since he'd first covered the coronial inquests published the hit podcast The Teacher's Pet in 2018, public interest reached fever pitch. The crown's witnesses have attempted to paint Dawson as a violent, controlling and abusive husband, with testimony emerging that Mrs Dawson had been seen variously with a black eye, and bruises around her throat and on her arms and thigh. Mr Whealy joined thousands of others to watch the verdict read out via a live stream of the court proceedings to provide comments to ABC's Australian Story. Looking for Lyn: With Joanne Curtis, Damian Loone. "I suppose you could say I was in shock at the information she'd told us," Greg said. (Lyn) was such a strong girl, I wanted her to stand up and be counted about her home and her children and her marriage,' Marilyn said. Right: The couple in . "We did it, Lyn . Dawson applied for and was granted a divorce from Lyn in June 1983 and married Curtis in January 1984 two years after Lyn went missing. The couple ended up in marriage counselling. Justice Harrison identified four deceptions in Dawson's defence which "demonstrated a guilty conscience", particularly Dawson's claims Lyn called him repeatedly after she went missing. January 1982 - Lynette "Lyn" Dawson, 33, disappears from her home at Bayview on Sydney's northern beaches, leaving behind two young daughters. Chris later claimed he dropped her off at a bus stop in Mona Vale, and that she called him later in the day saying she needed time to herself. In the four decades following the strange disappearance of Lynette Dawson, several smaller investigations into the case have taken place. Instead, her trust was betrayed by a man she loved.. "Chris Dawson's case was, I think from the outset, quite a difficult one," says Anthony Whealy, QC, the former NSW Supreme Court judge, who presided over the 2010 jury trial of Keli Lane, which saw the mother convicted of her baby's murder in the absence of a body. She said JC had described a visit to a pub by Dawson to meet a man and hand over an envelope shortly before his first wife Lyn disappeared. The daughter of convicted murderer Chris Dawson and his first wife Lynette will appear in a rare television interview - the first time in four years she has spoken publicly. Listen to this story being read by Adrienne Tam, here. [8] In 1981, Chris groomed and slept with Cromer student Joanne Curtis, who temporarily moved into the Dawson family residence in Bayview at Chris' invitation. "She was never one to want to stand out.". Chris Dawson's second wife suspected he had Lynette killed, court told, How farmers and supermarkets will deal with collapse of national freight carrier, Nightmare construction problems reach boiling point in the west, as homeowners consider legal action, FBI says COVID-19 laboratory leak from China 'likely', NSW mother to be sentenced next month for 24yo daughter's manslaughter, Man accused of killing Toyah Cordingley appears in Melbourne court after return from India, Memory problems and a lack of support: Senate inquiry on concussion hears of rugby league legend's difficult final days, Teenager bitten by crocodile in remote NT floodwaters. She said he was a loving father to her, and struggled to see him as the narcissistic, abusive man that others made him out to be. "I can never forgive Chris for the way he treated Lyn, but also for the cruel and callous way he treated our distressed and grieving mother," Lyn's sister, Pat, says. Chris Dawson's daughter Kristen, who was born to his young lover Joanne Curtis three years after his wife disappeared, has spoken about the effect on her family of her father's arrest. [11][12] He was granted bail,[13] and in June 2019 pleaded not guilty to her murder. In the podcast, Thomas alleged he had uncovered new evidence that indicated Dawson may have killed his wife in order to continue an affair with a former student. "It gave us comfort just knowing that her name was out there and a lot more people were actually hearing her story," Greg says. Though she hadnt been seen at the beach or even leaving for it, and despite the fact that she couldnt be reached by phone, Lynette Dawson was not reported missing. But with no body or definitive proof of her death, the case was seen as something of a legal quandary. Either way, now you'll likely go about your day. [4], Lynette was phoned by her mother on 8 January 1982, the last time they would communicate with each other. Like the 2001 inquest, this one also recommended laying charges against Chris Dawson. [2] On 30 August 2022, Chris Dawson was convicted of Lynette's murder[3] and sentenced to 24years in prison. Its a perception she struggles to reconcile with the scrutiny on his potential role in her mothers murder. Supreme court verdict in case that was the subject of popular Teachers Pet podcast will be appealed, Dawsons lawyer says. But he also cautioned against making general gender-based assumptions that Lynette Dawson had not left simply because she was a mother and that women are somehow expected to abide by a higher standard. 'I think Paul would do anything for his brother, but I didn't mean he would kill.'. Chris was careful in his initial reporting, denying that anything tragic had happened to his wife. NSW Education Minister Rob Stokes has urged any survivor of abuse to speak to police. A former student of Cromer High, where Lynettes husband Chris Dawson was a PE teacher, has alleged there was a culture of male teachers trying to have sex with female students at the school, saying they were described as fair game. He has pleaded not guilty to the murder charge. '(JC"s daughter) was scared of her, (JC) found it quite traumatic. There were gasps in the courtroom the moment the verdict was handed down - following some 4.5 hours of the judge reading out his reasons - with Dawson shaking his head very slightly and his twin brother Paul muttering 'bulls***'. Having left Chris Dawson, she was keen to reveal her suspicions that he was involved in Lyn's disappearance. She thought (Dawson's) first wife had been killed". Candace Sutton for Daily Mail Australia, 'I couldn't breathe, he could have killed me': Friend tells murder trial Lyn Dawson's exact words after she allegedly had her face pushed in mud during FIGHT which made her fear for her LIFE, How Lynette Dawson had a 'grapefruit-sized bruise on thigh' weeks before alleged murder - as another babysitter describes accused's furious outbursts if their home wasn't kept PERFECT. Their emotion is palpable and the extent of it is difficult to comprehend. "[18] The trial before Justice Ian Harrison began on 9 May and ran for 10 weeks, concluding on 11 July. She was 33 at the time . Because for them, Lynette is more than a mystery to be solved, more than a smiling face in an old photograph. Dawson's legal team has argued the witnesses' testimony has been contaminated because they had talked about the case with each other and had listened to The Teacher's Pet podcast about the mystery surrounding Mrs Dawson, arguing it was broadcast with an assumption that her husband was guilty. The mother-of-two abruptly vanished from her Sydney Northern Beaches home almost 40 years ago in January 1982. Marilyn described the very close relationship Paul and Chris Dawson had, wearing the same or matching clothes, having the same favourite drink, Coca Cola, living in the same house as they built new houses in the same street, 400m from each other. Lyn Dawson is a Sydney housewife who vanished 36 years ago after discovering that her teacher husband had been having an affair with a pupil. "One minute you got your hopes up, in the next minute, it's not going to happen.". In 1981, Joanne, pictured centre, moved in with the Dawsons at Bayview. Find out more about our policy and your choices, including how to opt-out. Everything in the house had to be perfect because she never wanted to upset him, Bev told 60 Minutes. "Lyn was very attached to a little girl who was sick. Lynette Dawson and one of her daughters. We could have had our sister.". [4], In April 2018, following extensive investigations, NSW Police requested the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions to review its brief of evidence. The main reason for Dawsons application was the publicity generated in the case by the Australian newspapers Teachers Pet podcast. "He had been a first-grade footballer," Barbara says. "It just happened so quickly," he says. The podcast reviewed all of the information that had turned up over the years and pieced it together with new witnesses and theories. Candace Sutton for Daily Mail Australia She said she had been 'quite taken aback' when JC told her that after buying groceries she would have to give Chris Dawson 'the shopping list and the change to show what she bought'. There is huge conflict in that. Dawson, 73, has pleaded not guilty to murdering Lynette in Sydney's Northern Beaches suburb in January 1982. See for yourself by trying this new quiz devised by cardiologists Kate flies the flag! "Clovelly is part of the Simms family, it's in our blood," he explains. In January 1982, a small neighborhood in Sydney, Australia was devastated by the disappearance of doting wife and mother Lynette Dawson. In January 1982, a small neighborhood in Sydney, Australia was devastated by the disappearance of doting wife and mother Lynette Dawson. The prosecution alleged there was a powerful circumstantial case that Dawson killed his wife to continue an unfettered relationship with the student, known as JC, whom he had met as a teenager while working as a physical education teacher. I asked if Chris wanted to see the drawings because they were of his children and he said "no". Lyn Dawson was a devoted young mother with a seemingly perfect marriage to a glamorous, high profile football star and two daughters she adored. It was later discovered that she walked out on her three children and started a new life under a new identity in New Zealand. "We did it, Lyn," whispers Greg. She would even wear Lyns jewellery and her clothes. Instead, he insisted that she had run off to join a religious group following arguments about her spending habits. However, asked by crown prosecutor Craig Everson SC who used her bed on Christmas Day, 1981, Marilyn said 'Chris and (JC) because they asked if they could stay at my home'. Then, in 2015, the case was reopened. Lawyers for Dawson said Harrison could not make this finding beyond reasonable doubt, in part because the police had failed to properly investigate reported sightings of Lynette Dawson, and also as the alleged motive for murder did not make sense because killing his wife would only create more problems for Dawson. In a police recording made in 1998, Joanne recalls waiting for Chris in a car outside a pub one night and when he came back he told her: I was going to get a hit man to kill Lyn but then I changed my mind because innocent people would be hurt. There was always something ahead with Lyn's case but now there's nothing else to wait for. A friend of Joannes, Michelle Walsh, told A Current Affair her friend believed Chris had killed Lyn. Chris began teaching physical education at Cromer High School in this year. "We were on the verge of just saying, look, we've been looking for answers for Lyn for so many years, maybe we should just let it lie now," Greg says. The disappearance of Lyn Dawson was a case that gripped Australia, and the relationship between her husband Chris Dawson and his 16-year-old schoolgirl lover Joanne Curtis is at the centre of the mystery. [14] In February 2020, Chris was committed to stand trial for the murder of Dawson. That man was Hedley Thomas, an award-winning investigative journalist of the Sydney-based newspaper The Australian. Mr Simms also paid homage to his and Mrs Dawson's late mother, Helena Simms, who died in 2001 - none the wiser on her daughter's whereabouts. Similarly, he said he could not accept Dawsons description of what his wife said in the conversations, which included that she told him she needed more time, was working things out, and that he should not worry about her. We are no longer accepting comments on this article. A few years later, he divorced Lyn in her absence and married JC. 'I thought she was devastated and mentally not coping. A body was never found but they did discover Lyns pink cardigan during a police dig. Its happened before.. Graduations. In 1975, the Dawson brothers and their spouses appeared on the ABC documentary program Chequerboard to discuss how the twins' close bond affected their lives. She couldn't believe what was going on. [2] On 30 August 2022, Chris Dawson was convicted of Lynette's murder . For them, this is not a happy ending. He tried convincing his wife to let the girl move into their home for the remainder of her schooling, saying she came from a broken home and had a violent stepfather. Through that battle, these women have lost even more. Now this is all over, that's the main memory we're going to have of Lyn her caring, loving nature.". She said she was moved into the Dawson family home in January 1982 where she was treated as a housekeeper, babysitter and sex slave. But Shanelle spoke fondly of her father, saying he was fun. When both twins moved to the Gold Coast, Chris with JC as his new wife, the twins built houses 500m metres from one another behind wire fences, each with a swimming pool and tennis court. Until four years ago, when The Teacher's Pet was released, Lynette's daughters' grief - and that of her family - was private. Yet, once again, nothing actually came of it. "The Teacher's Pet: The unsolved murder of Lyn Dawson", "Dawson in custody, appeal 'probable', after marathon five-hour Teacher's Pet verdict handed down, as it happened", "Timeline of the disappearance of Lynette Dawson", "DPP reconsiders evidence in suspected Dawson murder", "The Teacher's Pet: The faces behind the gripping true crime story", Strange world of the Dawson twins as brothers separated after murder allegations against Chris, "Sydney police 'hand dig' Lynette Dawson's home in 1982 cold case", "Chris Dawson presented a handwritten statement to police", "Chris Dawson from Teacher's Pet podcast arrested by Homicide Squad", "Chris Dawson arrested and expected to be charged with murder of Lyn Dawson", "Chris Dawson granted bail after being charged with wife Lyn's alleged murder", "Chris Dawson pleads not guilty to wife's murder in Teacher's Pet case", "Clairvoyant claims at Dawson murder trial as former teacher faces historic sex charge", "Chris Dawson denied special leave to appeal to High Court in bid to stay murder trial", "Chris Dawson granted judge-alone trial for wife's alleged murder", "High Court refuses to hear Chris Dawson's application to halt trial", "Chris Dawson guilty of Lynette Dawson's murder", "Chris Dawson found guilty of murdering wife Lynette Dawson", "The four lies Chris Dawson told that landed him behind bars for murdering his wife Lynette", "Teacher's Pet case: 'Tell us where mum is', Chris Dawson's daughter begs", "Chris Dawson will 'probably die in jail' after being sentenced to 24 years for wife's murder", "The Teacher's Pet: Podcast on hold pending further developments", "Chris Dawson: Husband faces murder trial over 1982 disappearance of wife", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Murder_of_Lynette_Dawson&oldid=1141763927, Pages containing links to subscription-only content, Short description is different from Wikidata, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, 24 years in jail, non-parole period of 18 years, This page was last edited on 26 February 2023, at 17:47. But their relationship wasnt as picture-perfect as it appeared. On it is a simple plaque, its inscription a touching tribute to Lyn and her parents, Helena and Len Simms, who both passed away in 2001 never knowing what had happened to their beloved daughter. Chris began an affair with a student at the school, 16-year-old Joanne Curtis before Lynette disappeared. "The judge found this quite implausible," MrWhealy says. We are no longer accepting comments on this article. How do they reconcile that? In a statement to police, Chris suggested that she had joined a religious organisation. Mr Walsh did not make an application for bail on Thursday morning when Dawson appeared before the same court he'd been convicted in, clad in his prison greens. Lyn and Chris Dawson were childhood sweethearts. She didn't drive, so she'd take the train up to the Central Coast because that's where Chris had said that Lyn had rung from.". In 1999, the file was assigned to police officer Damian Loone, who conducted extensive interviews with Joanne Curtis and her parents as well as Lynette Dawsons parents and friends. The couple moved to Queensland and had a daughter in 1986. The story of Lynette Dawson's disappearance has sparked interest around the world after it was featured on a podcast called 'The Teacher's Pet', produced by The Australian newspaper. Then, in 1965, Chris Dawson met young Lynette Simms and five years later the two were married. Shanelle is seen with her mother Lyn before her disappearance in 1982. The family's babysitter, a schoolgirl who can only be identified as JC, moves into the home within days. He explains have taken lyn dawson daughters found but they did discover Lyns pink cardigan during a dig... ] [ 12 ] he was fun lost even more first coroners inquest was held cardiologists Kate flies the!. 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