So while it's just and right that Chris Dawson's long-held secret was forced into the light today, Shanelle and Sherryn still lose. Two coroners later found that Lyn was murdered by a known person, but no charges were ever laid. Without a body, without knowing first of all whether in fact she is dead, without knowing secondly if she is dead, how she died, its very hard to mount a case of a reasonable prospect of conviction just on motive and the undefined existence of means and opportunity. 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. "We didn't get much sleep, it's hard to try and process the verdict," Greg says. On the surface, the event was puzzling. 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. The comments below have been moderated in advance. The second time I saw him being extremely violent towards her near the bedroom door and that just shattered me. Her sister Sherryn has always supported their father's innocence, despite the fact that little is known about her personal life. Lynette Joy Dawson (born 1948) was an Australian missing person who disappeared on 9 January 1982, leaving two daughters and her husband, former rugby league footballer Chris Dawson. The court heard another friend, whose family built Dreamworld and met JC on the Gold Coast, said JC 'said to me should anything happen to her I was to go to the police. Her father and new stepmother never shared stories about Lyn, saying it was like the day she left she ceased to exist. Right: The couple in . [7], After ending their rugby careers, the Dawson brothers found employment as physical education teachers, with Chris working at Cromer High School near Sydney. In a statement to police, Chris suggested that she had joined a religious organisation. The interviews led to a phone tap on both Chris Dawsons phone and his twin brother Pauls, though neither turned up much. 16-year-old Joanne Curtis, the student who had an affair with Chris Dawson. She also received recognition for her starring role as Julia Meade in the action spy film . 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. The case had previously exploded into the public spotlight after it was featured in a hit true-crime podcast. Having left Chris Dawson, she was keen to reveal her suspicions that he was involved in Lyn's disappearance. Following his retirement, Chris continued in the sports field as a physical education teacher at local Sydney high schools. Mr Walsh also said that Dawson was 'in shock and sad about his predicament, and worried about his children'. Len Dawson, who led the Kansas City Chiefs to a victory in Super Bowl IV, passed away at 87 years old, his family announced on Wednesday. This time, testimony was given by several people of interest, including Joanne Curtis and Lynette Dawsons family. Depending on how enraptured you were with the true crime podcast The Teacher's Pet, you might feel a moment of joyous satisfaction about the outcome of this case, or a shrugging indifference. She thought (Dawson's) first wife had been killed". She genuinely believed he killed Lyn, theres no doubt about it, Ms Walsh told the program. His Honour said Dawson was motivated by his obsessive infatuation with schoolgirl babysitter JC, with the fear of losing her and clearing the impediment that his wife Lyn represented, as well as not losing hold of his assets as would happen in a divorce. AEST = Australian Eastern Standard Time which is 10 hours ahead of GMT (Greenwich Mean Time), abc.net.au/news/lyn-dawsons-family-will-never-forgive-chris-dawson-over-murder/101391012, Get breaking news alerts directly to your phone with our app. Harrison has spent the time since deliberating on his verdict. 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. To make matters worse, not only was she Chris Dawsons student, but also his childrens babysitter. The only rational inference [is that] Lynette Dawson died on or about 8 January 1982 as a result of a conscious or voluntary act committed by Christopher Dawson.. On January 9, 1982, Lyn was due to meet her mother at Northbridge Baths, where Chris worked. Today, your news feed has told you that Chris Dawson has been found guilty of killing his wife, Lynette, on Sydney's northern beaches, 40 years ago. I asked if Chris wanted to see the drawings because they were of his children and he said "no". Helena was there. He taught us tennis and played in the pool with us, she said. "The handcuffs going on. "I think having a murder verdict brings a conclusion to one part of the story but it's extremely hard to think of " His voice trails off. "Why couldn't he just bloody walk away? Dawson, 73, has pleaded not guilty to murdering Lynette in Sydney's Northern Beaches suburb in January 1982. Born in 1948, the 33-year-old Lynette Joy Dawson vanished into thin air on January 9, 1982. It was all part of the web of deceit that would become Chris Dawson's eventual undoing in court, says Greg. 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. 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. 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. Just 24 hours earlier, the Simms family were left stunned when Justice Ian Harrison SC confirmed what they had long suspected that Greg's sister Lynette Dawson, who disappeared 40 years ago, had been murdered by her husband Chris Dawson. They have also argued that because these events happened four decades ago and memories have faded over time, the testimony given now is not an accurate portrayal of what happened. 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'. , updated [21], On 30 August 2022, Justice Harrison took five hours to deliver his reasons for finding Dawson guilty. Her siblings believe the police took Lyn's disappearance more seriously after that. She contacted Dawson every day via a reverse charge call from a payphone, as Dawson had told her to. Within a few months of the podcasts release, the police commissioner of New South Wales issued a formal apology for mishandling the case all those years ago and agreed to provide new evidence for prosecutors to consider. It seems that the disappearance of Lynette Dawson is finally about to be solved. Bev firmly believes Lyn did not choose to leave. Their relationship became sexual, and Chris employed the girl as a babysitter for his two daughters. Either way, now you'll likely go about your day. She said she never went back to the house again. This podcast focused on the idea that Lynette Dawson was dead and that her husband killed her. It's an impossible place to be; this place where seeing justice served for a member of your family means losing another, when you have already lost so much already. Thebank that won't pass on rate rises unless you ring and ask:Just one of the ruses greedy lenders use to Meghan Markle was 'hugely disappointed' by life in the royal family and as a 'global superstar' she 'hated Twitter is DOWN: App crashes for thousands of frustrated users around the world. In fact, it would be more than a month until an official missing persons report would be filed. Because for them, Lynette is more than a mystery to be solved, more than a smiling face in an old photograph. She shared a short excerpt from the poem Still Possible, written by David Whyte, which describes understanding that 'you have secretly been, all along, a goodness that can continue to be a goodness to itself'. For almost 40 years now, the case has been pulled apart by detectives who have hit dead end after dead end. Its a perception she struggles to reconcile with the scrutiny on his potential role in her mothers murder. Chris Dawson's murder trial has been shown haunting sketches Lynette Dawson commissioned of her two daughters but never got the chance to collect before her disappearance. Chris Dawson fabricated these lies to cover his crime and discredit Lyn. A lot of teachers said to me, once theyre legal, theyre fair game, former classmate Phil Webster said. IT IS a true crime story which has shocked the world. The podcast, created by investigative reporter Hedley Thomas, was listened to tens of millions of times. There's a reason why the Australian podcast "The Teacher's Pet" has been a hit around the world. Helena Simms was shocked as it seemed out of character for Lyn, but she had no reason to doubt her son-in-law. Watch the Australian Story series return Lyn Dawson: Vanished on iviewand YouTube. It was alleged Dawson killed his wife on 8 January 1982. But twenty years ago, she disappeared without warning and without trace. They were everything to her. Missed birthdays and anniversaries. The artist who drew the portraits,Kristin Hardiman, told the court that Lyn 'was very excited' about the portraits after approaching her at the 1981 Christmas fair at Narrabeen High School. He referred to her in the present tense, careful to never use words such as was or used to. Instead, he told reporters and investigators he hoped his missing wife was living happily somewhere else in the world. "And Hedley came forward and saw my sister, Pat, and said he wanted to do a podcast. Lynette Dawson vanished in 1982. The judge saying, 'Mr Dawson, you have to go now'. And then there were Dawson's lies. Shanelle accepts that the evidence is stacked against her father. Shewas killed by the manwho was supposed to love and protect her. Two years later, a second, lengthier inquest was held. [25] The series has close to 30 million downloads[26] and created a large amount of public interest in the case,[25] but was made unavailable in Australia in consideration of the ongoing legal proceedings. He MUST seize it, starting with the Budget, writes ANDREW NEIL, Do not sell or share my personal information. Lynette Dawson was a Sydney wife and mother who went missing under mysterious circumstances. Her husband Chris Dawson, a P.E teacher at Cromer High School, told loved ones that his wife had run off to join a religious group. Chris began an affair with a student at the school, 16-year-old Joanne Curtis before Lynette disappeared. Dawson, 74, had been accused of killing Lynette Dawson in 1982. Between 10 and 12 January 1982, Harrison found Dawson picked up JC from South West Rocks and took her back to Sydney. While their quest for justice is finally over, the long path to peace is ongoing for the Simms family. Independent Allegra Spender has labelled a regular part of Australian political life as a waste of taxpayers money. [20] Chris Dawson chose not to give evidence. Before Joanne came along, she was the family babysitter. "That door closing was so final," adds Merilyn. 23:53 EST 07 Jun 2022 [20] The defence relied on a number of witnesses who claimed to have seen Lynette since her disappearance. "What was lacking was good, hard evidence to try and build a strong circumstantial case and to prove that this woman [Lyn] had in fact died," he says. Today her name has been cleared she loved her family and would have never left them of her own accord. He also made clear on multiple occasions that Dawson did not have to prove nor disprove any evidence in the case. "I suppose you could say I was in shock at the information she'd told us," Greg said. After her passing in 2001, Helena's ashes were scattered in the ocean at Clovelly where she had swum every day. Then, in 2001, the first coroners inquest was held. Chris and Lyn Dawson's daughter Shanelle shared cryptic post on Wednesday She shared excerpt from a poem that describes goodness and suffering The post came less than 24 hours after her. Dawson, 73, is accused of murdering his wife and disposing of her body in January 1982 so he could have an unfettered relationship with JC, who was his babysitter and one of his former students.. Harrison said the prosecution had provided multiple reasons to explain the unlikelihood that Lynette Dawson had done this, and he had found them strongly persuasive when considered together. Lynette Dawson with husband Chris and daughter Shanelle. [4], After investigations by the New South Wales Police proved inconclusive, the NSW State Coroner conducted two coronial inquiries into Lynette's disappearance. Chris Dawson and his twin brother Paul posing for a Levis ad. It was the last time Helena spoke to her 33-year-old daughter. 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. My emotions and my love for my dad aside, I can see that there a lot of people saying all those things, its not just one person, she said. Harrison dismissed several reported sightings of Lynette Dawson which occurred after 8 January 1982. [17] In April 2022, he was denied special leave by Justice Stephen Gageler to appeal to the High Court of Australia. Until four years ago, when The Teacher's Pet was released, Lynette's daughters' grief - and that of her family - was private. The mother-of-two abruptly vanished from her Sydney Northern Beaches home almost 40 years ago in January 1982. A couple of times at their house I did see him turn quite nasty, and it shocked me.. Its happened before.. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. But Lyn never arrived. "It was interesting to me to see how he pared down a very large case into something relatively simple," Mr Whealy says. Then, in May 2018, a month after Australian prosecutors began to review the case, Thomas shocked the world by debuting a podcast titled The Teachers Pet. 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. [9] Chris didn't report his wife as missing until six weeks after she had vanished. Space to play or pause, M to mute, left and right arrows to seek, up and down arrows for volume. Her father was convicted of her murder on Tuesday. Chris began teaching physical education at Cromer High School in this year. In earlier testimony on Tuesday, the court heard JC - who later became Chris Dawson's schoolgirl wife - allegedly told her best friend on theGold Coast that he had 'murdered his first wife' and urged her 'go to police' if she 'didn't make it out'. However, a deeper look into the disappearance revealed some sinister details. Marilyn said in the phone conversation that Chris Dawson ws 'not capable' of killing Lyn Dawson and that he was an 'upstanding citizen who work hard, lives well, is very kind to his family and hes respectful'. Ups and downs have been a constant companion during the family's decades-long search for answers about what happened to Lyn. Two prison officers entered the room and handcuffed him. That makes it very weak, he said. She had arranged to go to the Dawson's Bayview home in Sydney's northern beaches to photograph the 'children dressed in beautiful broderie anglaise dresses, they had their hair beautifully done'. Dawson was elected into the Hall of Fame as both . 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