Lynette Dawson with husband Chris and daughter Shanelle. [1] Her whereabouts are unknown, but two coronial inquests found that she had been murdered. This time, testimony was given by several people of interest, including Joanne Curtis and Lynette Dawsons family. None of the circumstances considered alone can establish Mr Dawsons guilt, the judge said. [21] He was satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that Lynette Dawson died "as a result of a conscious and voluntary act" by Chris Dawson. In a dramatic day on Tuesday, Justice Harrison found Dawson guilty just after 3pm - bringing to a close a mystery that has haunted Lynette's family and Sydney's northern beaches for four decades. It is almost 20 years since ABC's Australian Story first spoke to the family and friends of former nurse and childcare worker Lyn Dawson, a much-loved mother-of-two who vanished from her home on Sydney's northern beaches in suspicious circumstances in January 1982. Thoroughly investigated by seasoned journalist Hedley Thomas, the story is compelling: In 1982, Lyn Dawson disappeared, leaving behind her husband and two young daughters. YouTubeLynette Dawson and her husband, Chris, shortly before their marriage. Greg remarks that he has goosebumps. Lynette Dawson and her husband, Chris, shortly before their marriage. "We didn't get much sleep, it's hard to try and process the verdict," Greg says. Lynette Dawson was a Sydney wife and mother who went missing under mysterious circumstances. [20] The defence relied on a number of witnesses who claimed to have seen Lynette since her disappearance. During that month, attitudes toward Dawsons husband, Chris, would swing from sympathy to suspicion. Initially, her disappearance was considered a "missing persons" matter. 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. "His reliance on his lies it was just expanding all the time. Journalist Hedley Thomas, centre, with Lynette Dawsons brother Greg Simms and his wife Merilyn outside the NSW supreme court after the guilty verdict was handed down. "If we ever find Lyn, I believe that she deserves to have her ashes scattered off here at Clovelly with Mum and Dad," Greg says. 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'. 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. "This story has gone worldwide and Lyn would be incredibly humbled by that," Merilyn says. Chris began teaching physical education at Cromer High School in this year. He actually flicked her really, really hard right across the back with the tea towel. Lyn Dawson with daughter Shanelle Shanelle, who was four years old at her mother's disappearance time, is now a married lady in her 40s in 2022. Harrison said Dawson "lied" about receiving phone calls from his missing wife, and concluded she died on or around January 8, 1982. 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. The Project has apologised after a comedians joke about Jesus on Tuesday nights show led to calls for the programme to be cancelled. A few years later, he divorced Lyn in her absence and married JC. He did lose his temper quite quickly. Updated. But twenty years ago, she disappeared without warning and without trace. 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. January 1982 - Lynette "Lyn" Dawson, 33, disappears from her home at Bayview on Sydney's northern beaches, leaving behind two young daughters. The family's babysitter, a schoolgirl who can only be identified as JC, moves into the home within days. Or is it? [21][23], On December 2, 2022, Dawson was sentenced to 24 years in jail, with a non-parole period of 18 years, for the murder of Lynette.[24]. Though her whereabouts and body are still unknown, coroner's police investigations have concluded that she was killed. However, when the mother arrived, Lynette was nowhere to be found. After her passing in 2001, Helena's ashes were scattered in the ocean at Clovelly where she had swum every day. Rewards were issued several times for information on the case, though no one came forward with anything useful. Harrison said his findings had been fortified by the lies Dawson told after his wife was murdered, which he grouped into four categories: those Dawson told JC and others about their relationship; claims he wanted to continue his marriage with Lynette Dawson; lies he told which suggested she was still alive; and those which suggested she may have left their home of her own accord. Harrison said that while it was often immaterial when a particular offence occurred, in this case it was an indispensable link in the chain of reasoning upon which the Crown relies. Her body has never been found and Dawson has always maintained he was not involved in her disappearance. This is what Curtis revealed in 2003 about her life with Chris Dawson, before and after Lyn's disappearance. The two had planned to meet up with the rest of Dawsons family the following day. Just weeks after Lyn went missing, Dawson moved JC into the family home. Now millions of people around the world, who were waiting for that all important verdict to come through, are rejoicing on their behalf. She was 33 at the time . But she just had such love for this little child, a real bond. On Tuesday, New South Wales supreme court Justice Ian Harrison found Dawson guilty. Karen Longhurst said JC had indicated that Dawson had 'taunted' his first wife, saying 'Chris used to wander around the house singing songs (like) "I don't love you any more".'. Space to play or pause, M to mute, left and right arrows to seek, up and down arrows for volume. "Clovelly is part of the Simms family, it's in our blood," he explains. Katie Serena is a New York City-based writer and a staff writer at All That's Interesting. Shanelle said her mother was rarely spoken about after her disappearance. But Shanelle spoke fondly of her father, saying he was fun. "We did it, Lyn," whispers Greg. Chris Dawson fabricated these lies to cover his crime and discredit Lyn. . Nearly a decade later, Greg received information that made him "turn white". IT IS a true crime story which has shocked the world. "The judge found this quite implausible," MrWhealy says. [15] He is also facing a charge of carnal knowledge with a girl between the ages of 10 and 17, relating to his sexual relationship with Curtis while still a teacher at Cromer High School. Graduations. Dawson claimed she had walked out on their marriage and her children. 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. Charges, however, were never pressed, as the powers that be felt there was not enough evidence. Marilyn and Paul had just been 'interrogated for and hour-and-a-half' each and was indignant at 'nasty' and 'shocking' interview in which she said police had suggested Chris had killed Lyn to save him from paying child maintenance fees. [6] Between 1972 and 1976, Chris and his identical twin brother Paul played professional rugby league football for the Newtown Jets. Greg admits there were times during Justice Harrison's rollercoaster five-hour judgement when he thought Dawson might be acquitted. Justice Ian Harrison handed down the guilty verdict following an extensive, five-hour summary of his reasoning. 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. However, a deeper look into the disappearance revealed some sinister details. Earlier, Harrison had rejected the possibility Lynette Dawson voluntarily abandoned her husband and daughters, then aged two and four, to vanish without a trace. "Nanna, Pa, we did it we never gave up," echoes Merilyn. Verdict that took five hours to be delivered ended a 40-year wait for justice, The Teachers Pet: hit podcast thrust Lynette Dawsons 1982 disappearance into the spotlight. Dawson, 74, was found guilty of murdering his first wife Lynette Dawson on Tuesday and was sent to Silverwater Jail in Sydney to await sentencing. Fiercely. 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 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'. To make matters worse, not only was she Chris Dawsons student, but also his childrens babysitter. Michelle Lynn Monaghan (/ m n h n / MON--hn; born March 23, 1976) is an American actress. Then, in 1965, Chris Dawson met young Lynette Simms and five years later the two were married. Between 10 and 12 January 1982, Harrison found Dawson picked up JC from South West Rocks and took her back to Sydney. In a marathon five-hour hearing, Justice Harrison laid out in painstaking detail the evidence persuading him that the 74-year-old former rugby league star and high school teacher had killed Lynette in January 1982 to have "unfettered" access to his teen lover, known to the court as JC. There's a reason why the Australian podcast "The Teacher's Pet" has been a hit around the world. "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. Harrison agreed that Lynette Dawson died on this date, dismissing claims by Dawson that his wife had called him after this date as lies. They were both colour blind, played football together, both became PE teachers - and their wives even had the same baby doctor, 'Dr John Murray our obstetrician'. "There was a big question over it it obviously gave the prosecuting authority pause on a number of occasions.". In a year or five, you might not even remember who Lynette Dawson was. She would even wear Lyns jewellery and her clothes. A pink cardigan and a wrapper dated 1981 were discovered, but nothing related to Lynette Dawsons disappearance was found. Everything in the house had to be perfect because she never wanted to upset him, Bev told 60 Minutes. That makes it very weak, he said. The judge saying, 'Mr Dawson, you have to go now'. 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. Everything.. For the people who loved her, today's verdict will bring some form of closure. iPhone users claim Apple is trying to TRICK them into Are YOU at risk of being cancelled? Now, a journalist's podcast may have finally solved the mystery of her disappearance. 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'. The case had previously exploded into the public spotlight after it was featured in a hit true-crime podcast. 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. In 1980, Chris began a relationship with his 16-year-old Cromer High School student Joanne Curtis. Just a few years ago, the family were thrilled when they were sent a photograph from a former nursing colleague of Lyn's. 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. For the next 13 years, not much headway was made in the case. In a supreme court verdict, Christopher Dawson (left) has been found guilty of killing Lynette Dawson on Sydneys northern beaches four decades ago. According to ACA former students allege there was group of at least six teachers who slept with teenage girls. 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. Listen to this story being read by Adrienne Tam, here. This was one of a series of reasons which Harrison gave to dismiss the possibility that Lynette Dawson left of her own accord. Its a perception she struggles to reconcile with the scrutiny on his potential role in her mothers murder. They've grown up with his version of the story of their mother - that she walked out on them, without a word. It was one of Australia's most high-profile murder cases and took more than 40 years to solve. Maybe you'll hope she has found some semblance ofpeace; that wherever she is, she is no longer in any anguish and pain. [20] Chris Dawson chose not to give evidence. Dawsons twin brother, Paul, left court without speaking to reporters. Chris Dawson and his twin brother Paul posing for a Levis ad. [20] The prosecution presented a circumstantial case, alleging Dawson's motive for murder was his desire for an "unfettered relationship" with Curtis. [7], After ending their rugby careers, the Dawson brothers found employment as physical education teachers, with Chris working at Cromer High School near Sydney. 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. Born in 1948, the 33-year-old Lynette Joy Dawson vanished into thin air on January 9, 1982. Now, 36-years on, the answers are unravelling. More importantly, the podcast achieved the one goal it seemed no one else could; in December, seven months after the podcast was released, Chris Dawson was arrested. For the latest information, searchABC Emergency, For the latestweather warnings in the Northern Territory, search onABC Emergency, Follow the action from the third Test between India and Australia in Delhi in our live blog. Chris didnt report his wife as missing until six weeks later, and told everyone she had run off to join a religious cult. "We'd like to remember those who loved Lyn but who . Two years later, a second, lengthier inquest was held. Dawson claims JC's allegations are lies spurred by a bitter custody battle which occurred after their 1990 break-up. In January 1982, a small neighborhood in Sydney, Australia was devastated by the disappearance of doting wife and mother Lynette Dawson. Until four years ago, when The Teacher's Pet was released, Lynette's daughters' grief - and that of her family - was private. 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 accepted that Dawson had become infatuated with JC before she left Cromer high school. 'I think she was deeply hurt and struggling and I tried to boost her up and say "come on you need to fight".'. Tonight, Lynette's daughters will likely go to sleep thinking of their mother and their father. 16-year-old Joanne Curtis, the student who had an affair with Chris Dawson. 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.. Shanelle Dawson was just four years old when her father told her and younger sister Sherryn that their mother had run away because she didn't love them. Her body. Then, in 2015, the case was reopened. 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. 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. She is now a mother herself. [4], Lynette was phoned by her mother on 8 January 1982, the last time they would communicate with each other. The main reason for Dawsons application was the publicity generated in the case by the Australian newspapers Teachers Pet podcast. He turned her young daughters memories against her - tarring her as a cowardly, unloving mother who just "went away". She contacted Dawson every day via a reverse charge call from a payphone, as Dawson had told her to. She said she was moved into the Dawson family home in January 1982 where she was treated as a housekeeper, babysitter and sex slave. No body was found, no suspects were arrested, and it seemed as though the case had gone cold. We just want to find her now and lay her to rest, but we're doubtful that will ever happen. "[18] The trial before Justice Ian Harrison began on 9 May and ran for 10 weeks, concluding on 11 July. He also made clear on multiple occasions that Dawson did not have to prove nor disprove any evidence in the case. [1] Her whereabouts are unknown, but two coronial inquests found that she had been murdered. Subscribe here: http://9Soci.al/chmP50wA97J Full Episodes: https://9now.app.link/uNP4qBkmN6 | The Truth Hurts (2022)For forty long years, every time Chris Da. The ups and downs from Judge Harrison in his summation," he says. The former Sydney rugby league player and teacher is accused of murdering his wife and. Lyn Dawson's family says they will 'never forgive' former husband Chris Dawson over lies, murder, There is an emergency bushfire warning in place for Maintongoonin Victoria. 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