Lynette Joy Dawson was an Australian missing person who disappeared on 9 January 1982, leaving two daughters and her husband, Chris Dawson. Her whereabouts are unknown, but two coronial inquests have found that she had been murdered. In December 2018, Chris Dawson was charged with her murder and, in June 2019, pleaded not guilty.
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 and later had two children. 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. Dawson was phoned by her mother on 8 January 1982, the last time they would communicate with each other. She planned to meet her mother and family at Northbridge Baths the following day, but she never arrived. Curtis permanently moved into the Dawson residence on 10 January 1982. Chris Dawson reported his wife missing on 18 February 1982, six weeks after her disappearance. 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.
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 CoronerJan Stevenson determined that Dawson had been murdered and that her killer was someone she knew. The coroner recommended charges be laid; however Nicholas Cowdery, 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. Cowdery again refused to prosecute Dawson, citing the lack of evidence. In April 2018, following extensive investigations, NSW Police requested the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions to review its brief of evidence. Chris Dawson was arrested in Queensland in December 2018, extradited to New South Wales, and charged with the murder of Dawson. He was granted bail; and in June 2019 pleaded not guilty to her murder. In February 2020, he was committed to stand trial for the murder of Dawson. 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.
Media
A 16-episode 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. The series had over 28 million downloads before being taken down, and has seen a large media and public interest in the case.
