Yesterday, 70-year-old Chris Dawson was arrested at his brother’s home on the Gold Coast for the murder of his wife Lyn Dawson in 1982.
The 36-year-old cold case was the subject of the widely popular investigative podcast series The Teacher’s Pet that revived interest in the sensational case by uncovering new and crucial evidence.
Here is every update in the Lyn Dawson murder case:
Chris Dawson has been extradited to Sydney
As of this morning, ABC News reported that Chris Dawson had departed Coolangatta Airport on a Qantas flight and arrived in Sydney to face charges for the murder of Lyn Dawson. Due to initial reluctance from airlines to take the murder-suspect on a flight, Dawson had to spend the last night in Southport watch house on the Gold Coast.
The former Newtown Jets rugby league player reportedly left the Southport watch house in an unmarked police car at around 5.00 am this morning (AEST).
Yesterday, Dawson appeared in Southport Magistrates Court and made an application for bail, which was denied by Magistrate Dennis Kinsella who said there was an unacceptable risk of failing to appear.
Joanne Curtis is the star witness
Joanne Curtis is the former student of P.E teacher Chris Dawson, who was groomed by a then married Dawson at the age of 16. The two began a sexual relationship, and Chris moved a young Joanne into the marital home just days after lyn disappeared.
A senior police source has told The Daily Telegraph that it was an abundance of new and old witnesses that helped, “tie the pieces of the puzzle together.”
The police source continued, “They corroborate Joanne’s evidence.”
The necessity for other witnesses to corroborate Curtis’s evidence and testimony is the reason people believe Joanne is the star witness for the DPP’s case against Chris Dawson.
A new episode of ‘The Teacher’s Pet’ hinted at more arrests
The Teacher’s Pet explored not just the probable murder of Lyn Dawson, but also the disturbing allegations of sexual abuse at Cromer High School. The podcast prompted sexual assault survivors from Cromer High to come forward and chat to both the police and the podcast.
NSW Police Commissioner Mick Fuller told Hedley Thomas, the journalist behind the podcast The Teacher’s Pet, that Strike Force Southwood is looking into the chilling claims of sexual abuse at Cromer High in the 1980s, the high school Chris Dawson taught at.
Fuller said, “I’m hoping that any victim that comes forward, even on historic matters, gets justice, our child abuse crime squad are looking into all of those matters,” Mick Fuller continues, “I know that people have come forward and we’ll continue to investigate those matters with the same passion and vigour that we have since 2015.”
We’ll be updating this story as it unfolds.
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