The Teacher's Pet
Lyn and Chris Dawson appear to have the perfect marriage. He's a star footballer and popular high school teacher. She's a devoted wife and mother. They share a beautiful home above Sydney's northern beaches. But when Lyn goes missing, dark secrets are buried. This is no fairytale, but a sordid story of strangely close twin brothers, teenage student lovers, and probable murder. The Australian's Hedley Thomas digs deep into a cold case which has been unsolved for 36 years, uncovering startling new evidence.
Episodes
This is an episode of The Australian's daily news podcast, The Front.
Chris Dawson has suffered another humiliation, losing an appeal against his conviction for the 1982 murder of his wife Lynette in 1982.
Find out more about The Front podcast here. You can read about this story and more on The Australian's website or on The Australian’s app.
This episode of The Front is presented by Claire Harvey, produced by Kristen Amiet and ed...
The Teacher's Pet creator Hedley Thomas returns with a new podcast investigation for The Australian.
Subscribers to The Australian and registered users hear episodes of ‘Bronwyn’ first. Plus, you can read more about this case and see exclusive stories, maps, timelines, graphics, video and more at bronwynpodcast.com
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Where is Bronwyn Winfield? The devoted mum has been missing since 1993 – and the man behind The Teacher’s Pet is on the case.
Go to theaustralian.com.au/bronwyn to listen. Plus, you can read more about this case and see exclusive stories, maps, timelines, graphics, video and more.
This episode of The Front is presented by Claire Harvey, produced by Kristen Amiet and edited by Josh Burton. The multimedia editor is Lia Tsamoglou an...
Christopher Michael Dawson has launched an appeal, arguing Justice Ian Harrison got it wrong — and claiming he’s not guilty of Lyn’s murder.
The Front is covering the NSW Supreme Court proceedings every day. Find out more about it here, or keep up to date on The Australian's website and app.
This episode of The Front is presented by Claire Harvey, produced by Kristen Amiet and edited by Lia Tsamoglou. The multimedia editor is Lia ...
Hedley Thomas sits down with Pulitzer Prize-winner and former NYT foreign correspondent Raymond Bonner to discuss his new book, The Teacher's Pet, at Bookoccino book shop on Sydney's Northern Beaches.
The book is published by Pan Macmillan and is available at all good bookstores, and wherever you get audiobooks.
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Lynette Dawson, now remembered as Lynette Simms, went missing from her Bayview home in 1982. But it would take another 40 years for her husband Chris Dawson to be convicted of her murder.
In this special episode of the I Catch Killers podcast, Hedley Thomas shares his personal connection to Lyn’s story with host Gary Jubelin.
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A school teacher, a missing wife, and the student caught in the middle. The Teacher’s Pet was the podcast that captivated the world.
In this special episode of the I Catch Killers podcast, award-winning journalist Hedley Thomas joins host Gary Jubelin to discuss the ins and outs of the investigation into Lynette Dawson’s disappearance — ultimately landing murderer Chris Dawson behind bars.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy inf...
Listen to Hedley Thomas reading Chapter 1 of his new book, The Teacher's Pet.
The book is published by Pan Macmillan and is available at all good bookstores, and wherever you get audiobooks.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Grey, shrunken and hiding his face, Chris Dawson is sentenced for unlawful carnal knowledge of a schoolgirl. Hedley Thomas joins us.
Find out more about The Front podcast here and read about this story and more on The Australian's website or search for The Australian in your app store.
This episode of The Front is presented by Claire Harvey, produced by Kristen Amiet, and edited by Lia Tsamoglou. Original music is composed by Jaspe...
Hedley Thomas, Claire Harvey and David Murray reveal how our smash-hit podcasts get made.
Find out more about The Front podcast here and read about this story and more on The Australian's website or search for The Australian in your app store.
This episode of The Front is presented and produced by Kristen Amiet, and edited by Lia Tsamoglou. Our regular host is Claire Harvey and original music is composed by Jasper Leak.
See omnystud...
Nearly 37 years after Lyn Dawson disappeared, police have arrested Chris Dawson over the alleged murder of his wife, taking him into custody and preparing his extradition to Sydney where he will face court. When the knock on the door came, the 70-year-old was calm. The timing may have been a surprise, but he’d known for a long time that this day may come. Calling the matter "a cold case murder", the magistrate denied Dawson's appli...
Following an incredible groundswell of community interest ignited by this podcast, September saw a stunning development in the case with police returning to the Bayview house to conduct a new and more thorough search for the remains of Lyn Dawson. This dig was a necessity - not just to try to uncover new evidence, but also to restore public confidence and to prove to Lyn’s family that the police, this time, would do their jobs prop...
After 36 long years, failed police investigations, two coronial inquests, and countless appeals from Lyn's family, the case is stronger now - and once again it's in the hands of the office of the DPP. Regardless of their decision, the NSW police commissioner pledges to keep investigations going, and he plans to order a much more significant dig at the Bayview property. In this episode, former coroner Carl Milovanovich explains why ...
Before the first coronial inquest, police tap phones in the lead-up to digging in a relatively small area around the swimming pool at Bayview, where they find a woman's cardigan. The crime scene officer on that dig describes what he believed were stab marks in the garment. He suspects Lyn's remains are still on the block - and may have been narrowly missed because the dig was restricted for budgetary reasons. The coronial inquests ...
The detective Damian Loone escalates his murder investigations, interviewing many witnesses in a quest for the truth. And the area of "soft soil" comes back into focus.
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Chris Dawson was interviewed by police in 1991, and then never again. But Sue Strath, Lyn's loyal friend, kept agitating for a further investigation, and in 1998 Detective Damian Loone was assigned to the case. Curiously, the earlier investigation notes had vanished.
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After six difficult years, the volatile marriage was over. JC felt she had become ‘disposable’, as Lyn had been years before, and feared for her life. She fled back to Sydney, telling friends she was convinced Chris had murdered his first wife. In this episode, you'll hear what Chris Dawson told detectives when he was interviewed in 1991.
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Leaving the dark shadow of Lyn’s disappearance behind, Chris moved his young new wife and children north to Queensland, into a home on acreage near the newly-opened theme park, Dreamworld. Isolated behind high fences, JC lived the life of a 'Stepford wife', and was expected to meet all of her husband's demands ... including continuing to look like a school girl.
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Lyn Dawson had been missing for three years when her worried friend Sue wrote to the Office of the Ombudsman - an independent government watchdog - about the lack of police action in the case. We go looking and recover a long-forgotten file after decades in storage, and the contents highlight the hopeless responses of police to a probable murder - and raise more questions, as public anger grows.
See omnystudio.com/listener for priv...
On January 15, 1984, Chris and JC wed at Bayview. With no veil, and in a non-traditional dress, the young bride looked like a flower girl. On her hand, she wore Lyn's rings. Chris's brother Paul and his wife Marilyn were witnesses.
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