Episodes

December 2, 2022

Episode 22 - It’s Over
Christopher Michael Dawson will likely die in prison. That was the stark declaration of Justice Ian Harrison SC in the NSW Supreme Court, sentencing Dawson to 24 years imprisonment with no chance of parole until 2040. We hear every word of Justice Ian Harrison’s sentencing remarks, plus reactions...
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November 11, 2022

Episode 21 - Shanelle
Lyn's oldest daughter, Shanelle Dawson, walked into a Sydney courtroom and spoke from the heart about the killing of her mother, the selfishness of her father, and the ongoing damage to her life as a result of the murder. Shanelle's extraordinary victim impact statement, delivered by her through te...
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September 27, 2022

Introducing Shandee's Legacy
Hedley Thomas, Claire Harvey, David Murray, and Matthew Condon return to cover hearings in a major public inquiry into Queensland's state-run DNA lab.  A new episode will be published at the end of every week, for the duration of the inquiry. Search for Shandee's Story in your podcast app, an...
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September 16, 2022

Verdict Episode 3 - Lyn's Legacy
In our third and final episode diving into Justice Ian Harrison's meticulously detailed judgment, we look at the evidence of Lyn being bruised and her accounts of being subjected to acts of violence at the hands of her husband Chris. Hedley, Claire, Matthew, and David also discuss the judge’s fin...
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September 8, 2022

Verdict Episode 2 - He Said, She Said
“A brilliant piece of writing.” That’s the verdict of acclaimed author Matthew Condon on Justice Ian Harrison’s 238-page judgment. Our in-depth analysis of the decision begins with the lie that brought Chris Dawson's defence undone: a call – supposedly made by his wife, Lyn – to  the Northbridge Ba...
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September 2, 2022

Verdict Episode 1 - Before And After
Forty years after Lyn Dawson disappeared from Sydney's Northern Beaches, Christopher Michael Dawson has been convicted of her murder. In this episode, we'll take you to the moments leading up to and following that pivotal moment.  Hedley Thomas, Claire Harvey, David Murray, and Matthew Condon sh...
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August 29, 2022

GUILTY
Christopher Michael Dawson has finally learned his fate after Justice Ian Harrison handed down his verdict in the NSW Supreme Court.   Dawson was charged with one count of murdering his wife, Lynette, in early 1982.   We hear from retired homicide detective, Gary Jubelin, what happens next, now tha...
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August 25, 2022

Episode 17 - Anticipation
After 40 years, a verdict is just days away. As anticipation builds, we answer more of your questions: What happened to the dressmaker who Lyn talked to about her bruises and her “violent” husband Chris? Do inquest findings carry any weight in a criminal trial? What does reasonable doubt mean anywa...
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August 19, 2022

Episode 16 - Save The Date
We finally get an answer to the question that's been lingering for weeks: when will Justice Ian Harrison return a verdict? We're also taking the opportunity to answer some of the fascinating and complex questions sent in by you, our listeners. And we meet a figure who's loomed over the trial of Chr...
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August 12, 2022

Episode 15 - Super Sleuths
Two coroners examined Lyn Dawson’s disappearance and recommended a ‘known person’ - her husband Chris - be charged with her murder. We delve into how the inquests unfolded, finding out what one of the coroners had to say when Chris, his twin brother Paul, and Paul’s wife Marilyn did not attend. And...
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August 5, 2022

Episode 14 - Memory Lane
We revisit the volatile decade that was the 1970s, Chris and Paul Dawson’s heyday. They were at the peak of their celebrity as well known sporting figures and male models, exploiting the novelty of being identical twins in everything they did. Many years later as police close in over Lyn’s suspecte...
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July 28, 2022

Episode 13 - Twins unplugged
From bewildered to furious, Chris and Paul Dawson vent their true feelings in tapped phone calls over two decades, as the lingering mystery of Lyn’s disappearance draws the attention of police, journalists and the wider world. Retired detective inspector of homicide Gary Jubelin takes us inside the...
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July 21, 2022

Episode 12 - Sue
Sue Strath is that rare, loyal friend who never turns away, who never gives up. Her efforts to poke and prod police into action over the disappearance of Lyn Dawson makes Sue one of the few heroines of a tragic story. Sue kept agitating for 16 years, although she was sure that Lyn was dead. The fac...
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July 14, 2022

Episode 11 - The Defence Closes
Chris Dawson is a man of good character, badly let down by police and unfairly tainted over the disappearance of his wife: that's the essence of the Defence's closing address on behalf of the accused. Finally, the court got to hear Dawson's side of the story. Through barrister Pauline David, he adm...
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July 8, 2022

Episode 10 - The Crown Closes
Obsessed with teenage babysitter JC, Christopher Dawson murdered his wife Lyn in terror of losing what he so deeply desired. That was the powerful thrust of a meticulous and forensic closing address, delivered over two days by Crown prosecutor Craig Everson SC. Everson said Dawson made four separat...
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July 3, 2022

Episode 9 - ’She Took Off’
Police taps on Chris Dawson’s phone in 2018 as episodes of The Teacher’s Pet were unfolding reveal him and his twin brother Paul raging over the former babysitter-cum-wife JC, as well as journalists, TV crews and homicide cop Damian Loone. In one intercept Chris discloses he was still hearing from ...
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July 1, 2022

Episode 8 - The Reporter And The Cop
Hedley Thomas, the award-winning journalist behind The Teacher's Pet podcast, enters the witness box in the trial's eighth week. Thomas mounts a fiery defence of investigative journalism amid a fierce cross-examination by defence barrister Pauline David. Detective Damian Loone also returns to the w...
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June 26, 2022

The Front - Daily updates as Hedley Thomas appears at the trial
This week Hedley Thomas will be in the witness box in the trial of Chris Dawson. The Australian's daily news podcast The Front  will be publishing daily updates. Search for  The Front  in your podcast app, and hit the follow or subscribe button to get daily updates on the trial of Chris Dawson and...
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June 24, 2022

Episode 7 - Fruit Barn
A retired cop makes an explosive revelation that an unverified and fleeting purported sighting of Lyn Dawson at a fruit barn closed down the first homicide investigation in the early 1990s. The court hears investigative files were left to decay in a damp storage facility, never to be found again. A...
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June 17, 2022

Episode 6 - Gangland
The names and reputations of Sydney’s most notorious crime figures are connected to Chris Dawson’s murder trial, as the focus turns to the gangland milieu surrounding the Newtown Jets rugby league club. The crown’s criminally-connected witness Robert Silkman speaks of his friendsh...
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June 10, 2022

Episode 5 - Intercepted
The voices of Chris and Paul Dawson echo through the court once more as intercepted phone calls from the late '90s are played publicly for the first time. Members of the Dawson family, including twin brother Paul and sister-in-law Marilyn, recall the events leading up to and following Lynette ...
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June 2, 2022

Episode 4 - Sex, Lies and Videotape
The court hears Chris Dawson's story in his own words as video of his first and only police interview on the topic of his wife's disappearance is played in full. His brother, Peter Dawson, remembers the crucial weeks and months following Lynette Dawson's disappearance and a teenage co-worker of JC ...
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May 27, 2022

Episode 3 - Bruises
It’s an intense and emotional week in court as Lyn’s workmates and friends tell of a steady deterioration of her marriage to Chris Dawson. Witnesses are tested on allegations of bruising on Lyn and violence and aggression in the home. The evidence takes us from the school grounds of Cro...
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May 20, 2022

Episode 2 - Groomed
Chris Dawson’s former babysitter “JC” gives evidence that he groomed her, then turned her into his “sex slave” and a substitute mother for his children after his wife Lyn’s sudden disappearance. Lyn’s friend and neighbour Julie Andrew and siblings Greg Simm...
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May 13, 2022

Episode 1 - Court
Four decades after former star footballer and high school teacher Chris Dawson allegedly murdered his wife Lyn, a murder trial her family feared would never happen has begun. The prosecution revealed that a new witness - a former Newtown Jets team-mate of the accused wife killer - will allege Dawso...
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May 12, 2022

Introduction
From Hedley Thomas and the journalists at The Australian, The Teacher's Trial follows the events in the trial of Chris Dawson, who is accused of the murder of his wife Lynette Dawson. To read The Australian's ongoing coverage of the trial search  The Teacher's Trial  or click here. Fo...
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