A Popular Podcast Solved A Decades-Old Cold Case Murder Of Lynette Dawson

Love knows no boundaries. And in the name of love, some people could do anything.

Back in 1965, Lynette Simms met Chris Dawson at a high-school function. At that time, they were both aged 16. The two quickly fell madly in love that in only a few years later, in 1970, the two were married at St. Jude's Church, Randwick in Sydney, Australia. The two lovebirds had two children.

Not long after the marriage, Chis who played professional rugby league football for the Newtown Jets alongside his identical twin brother Paul, ended his career. Chris was then employed as a physical education teacher, teaching at Cromer High School near Sydney.

But it was during this time, that Chris fell in love with another woman, Joanne Curtis, his student. He groomed her, and even had an extramarital affair with her, during the time the girl moved in temporarily to the Dawson's family residence in Bayview, at Chris' invitation.

What happened next, Chris' wife, Lyn, disappeared.

Nothing much happened until four decades later, when 'The Teacher's Pet', a popular podcast, unveiled some hidden truths behind the disappearance, prompting the authorities to reopen the cold case and solve it once and for all.

Lynette Simms began dating Chris Dawson when she was still a student at Sydney Girls High while Chris was attending Sydney Boys High.

During their early months of marriage, the couple sold their house at Cromer, to then use the money to purchase a vacant space at 2 Gilwinga Drive, Bayview. They paid $31,000 for the land and spent another $70,000 to build their dream family home.

The two were madly in love, and were rarely seen without the other.

It was in 1977, that Chris and Lynette’s first daughter and "miracle baby" was born. And two years later, in 1979, the couple’s second daughter was born.

But the heavenly life Lyn was living didn't last long, because the couple soon started to experience an unstable marriage.

It was during this time, that Chris began having an affair with Joanne, who was at the time in year 11 at her high school. Chris had a crush on her a year earlier, when she was in year 10, and was the reason why he enrolled as a physical education teacher for her class, in order to get close to her.

Lyn didn't realize that her husband was having an affair. Even when Chris brought the girl to the family's home as a babysitter, Lyn didn't question her husband's faithfulness.

It is said that Joanne became close to Chris ever since Chris offered his companionship, which was a huge help when Joanne was experiencing a troubled home life. Chris who became her friend and confidante, quickly made her fell in love.

It was during this time, that Lyn began to experience a troubled home life, and that Lyn also started receiving a number of domestic violence from Chris.

Lyn who was concerned that Joanne's presence would make their marriage even more unstable, only made Chris angry.

Things were kept discrete until one time Chris had to undergo a nose operation.

He told Lyn to not visit him in hospital. Lyn listened, but her mother, Helena, visited him, hoping to see his son-in-law and hope him to get well soon.

When she arrived to the hospital, instead of her daughter, Helena saw another woman was with his son-in-law.

Helena caught Joanne sitting next to Chris, holding his hands

Helena was disappointed of him, and told what she saw to her daughter.

But Lyn rubbed it off, telling her mother to not make a fuss about it.

Lyn was patience during most of the encounters, but couldn't at some incidents.

For example, in November 1981, Lyn discovered that her husband, Chris, frequently had sex with Joanne while Lyn was asleep or in the shower.

Angered because she couldn't contain her disappointment, she moved into the home of Chris’ twin brother Paul, which was only a few houses away.

It was during this time, that Chris started to think about having a divorce.

One day, on December 23, 1981, Lyn was waiting for Chris to pick her up from work. But after a long wait, Chris never showed up.

She took a taxi home, to only find a goodbye note from Chris asking her not to "paint too black a picture of him to the children." Lyn couldn't contain her tears, but was still expecting Chris to return.

Even when she was invited to her sibling’s house for Christmas, Lyn chose to stay home to see if her husband returned.

In the meantime, Chris and Joanne were already on their way to Queensland, hoping to start a new life together.

But during their long trip, Joanne began to feel unwell. This was when she changed her mind about the move.

The pair returned to Sydney on Christmas morning, but was staying at Paul's house, which was less than a few blocks away from Lyn, who was alone expecting Chris to return.

Chris returned a few days later, and later agreed to attend a marriage counselling session with Lyn.

After attending the marriage counselling, in the evening, Lyn called her mother, Helena, and said that the counselling went well.

She even said that Chris had made her a "lovely drink."

Helena replied that "everything is going to work out."

But unbeknown to Helena, this was the last time she speaks to any friends and family.

On January 9, 1982, Chris said that Lyn woke up early to do washing and prepare lunch for their daughters. He claimed she had been distressed the night prior but apologized for the breakdown. Chris then said that he drove her to a bus stop so she could go shopping, and after that, he took his daughters swimming at the Northbridge Baths.

Lyn was scheduled to meet them there later in the afternoon.

But Lyn never arrived.

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Chris was "nervous and agitated," Joanne recalled.

Chris claimed that Lyn called him, telling him that she needed time to think things through.

It was around mid-January, that Chris asked Joanne to move in with him to Bayview, sleeping in the Dawson’s matrimonial bed.

Having the house to herself, Joanne considered Lyn's belongings to be hers, and even wore Lyn's clothes during her 18th birthday.

It was only in February 18, 1982, that Chris filed a missing person report to the police. And this was made only after Helena begged him to do so.

It has been six weeks since Lyn disappeared, and Chris told the police that she left on her own accord, and that there shouldn't be any concern for her welfare.

The next month, Chris placed an advertisement in The Daily Telegraph, saying: "Lyn I love you, we all miss you. Please ring. We want you home. Chris."

Then in August 1982, Chris seeks a court order for the dissolution of his marriage on the basis of abandonment.

He claims he is a “forlorn, abandoned husband” who tried to find his wife.

This was granted a few months later, and Chris was awarded all of his and Lyn's assets, including their 2 Gilwinga Drive, as well as custody of their two children.

Two years after Lyn’s disappearance, Chris and Joanne were married, and Joanne was wearing Lyn’s rings, resized to fit her finger.

After having all of Lyn's asset transferred to his name, Chris then sold the Bayview house.

Joanne gave birth to the couple’s daughter, while Chris was working at Keebra Park High, before moving to Coombabah, a suburb of Queensland where his brother taught.

Years and years past, but no progress happened.

According to Lyn’s friend, she felt that the police lacked the action, and said that the police claimed there was nothing they could really do, because there was no proof of foul play or suspicion.

And because Lyn disappeared but under her accord, the police couldn't process the case further.

And even if they could, there was no murder case or a dead body recovered that is Lyn's.

Another friend of Lyn who wished to see the progress of the case, found that Lyn’s case file was almost empty.

The police even offered a $100,000 reward to anyone who can provide any information, and that was also futile.

After investigations by the New South Wales Police , the State Coroner that conducted two coronial inquiries into Lyn's disappearance, determined that Lyn must have had been murdered, and the murderer was someone she knew.

The coroner recommended charges be laid, but the Director of Public Prosecutions assessed that there was insufficient evidence for a criminal conviction.

Years later, the case became a cold case.

That until an Australian crime podcast started investigating the disappearance of Lynette Dawson.

The podcast was initially published by The Australian in 2018, before making its virality rounds on the web.

Called 'The Teacher's Pet', the podcast was hosted by journalist Hedley Thomas and produced by Slade Gibson.

The hosts interviewed veteran officers who worked on the case, as well as talked to Chris' and Lyn's neighbors and friends, as well as family members, to uncover the truth.

They believe that there must be something that was overlooked, that kept the police ran in circles.

The popularity of the podcast made it had around 30 million downloads, and was number one in podcast charts in Australia, the UK, Canada, and New Zealand.

Through the podcast, it was found that the relationship between Chris and Lyn deteriorated following the birth of their daughter. It is said that Chris was controlling and did not allow Lyn to have much freedom.

In an interview with Joanne, she said that she didn't realize her situation was unusual until she interacted with other mothers.

Following the popularity of The Teacher's Pet, the police who reopened the case, started launching a missing person case, with a possible homicide case.

They began digging in the backyard of 2 Gilwinga Drive, Bayview, but found no clue.

In a rare conclusion, the police arrested Dawson in Queensland and extradited him to New South Wales where he is then charged with murder.

Chris was granted bail, and in June 2019, pleaded not guilty.

In February 2020, Chris was committed to stand trial for the murder of Dawson, and was also charged of carnal knowledge with a girl between the ages of 10 and 17, relating to his sexual relationship with Joanne she was still a minor.

It was only on August 30, 2022, that Chris was found guilty of Lyn’s murder after a marathon of five-hour judgement.

Chris was accused even when Lyn's body was not found. The police only processed the case based on other evidence.

The judge concluded that Chris is guilty because he had lied on a number of occasions, including about his relationship with Joanne, about his desire to resume a relationship with his wife, and about receiving phone calls from Lyn after her disappearance.

So there it was, a cold case was solved, thanks to the popularity of a podcast.

The 16-part Australian crime podcast series, The Teacher's Pet, by Walkley Award-winning journalist Hedley Thomas of The Australian, was broadcast in 2018 with a large amount of evidence that was not collected by any of the police investigations.

The series created a large amount of public interest in the case, that the police reconsidered to reopen the case.

After Chris is convicted, Shanelle Dawson, who was four-years-old when her mother, Lynette, disappeared, spoke for the first time to the public.

During the interview with 60 Minutes, she said that she believes her mother was once buried underneath the pool at their old Bayview home.

She recalled her memories, in which she said she remembered sitting in the back seat of her family's station wagon with her mother slumped in the front seat. She then recalled remembering seeing her father burying her mother at that location.

The revelation came to light after the police put her under hypnosis in 2013.

"It was like I could feel myself as a four-and-a-half-year-old child again," she said of the hypnosis. "I believe I saw my sister and I in the back of a car, of our station wagon, and my mother slumped in the front."

"I believe I saw him shining headlights on a spot near the pool and digging. I believe that he buried her in that spot for that night, and then the next day when he didn’t have us kids, moved her somewhere else."

Shanelle said she understands people could question the validity of the memory. But when she was asked whether she believed the memories were true, with a bold statement, she said that, "I think they are, yes."

For decades, Shanelle believed her father was innocent.

But it was only a few years prior to Chris' conviction, that she came to the realization that he had been lying all along.

In September 2018, three months before Chris' arrest, she confronted her father in what would be the last text message she's ever sent him.

"I won’t live a life based on lies, nor will I keep subjecting myself to emotional manipulation and control," she wrote in the message, read aloud during the interview.

"You have dishonored our mother so terribly, and also my sister and I, through all of this. No more. One day I will forgive you for removing her so selfishly from our lives," she said.

Her younger sister, Sherryn Dawson, who was two-years-old when her mother disappeared, has long supported her father and has cut ties with Shanelle.

Due to the popularity of the podcast, both Thomas and Gibson won Gold Walkley Awards.

The police also praised the podcast, saying that it managed to reveal claims of sexual assaults and student-teacher relationships at high school, that it encouraged more women to come forward and give evidence.

It's worth noting that The Australian removed The Teacher's Pet from download in Australia in April 2019, the time when the case was ongoing.

Throughout the murder trial, a follow-up podcast called The Teacher's Trial was released each Friday, summarizing what had happened in court during the week.

After Chris' conviction, The Australian made the podcast available again starting September 2022.