The Teacher's Trial

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 friendship with heroin trafficker and Newtown teammate Paul Hayward, and his drinking buddy and brother-in-law, psychopathic contract killer Neddy Smith. Silkman’s claims that Dawson asked him to help “get rid” of Lyn after a Newtown players' trip to the Gold Coast are ferociously attacked by the defence team. To read The Australian's ongoing coverage of the trial search The Teacher's Trial or click here. For daily updates on the trial of Chris Dawson search for The Front in your podcast app. The National Sexual Assault Domestic Family Violence Counselling Service can be reached on 1800RESPECT. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

June 17, 2022

97 min

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 Dawson’s disappearance decades earlier and mount a fierce defence of the accused. The Crown bolsters evidence from former Dawson family babysitter JC, calling on former school friends and fellow playgroup mums to testify about her life in Queensland and the deterioration of her marriage to Chris Dawson. To read The Australian's ongoing coverage of the trial search The Teacher's Trial or click here. For daily updates on the trial of Chris Dawson search for The Front in your podcast app. The National Sexual Assault Domestic Family Violence Counselling Service can be reached on 1800RESPECT. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

June 10, 2022

84 min

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 recounts a frightening encounter with Chris Dawson, who allegedly warned him to stay away from JC. And this decades-old cold case hits a very modern road bump thanks to COVID-19. To read The Australian's ongoing coverage of the trial search The Teacher's Trial or click here. For daily updates on the trial of Chris Dawson search for The Front in your podcast app. The National Sexual Assault Domestic Family Violence Counselling Service can be reached on 1800RESPECT. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

June 2, 2022

78 min

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 Cromer High to seaside village South West Rocks, to the backdrop of a chart-topping song. To read The Australian's ongoing coverage of the trial search The Teacher's Trial or click here. For daily updates on the trial of Chris Dawson search for The Front in your podcast app. The National Sexual Assault Domestic Family Violence Counselling Service can be reached on 1800RESPECT. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

May 27, 2022

83 min

Episode 2 - Groomed

Chris Dawson’s former babysitter and schoolgirl lover “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 Simms and Pat Jenkins tell of the trauma of the past 40 years, as their nightmare is brought to life through diaries, letters and photographs. To read The Australian's ongoing coverage of the trial search The Teacher's Trial or click here. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

May 20, 2022

87 min

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 Dawson asked him in 1975 to help 'get rid' of Lyn. Dawson strenuously denies wrongdoing. And in the leadup to the trial for the most high profile cold case in Australia's history, judges gave their verdicts on Dawson's right to a fair trial in light of The Teacher's Pet podcast series, the delays of 40 years since Lyn's disappearance, and the conduct of earlier police investigations. To read The Australian's ongoing coverage of the trial search The Teacher's Trial or click here. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

May 13, 2022

63 min

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. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

May 12, 2022

1 min

About this podcast

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