1 00:00:02,590 --> 00:00:04,269 S1: A listener production. 2 00:00:06,800 --> 00:00:09,830 S2: Hello, Tom Tilley with you for today's briefing. And in 3 00:00:09,830 --> 00:00:12,049 S2: this episode, we get the latest from the trial of 4 00:00:12,050 --> 00:00:14,720 S2: Chris Dawson. Now, this is the case that was at 5 00:00:14,720 --> 00:00:16,669 S2: the centre of the Teacher's Pet podcast. 6 00:00:16,850 --> 00:00:20,180 S3: There's evidence that Lynn Dawson made a phone call to 7 00:00:20,180 --> 00:00:23,090 S3: her husband, who was working at the Northbridge Baths as 8 00:00:23,090 --> 00:00:27,290 S3: a lifeguard on that particular Saturday. And she basically said, 9 00:00:27,290 --> 00:00:30,290 S3: according to evidence, Look, you had your time out. I 10 00:00:30,290 --> 00:00:32,750 S3: think I need a little bit of time out for myself. 11 00:00:33,229 --> 00:00:35,600 S3: So that sort of mutually agreed on that. And that 12 00:00:35,600 --> 00:00:38,960 S3: was the last anyone had ever seen Lynn Dawson. 13 00:00:39,170 --> 00:00:42,080 S2: Chris Dawson was a rugby player and a teacher. Lynette 14 00:00:42,080 --> 00:00:45,320 S2: Dawson was a nurse and a devoted mother. He's pleaded 15 00:00:45,320 --> 00:00:48,920 S2: not guilty to her murder. And this story has gripped 16 00:00:48,920 --> 00:00:52,250 S2: the nation and it's now playing out in court. So 17 00:00:52,250 --> 00:00:55,040 S2: midway through the trial, we find out what fresh evidence 18 00:00:55,040 --> 00:00:58,670 S2: has been uncovered in the decades long mystery. First, today's 19 00:00:58,670 --> 00:01:01,820 S2: headlines with Tash Belling. It is Monday, June 20th. 20 00:01:03,780 --> 00:01:07,080 S4: Good morning, Tom. Thank you. A huge decision on transgender 21 00:01:07,080 --> 00:01:11,760 S4: athletes in swimming fina world swimming governing body has voted 22 00:01:11,760 --> 00:01:15,960 S4: to restrict transgender athletes in elite women's competitions. 23 00:01:15,959 --> 00:01:21,270 S5: Male to female transgender athletes whose legal gender or gender 24 00:01:21,270 --> 00:01:26,160 S5: identity is female may only compete in FINA competition in 25 00:01:26,160 --> 00:01:30,240 S5: the female category if they can establish that they have 26 00:01:30,240 --> 00:01:34,620 S5: not experienced any part of male puberty fantasy. 27 00:01:34,770 --> 00:01:38,369 S2: Brent Nowicki So the decision was made during Fina's extraordinary 28 00:01:38,370 --> 00:01:41,220 S2: general Congress, which is happening on the sidelines of the 29 00:01:41,220 --> 00:01:45,840 S2: World Championships in Budapest, and around 71% of their members 30 00:01:45,840 --> 00:01:50,640 S2: of the 152 national federations voted for this policy. 31 00:01:50,880 --> 00:01:54,809 S4: It means male to female. Transgender competitors have to have 32 00:01:54,810 --> 00:01:58,620 S4: completed their transition by the age of 12in order to 33 00:01:58,620 --> 00:02:01,830 S4: be able to compete in women's competitions. 34 00:02:01,980 --> 00:02:03,930 S2: Yeah, the other important part of this decision is to 35 00:02:03,930 --> 00:02:07,590 S2: create a new category for transgender athletes to compete in. 36 00:02:07,590 --> 00:02:10,200 S2: It will be called an open category. So this is 37 00:02:10,200 --> 00:02:13,020 S2: a big one, Tash. It means that Lia Thomas, that 38 00:02:13,020 --> 00:02:15,930 S2: well-known American transgender swimmer, won't be able to compete at 39 00:02:15,930 --> 00:02:17,580 S2: the Olympics or the world championships. 40 00:02:17,669 --> 00:02:20,610 S4: And Tom, obviously I'm thinking straight away, will this set 41 00:02:20,610 --> 00:02:25,170 S4: a precedent then for other sporting competitions and other athletes? 42 00:02:25,169 --> 00:02:27,030 S2: Yeah, I think it probably will. 43 00:02:27,270 --> 00:02:29,010 S4: And the vote, of course, followed a report from a 44 00:02:29,010 --> 00:02:34,710 S4: transgender taskforce comprising leading medical, legal and sports figures. 45 00:02:35,550 --> 00:02:39,090 S2: And a big payout for hundreds of thousands of Toyota drivers. 46 00:02:39,210 --> 00:02:42,270 S4: In Australia's largest ever class action. The Federal Court ruled 47 00:02:42,270 --> 00:02:47,550 S4: in April that Toyota, Hilux, Prado and Fortuner diesel vehicles 48 00:02:47,550 --> 00:02:51,220 S4: sold from the 1st of October 2015 to the 23rd 49 00:02:51,220 --> 00:02:53,790 S4: of April 2020 had a defect. 50 00:02:53,880 --> 00:02:58,130 S2: Yes, the defect caused excessive smell and white smoke and 51 00:02:58,139 --> 00:03:02,070 S2: also increased fuel consumption. And the court found the defects 52 00:03:02,070 --> 00:03:06,840 S2: also led to a 17.5% price drop in the value 53 00:03:06,840 --> 00:03:09,870 S2: of the cars when they were resold, which means the 54 00:03:09,870 --> 00:03:15,180 S2: owners of 260,000 of these defective vehicles will be compensated. 55 00:03:15,330 --> 00:03:18,390 S6: The best guide is around 17.5 per percent of the 56 00:03:18,389 --> 00:03:20,460 S6: average retail price of that vehicle. New. 57 00:03:20,580 --> 00:03:24,660 S4: That's extraordinary. And I can't believe also about the fuel 58 00:03:24,660 --> 00:03:27,540 S4: consumption issues. So does that mean not only the value 59 00:03:27,540 --> 00:03:29,700 S4: of your car has dropped, but also the fact that 60 00:03:29,700 --> 00:03:32,970 S4: you were using a lot more fuel and that was 61 00:03:32,970 --> 00:03:35,820 S4: then costing you a lot more at the petrol pump. 62 00:03:35,820 --> 00:03:38,730 S2: Yeah. Interesting point. That was Matt Mackenzie from Gilbert and 63 00:03:38,730 --> 00:03:41,850 S2: Tobin Lawyers we heard before. But yeah, Toyota's are such 64 00:03:41,850 --> 00:03:44,580 S2: a popular car, so a ruling like this just affects 65 00:03:44,580 --> 00:03:48,510 S2: so many people, a quarter of a million. It's just huge. 66 00:03:48,510 --> 00:03:51,060 S4: And Toyota has appealed that judgment. 67 00:03:51,720 --> 00:03:55,050 S2: And the former Coalition government's new job seeker policy will 68 00:03:55,050 --> 00:03:57,330 S2: go ahead in 11 days. It has a points based 69 00:03:57,330 --> 00:04:00,480 S2: system which will require job seekers to earn 100 points 70 00:04:00,480 --> 00:04:04,380 S2: through searching for jobs, studying training and work for the dole. 71 00:04:04,530 --> 00:04:06,690 S7: It's actually too late to not have a point system 72 00:04:06,690 --> 00:04:09,750 S7: at all. It's about getting inside it and making it 73 00:04:09,750 --> 00:04:13,920 S7: logical and making sure that when all these contracts take 74 00:04:13,920 --> 00:04:16,800 S7: effect in a couple of weeks time, we've actually got 75 00:04:16,800 --> 00:04:20,190 S7: a system that helps long term unemployed people. 76 00:04:20,339 --> 00:04:23,310 S4: That's Employment Minister Tony Burke on Sky there. The new 77 00:04:23,310 --> 00:04:26,640 S4: system will replace the job active program that required people 78 00:04:26,640 --> 00:04:30,090 S4: to lodge 20 applications a month. Mr. Burke has said 79 00:04:30,089 --> 00:04:33,120 S4: he supports the flexibility of the new system but is 80 00:04:33,120 --> 00:04:36,150 S4: concerned about parts of it that are meant to be automated, 81 00:04:36,150 --> 00:04:40,770 S4: bringing back memories of course, of the Robodebt disaster. 82 00:04:41,670 --> 00:04:44,099 S2: And pressure is growing on the Australian Government to do 83 00:04:44,100 --> 00:04:47,940 S2: more now that Julian Assange is facing extradition to the US. 84 00:04:47,940 --> 00:04:51,900 S2: On Saturday, the British Home Secretary approved the extradition order 85 00:04:51,900 --> 00:04:54,240 S2: and if carried out, it will mean Assange will face 86 00:04:54,240 --> 00:04:55,290 S2: a US court. 87 00:04:55,500 --> 00:04:58,770 S4: He is, of course charged with breaching the US Espionage Act, 88 00:04:58,770 --> 00:05:03,659 S4: facing up to 175 years in jail. If convicted. There's 89 00:05:03,660 --> 00:05:04,320 S4: still a long way to. 90 00:05:04,320 --> 00:05:06,630 S8: Go in terms of our appeals here in the United Kingdom, 91 00:05:06,630 --> 00:05:08,520 S8: potentially all the way to the Supreme Court. 92 00:05:08,670 --> 00:05:12,420 S2: So that's Assange's lawyer, Jennifer Robinson, speaking on ten there. 93 00:05:12,420 --> 00:05:16,410 S2: So this case has been going since 2010 when WikiLeaks 94 00:05:16,410 --> 00:05:20,010 S2: first published those documents about the Afghanistan and Iraq wars, 95 00:05:20,010 --> 00:05:23,460 S2: as well as diplomatic cables. And now that he's getting 96 00:05:23,460 --> 00:05:27,060 S2: one step closer to extradition, people are basically calling on 97 00:05:27,060 --> 00:05:29,850 S2: the Labour government to put their money where their mouth is. 98 00:05:29,970 --> 00:05:33,690 S2: They've been seemingly tight, more supportive of Assange plight than 99 00:05:33,690 --> 00:05:37,140 S2: previous governments, saying that this has dragged on long enough. 100 00:05:37,140 --> 00:05:41,010 S2: Anthony Albanese also says that loud hailer diplomacy is not 101 00:05:41,010 --> 00:05:43,109 S2: the way to go here. So you would expect that 102 00:05:43,110 --> 00:05:46,440 S2: behind the scenes they will be talking to Joe Biden and. 103 00:05:46,440 --> 00:05:49,380 S4: I saw Jennifer Robinson, who is of course, Assange's lawyer 104 00:05:49,380 --> 00:05:52,169 S4: we heard from earlier there, she said over the weekend, 105 00:05:52,170 --> 00:05:53,940 S4: which I thought was an excellent point. You know, this 106 00:05:53,940 --> 00:05:58,380 S4: is a huge precedent for journalism and journalists in general. 107 00:05:58,380 --> 00:06:01,740 S4: You know, does that mean, therefore, if you publish controversial 108 00:06:01,740 --> 00:06:06,210 S4: documents that may. Expose government mistakes or alleged cover ups. 109 00:06:06,220 --> 00:06:09,159 S4: Does that then mean journalists can go to jail? 110 00:06:10,000 --> 00:06:12,190 S2: Speaking of which, there were a few at the Logies 111 00:06:12,190 --> 00:06:13,720 S2: last night. What journalists. 112 00:06:13,720 --> 00:06:15,070 S4: Or criminals? 113 00:06:16,270 --> 00:06:20,590 S2: Good question, Tasha. I'll leave that call to you. The 114 00:06:20,589 --> 00:06:23,980 S2: Logies were back after three years of not happening thanks 115 00:06:23,980 --> 00:06:27,580 S2: to the pandemic. So apart from all the glitz and glamour, 116 00:06:27,580 --> 00:06:29,890 S2: some of the results, Hamish Blake took out the Gold 117 00:06:29,890 --> 00:06:33,400 S2: Logie for most popular personality on Australian TV, as well 118 00:06:33,400 --> 00:06:36,430 S2: as the inaugural Bert Newton Award for most popular presenter. 119 00:06:36,640 --> 00:06:37,090 S2: We really couldn't. 120 00:06:37,089 --> 00:06:39,010 S9: Do it without the people that are watching at home. 121 00:06:39,010 --> 00:06:41,970 S9: And if you're watching this, you're an insomniac, but if 122 00:06:41,980 --> 00:06:46,720 S9: you're also somebody that supports Australian TV and we would 123 00:06:46,720 --> 00:06:49,540 S9: not be here without you. So thank you. 124 00:06:49,690 --> 00:06:52,539 S4: Hamish Blake there. Good on him for getting gold. Guy 125 00:06:52,540 --> 00:06:55,930 S4: Pearce won most popular actor for Jack Irish and Katie 126 00:06:55,930 --> 00:06:59,890 S4: Flanagan won most popular actress for How Good was Kitty 127 00:06:59,890 --> 00:07:01,479 S4: and Fisk? Did you see it, Tom? 128 00:07:01,960 --> 00:07:03,339 S2: No, I didn't. Sorry. 129 00:07:04,360 --> 00:07:08,859 S4: It was really, really fantastic. Tony Armstrong won the Graham 130 00:07:08,860 --> 00:07:12,340 S4: Kennedy Award for most popular new talent for ABC News Breakfast. 131 00:07:12,340 --> 00:07:15,490 S4: You might remember him celebrating on air, of course, following 132 00:07:15,490 --> 00:07:18,070 S4: the Socceroos win over Peru. He was a bit excited, 133 00:07:18,070 --> 00:07:18,670 S4: wasn't he? 134 00:07:19,030 --> 00:07:22,000 S2: Yeah, he was. He's had an amazing time on television. 135 00:07:22,000 --> 00:07:23,920 S2: I mean, he's sort of really only come to prominence 136 00:07:23,920 --> 00:07:26,500 S2: in the last year, but people love him. He's such 137 00:07:26,500 --> 00:07:29,140 S2: a fun guy. And I guess, you know, in that 138 00:07:29,140 --> 00:07:32,140 S2: ABC News Breakfast format, which is, you know, a pretty 139 00:07:32,140 --> 00:07:36,370 S2: relatively serious kind of show for breakfast TV, he really 140 00:07:36,370 --> 00:07:39,010 S2: likes it up. He's indigenous as well. So he brings 141 00:07:39,010 --> 00:07:42,100 S2: a really interesting background to the show. I've met him. 142 00:07:42,100 --> 00:07:45,730 S2: He's an awesome dude, so good on him. And yeah, 143 00:07:45,730 --> 00:07:47,680 S2: it was good to see everyone frothing up and doing 144 00:07:47,680 --> 00:07:49,150 S2: what they used to do. And of course the Gold 145 00:07:49,150 --> 00:07:53,140 S2: Coast was absolutely the right place for such a wonderfully 146 00:07:53,140 --> 00:07:54,010 S2: trashy event. 147 00:07:54,640 --> 00:07:56,170 S4: Do you know what I do think, though, on a 148 00:07:56,170 --> 00:07:58,390 S4: serious note, you know, people think it's all this glitz 149 00:07:58,390 --> 00:08:00,280 S4: and glamour. What I love about it is the fact 150 00:08:00,280 --> 00:08:03,580 S4: that it recognizes all the people behind the scenes that 151 00:08:03,580 --> 00:08:07,570 S4: work incredibly hard to put together. Often these great shows 152 00:08:07,570 --> 00:08:12,850 S4: and also great recognition of some fantastic Australian dramas. The 153 00:08:12,850 --> 00:08:15,820 S4: newsreader was amazing. Did you see that on the ABC? Yeah, 154 00:08:15,820 --> 00:08:18,610 S4: I did, yeah. Yeah. So great recognition for, you know, 155 00:08:18,610 --> 00:08:21,580 S4: an industry that does employ tens of thousands of people. 156 00:08:21,730 --> 00:08:24,280 S2: All right. Thanks so much, Tosh. We're jumping out of here. 157 00:08:24,280 --> 00:08:26,530 S2: Anika and Katrina bring you the latest on the Chris 158 00:08:26,530 --> 00:08:27,490 S2: Dawson trial. 159 00:08:34,750 --> 00:08:39,490 S10: Annika. I'm actually not that much of a true crime junkie, 160 00:08:39,490 --> 00:08:43,240 S10: but when the Teacher's Pet podcast came out, it was 161 00:08:43,240 --> 00:08:46,780 S10: honestly one of those ones that got me completely hooked. 162 00:08:46,870 --> 00:08:48,820 S10: I reckon it was one of the first true crime 163 00:08:48,820 --> 00:08:52,209 S10: podcasts that got on my radar. I know I'm not alone. 164 00:08:52,210 --> 00:08:55,840 S10: Millions of people around the world have become obsessed with 165 00:08:55,840 --> 00:08:59,500 S10: this story. It's from the outside looking in a seemingly 166 00:08:59,500 --> 00:09:04,090 S10: perfect marriage. It involves Lynette and Chris Dawson. He was 167 00:09:04,090 --> 00:09:08,230 S10: a star footballer and she was a devoted mum. They 168 00:09:08,230 --> 00:09:11,230 S10: shared a beautiful home in Sydney's northern beaches. But all 169 00:09:11,230 --> 00:09:15,220 S10: of that unravelled when Lynette went missing in January 1982. 170 00:09:15,370 --> 00:09:18,070 S4: Yes, I listened pretty religiously to I can. 171 00:09:18,070 --> 00:09:22,270 S11: Remember getting to work, walking to work, listening and stopping 172 00:09:22,660 --> 00:09:25,030 S11: and not starting work until I could finish an episode. 173 00:09:25,030 --> 00:09:29,500 S11: It was, you know, a really gripping series. And obviously 174 00:09:30,010 --> 00:09:34,960 S11: it created huge interest. And her disappearance has remained a 175 00:09:34,960 --> 00:09:39,610 S11: cold case. It's been 40 years now. Chris Dawson, Lynette's husband, 176 00:09:39,610 --> 00:09:42,760 S11: went on to marry their teenage babysitter and one of 177 00:09:42,760 --> 00:09:46,780 S11: his former students. And for many years, there's been no 178 00:09:46,780 --> 00:09:50,080 S11: movement on this case. And what happened to Lynette? There 179 00:09:50,080 --> 00:09:53,750 S11: were always whispers and speculations about what might have happened. 180 00:09:53,770 --> 00:09:58,960 S11: There were sightings, alleged sightings and questions raised about the 181 00:09:58,960 --> 00:10:03,490 S11: relationship between Chris and Lynette, just how happy they were. 182 00:10:03,640 --> 00:10:06,640 S11: But nothing was done until a group of journalists dug 183 00:10:06,640 --> 00:10:10,809 S11: into the story, made it a podcast. And now with 184 00:10:10,809 --> 00:10:14,620 S11: fresh evidence, Chris Dawson is on trial for murder. 185 00:10:14,920 --> 00:10:17,740 S10: Yeah, So it's been quite a few weeks of this trial, 186 00:10:17,740 --> 00:10:20,859 S10: and we wanted to know what exactly has been brought 187 00:10:20,860 --> 00:10:24,250 S10: to light since this trial has begun and where is 188 00:10:24,250 --> 00:10:28,480 S10: the court case at now? Joining us on today's briefing 189 00:10:28,480 --> 00:10:32,170 S10: is Matthew Condon, who is one of the journalists behind 190 00:10:32,170 --> 00:10:35,620 S10: the teacher's pet podcast. He's been in court every day. 191 00:10:35,860 --> 00:10:39,309 S11: It's been 40 years since Lynette Dawson went missing. And 192 00:10:39,309 --> 00:10:42,700 S11: for those that haven't followed the case or the wildly 193 00:10:42,700 --> 00:10:47,290 S11: popular podcast, can you explain how this latest court case, 194 00:10:47,290 --> 00:10:50,260 S11: so long after she went missing, actually came about. 195 00:10:50,559 --> 00:10:53,470 S3: As you said, 40 years literally this year since Lynn 196 00:10:53,480 --> 00:10:58,900 S3: Dawson disappeared? There were sporadic investigations into this. I mean, 197 00:10:58,900 --> 00:11:01,960 S3: for many years she was treated as a missing person. 198 00:11:02,170 --> 00:11:07,569 S3: An investigation heated up again in late 1989, 1990. And then, 199 00:11:07,570 --> 00:11:12,490 S3: of course, along came the incredibly popular podcast The Teacher's Pet, 200 00:11:12,490 --> 00:11:16,930 S3: by Hedley Thomas, the award winning journalist. So that, of course, 201 00:11:16,929 --> 00:11:20,199 S3: revived interest again in the case. I think it had 202 00:11:20,200 --> 00:11:24,730 S3: over 60 million downloads that podcast around the world. Witnesses 203 00:11:24,730 --> 00:11:29,620 S3: came forward certainly to Hedley for his podcast. Again, police 204 00:11:29,620 --> 00:11:34,750 S3: reignited their investigation and subsequently Christopher Dawson, Lynn Dawson's husband, 205 00:11:35,110 --> 00:11:40,420 S3: was finally charged with her murder. So after all these years, 206 00:11:40,420 --> 00:11:43,689 S3: we arrive at Court nine D in the Supreme Court 207 00:11:43,690 --> 00:11:44,530 S3: in Sydney. 208 00:11:44,710 --> 00:11:46,929 S11: And why do you think it's taken so long to 209 00:11:46,929 --> 00:11:49,690 S11: get answers for the family? Was it a case of 210 00:11:50,020 --> 00:11:53,110 S11: police negligence at the time? Was it just a different 211 00:11:53,110 --> 00:11:57,580 S11: time when I guess these cases were treated differently? What 212 00:11:57,580 --> 00:12:00,520 S11: do you put it down to the fact that she 213 00:12:00,520 --> 00:12:01,540 S11: wasn't found? 214 00:12:02,020 --> 00:12:06,040 S3: So Lynn disappears in at the end of January 1982, 215 00:12:06,220 --> 00:12:11,710 S3: and then Chris Dawson alleges that his wife contacted him 216 00:12:12,250 --> 00:12:15,460 S3: on a few occasions by telephone after the date of 217 00:12:15,460 --> 00:12:19,089 S3: the end of the first week of January, people came forward, 218 00:12:19,090 --> 00:12:22,870 S3: friends of the Dawsons and indeed a relative. This has 219 00:12:22,870 --> 00:12:26,920 S3: been examined in the case with sightings of Lynn Dawson. 220 00:12:26,920 --> 00:12:28,990 S3: So there were there were sightings, you know, a few 221 00:12:28,990 --> 00:12:32,860 S3: years after she went missing, working as a nurse, for example, 222 00:12:32,860 --> 00:12:36,550 S3: at a hospital in Cocoa in Sydney, a relative gave 223 00:12:36,550 --> 00:12:41,650 S3: evidence that he indeed sighted Lynn in Gatesville on busy 224 00:12:41,650 --> 00:12:45,760 S3: Victoria Road, believing that she was working as a nurse 225 00:12:45,760 --> 00:12:48,939 S3: at a nearby hospital. So you have all of this 226 00:12:48,940 --> 00:12:52,450 S3: doubt about is she alive? Is she not in the 227 00:12:52,450 --> 00:12:54,370 S3: narrative as it's moved forward? 228 00:12:54,880 --> 00:12:57,910 S10: We've got this court case happening right now. What is 229 00:12:57,910 --> 00:13:00,700 S10: it that the court is being asked to decide and 230 00:13:00,700 --> 00:13:02,830 S10: what could that mean for Chris Dawson? 231 00:13:03,309 --> 00:13:06,640 S3: Well, he's facing the most serious charge of all, and 232 00:13:06,640 --> 00:13:10,570 S3: that is that he murdered his wife, Lynn Dawson. And 233 00:13:10,570 --> 00:13:13,870 S3: that alleged crime occurred around the end of the first 234 00:13:13,870 --> 00:13:20,080 S3: week of January. In 1982. His defense team successfully argued 235 00:13:20,080 --> 00:13:25,750 S3: for what's called a judge alone trial. That means no jury. 236 00:13:25,750 --> 00:13:28,510 S3: I mean, the basis was that with the popularity of 237 00:13:28,510 --> 00:13:31,870 S3: the teacher's pet and the Teacher's Pet podcast has come up. 238 00:13:32,170 --> 00:13:35,980 S3: Day in, day out in this trial from the defense, 239 00:13:35,980 --> 00:13:40,800 S3: in terms of the allegation that the podcast had of 240 00:13:40,809 --> 00:13:46,360 S3: serious influence, given its popularity and certain thematics that it took, 241 00:13:46,360 --> 00:13:50,260 S3: that it may have indeed influenced witnesses in the trial. 242 00:13:50,290 --> 00:13:54,309 S3: The judge alone decision was because, they argued, Christensen could 243 00:13:54,309 --> 00:13:58,720 S3: not possibly get a fair trial before a jury. Given 244 00:13:58,720 --> 00:14:02,800 S3: the popularity of this story, I mean, the publicity. You know, 245 00:14:02,800 --> 00:14:04,750 S3: fair enough. How could he get a fair trial with 246 00:14:04,750 --> 00:14:08,140 S3: a jury of his peers so its judge alone before 247 00:14:08,140 --> 00:14:09,520 S3: Justice Ian Harrison. 248 00:14:09,820 --> 00:14:13,420 S11: And how much of the evidence being presented is historic 249 00:14:13,540 --> 00:14:16,690 S11: such are those police interviews or intercepts from the time 250 00:14:16,690 --> 00:14:20,790 S11: versus witnesses coming forward in the years since Lynn disappeared? 251 00:14:20,800 --> 00:14:24,190 S11: Is it a 5050 split? Is there a huge amount 252 00:14:24,190 --> 00:14:27,370 S11: of new evidence? What's the court sort of hearing? 253 00:14:27,580 --> 00:14:31,180 S3: The court is hearing piece by piece, brick by brick. 254 00:14:31,180 --> 00:14:36,580 S3: The building of the narrative behind the disappearance of Lynn Dawson. 255 00:14:36,760 --> 00:14:41,530 S3: Such is the nature of serious trials. For example, though, 256 00:14:41,590 --> 00:14:46,060 S3: since the trial began six weeks ago, people are still 257 00:14:46,060 --> 00:14:51,460 S3: coming forward and contacting Crime Stoppers and are offering new information. 258 00:14:51,460 --> 00:14:53,350 S3: Whether that will be admitted and become part of the 259 00:14:53,350 --> 00:14:57,160 S3: trial is unknown at the moment, but it's been very 260 00:14:57,160 --> 00:15:02,980 S3: carefully systematic. So the case began, for example, with evidence 261 00:15:02,980 --> 00:15:06,610 S3: from the neighbors of the Dawsons up at Bayview Heights 262 00:15:06,610 --> 00:15:11,290 S3: on Sydney's northern beaches. It then went to the workmates 263 00:15:11,290 --> 00:15:14,800 S3: of Lynn who worked at the wayward Childcare centre up 264 00:15:14,800 --> 00:15:18,910 S3: there as a nurse. There was evidence, of course, over 265 00:15:19,210 --> 00:15:24,550 S3: several days from JC, who was the young babysitter at 266 00:15:24,550 --> 00:15:28,660 S3: the epicentre of this story and this trial. And then 267 00:15:28,660 --> 00:15:31,900 S3: it moved to, of course, family members were giving evidence. 268 00:15:31,930 --> 00:15:35,290 S3: It was heartbreaking in many instances. And now we've moved 269 00:15:35,290 --> 00:15:38,770 S3: on to the police and their investigation. So it's been 270 00:15:39,040 --> 00:15:43,240 S3: very carefully plotted. In any case, a narrative takes time 271 00:15:43,240 --> 00:15:46,030 S3: to sort of come into focus. It is a building 272 00:15:46,030 --> 00:15:46,780 S3: of a picture. 273 00:15:47,230 --> 00:15:52,270 S11: Has the court heard from Chris's second wife? And what 274 00:15:52,270 --> 00:15:56,050 S11: do we know about their relationship, both before Lynne went 275 00:15:56,050 --> 00:15:57,430 S11: missing and of course, after. 276 00:15:57,910 --> 00:16:01,630 S3: Chris's second wife was the babysitter? We can't name her 277 00:16:01,630 --> 00:16:06,070 S3: because she was underage at the time of this situation. 278 00:16:06,070 --> 00:16:09,550 S3: So she's known as Jake to cut a very long 279 00:16:09,550 --> 00:16:13,300 S3: story short. JC was a student at Cromer High where 280 00:16:13,300 --> 00:16:19,450 S3: Chris Dawson was a teacher in late 1981. JC She 281 00:16:19,450 --> 00:16:23,260 S3: briefly moved into the house at two Gill Wingard drive 282 00:16:23,290 --> 00:16:28,570 S3: Bayview into Chris and Lynn's house. The explanation was that 283 00:16:28,570 --> 00:16:31,180 S3: she had a troubled home life. She was trying to 284 00:16:31,480 --> 00:16:37,360 S3: complete her HSC, which obviously required stability. And JC, who 285 00:16:37,360 --> 00:16:40,690 S3: had been their babysitter for some time, briefly moved into 286 00:16:40,690 --> 00:16:46,480 S3: the home. Now, if you spool forward to around Christmas 1981, 287 00:16:46,570 --> 00:16:51,160 S3: the evidence in court has been that Chris Dawson and 288 00:16:51,160 --> 00:16:54,190 S3: JC hopped in a car through some clothes in the 289 00:16:54,190 --> 00:16:57,940 S3: car and headed north, ostensibly to Queensland, to start a 290 00:16:57,940 --> 00:17:03,190 S3: new life together as they travelled north. JC felt physically 291 00:17:03,190 --> 00:17:05,979 S3: unwell and was missing her family and said, Can we 292 00:17:05,980 --> 00:17:10,450 S3: turn around essentially and back? They went to Sydney. Christmas 293 00:17:10,450 --> 00:17:13,359 S3: Day has been an epicentre of this case. It's an 294 00:17:13,359 --> 00:17:18,070 S3: important day, 1981, in that the Dawsons, a very close family, 295 00:17:18,070 --> 00:17:20,859 S3: have always celebrated Christmas and held it to be very important, 296 00:17:20,859 --> 00:17:24,820 S3: like a lot of families do. But on this Christmas Day, 297 00:17:24,820 --> 00:17:28,270 S3: where there was a gathering at Chris Dawson's parents house 298 00:17:28,270 --> 00:17:33,280 S3: in Sydney, Chris Dawson wasn't present. He was at his 299 00:17:33,280 --> 00:17:36,609 S3: twin brother, Paul's house, which is only a couple of 300 00:17:36,609 --> 00:17:41,200 S3: doors down from his home in Bayview, and Lynn Dawson 301 00:17:41,200 --> 00:17:43,330 S3: went to the function on her own. So there was 302 00:17:43,330 --> 00:17:49,000 S3: evidence about discussions about Chris, and Lynn's understanding was that 303 00:17:49,240 --> 00:17:52,960 S3: he needed some time out to himself at that point. 304 00:17:53,470 --> 00:17:58,360 S3: Go forward now to January and Lynn and Chris Dawson 305 00:17:58,359 --> 00:18:01,030 S3: come back together. They agree to see a marriage counsellor. 306 00:18:01,030 --> 00:18:04,840 S3: Everything looks great. Lynn's happy. Chris Dawson says he was 307 00:18:04,840 --> 00:18:07,330 S3: happy that there was great hopes that they could make 308 00:18:07,330 --> 00:18:12,369 S3: this work. And then come that first weekend in January, 309 00:18:12,369 --> 00:18:15,970 S3: there's evidence that Lynn Dawson made a phone call to 310 00:18:15,970 --> 00:18:18,880 S3: her husband, who was working at the Northbridge Baths as 311 00:18:18,880 --> 00:18:23,080 S3: a lifeguard on that particular Saturday. And she basically said, 312 00:18:23,080 --> 00:18:26,080 S3: according to evidence, look, you had your time out. I 313 00:18:26,080 --> 00:18:28,540 S3: think I need a little bit of time out for myself. 314 00:18:28,990 --> 00:18:31,390 S3: So that sort of mutually agreed on that. And that 315 00:18:31,390 --> 00:18:34,680 S3: was the last any. One had ever seen Lin Dawson. 316 00:18:35,100 --> 00:18:38,609 S10: What has it been like covering this case and why 317 00:18:38,609 --> 00:18:41,879 S10: do you think that certain cases like this capture the 318 00:18:41,880 --> 00:18:43,230 S10: national attention? 319 00:18:43,470 --> 00:18:45,630 S3: Why they catch the attention. And it occurred to me 320 00:18:45,630 --> 00:18:48,800 S3: sitting in the court, you know, watching witnesses come and go, 321 00:18:48,810 --> 00:18:51,900 S3: listening to arguments from the crown and the defense. It 322 00:18:51,900 --> 00:18:55,470 S3: occurred to me that, in essence, this is a very 323 00:18:55,470 --> 00:19:00,480 S3: simple story. It's about a husband and a wife. It's 324 00:19:00,480 --> 00:19:04,379 S3: about the fraying of a marriage. And it's about that 325 00:19:04,380 --> 00:19:07,500 S3: scenario resulting in where we are today. I think it 326 00:19:07,500 --> 00:19:10,650 S3: touches on a lot of common things that we all 327 00:19:10,650 --> 00:19:13,650 S3: share in terms of a relationship, in terms of having 328 00:19:13,650 --> 00:19:17,070 S3: young children in in terms of trying to make something work. 329 00:19:17,100 --> 00:19:19,170 S3: This is a story from the 70 seconds and the 330 00:19:19,170 --> 00:19:21,540 S3: early 80 seconds, but it's all about raising kids and 331 00:19:21,540 --> 00:19:23,669 S3: how difficult that is and keeping a roof over your 332 00:19:23,670 --> 00:19:26,159 S3: head and being able to afford the mortgage. And it's 333 00:19:26,160 --> 00:19:31,859 S3: just that classic suburban drama that touches us all really. 334 00:19:31,950 --> 00:19:35,040 S3: You know, it has its incredibly poignant moments, too, when 335 00:19:35,040 --> 00:19:37,710 S3: you look at the family and they're hearing evidence day in, 336 00:19:37,710 --> 00:19:40,050 S3: day out about their missing sibling. 337 00:19:40,260 --> 00:19:44,220 S11: Now, there's been no evidence that Lin is still around. 338 00:19:44,220 --> 00:19:47,160 S11: There hasn't been a body that's been found. There's been 339 00:19:47,160 --> 00:19:50,880 S11: a few sightings. All of this leaves a really uncertain 340 00:19:50,880 --> 00:19:54,090 S11: situation for the family. So importantly, do you think we're 341 00:19:54,090 --> 00:19:57,300 S11: ever going to get any answers and from this trial 342 00:19:57,300 --> 00:19:59,280 S11: about what happened to Lin? 343 00:19:59,700 --> 00:20:02,910 S3: Well, the assumption of finding a body is the assumption 344 00:20:02,910 --> 00:20:07,350 S3: that she is indeed dead. So the defense contends that 345 00:20:07,350 --> 00:20:11,190 S3: she disappeared and indeed that it was of her own 346 00:20:11,190 --> 00:20:13,710 S3: volition that she made a break from the family at 347 00:20:13,710 --> 00:20:16,199 S3: that point. And the case is been trying to examine 348 00:20:16,200 --> 00:20:19,320 S3: all sides of this story and whether, indeed that's a 349 00:20:19,320 --> 00:20:23,400 S3: valid conclusion to reach and probing Lin's character and her 350 00:20:23,400 --> 00:20:27,449 S3: state of mind leading up to her disappearance, per se. So, 351 00:20:27,450 --> 00:20:30,899 S3: you know, this is a trial. We have to obviously 352 00:20:30,900 --> 00:20:36,629 S3: balance everything, taking every view from the crown, from the defense. 353 00:20:36,630 --> 00:20:42,420 S3: And the ultimate answer to this question rests with his honor, 354 00:20:42,780 --> 00:20:44,070 S3: Justice Ian Harrison. 355 00:20:44,430 --> 00:20:48,660 S10: And that was journalist Matthew Condon, who's been covering this 356 00:20:48,660 --> 00:20:53,880 S10: case every day. Annika, interesting that Chris Dawson, I mean, 357 00:20:53,880 --> 00:20:56,640 S10: so many years have passed. He's he's in his 70 358 00:20:56,640 --> 00:21:01,530 S10: seconds now for so many families who their loved ones 359 00:21:01,530 --> 00:21:05,250 S10: have gone missing and they've never been able to get answers. 360 00:21:05,250 --> 00:21:08,340 S10: I guess it's people power that have brought cases like 361 00:21:08,340 --> 00:21:12,150 S10: this particular one and other cases to light and led 362 00:21:12,150 --> 00:21:16,440 S10: to either fresh evidence with people coming forward or inquests 363 00:21:16,440 --> 00:21:19,020 S10: or even court cases, as is the case with this one. 364 00:21:19,109 --> 00:21:21,030 S11: Yeah, it's a bit of a double edged sword, isn't it? 365 00:21:21,030 --> 00:21:24,930 S11: You get the prominence in the media and often, you know, 366 00:21:24,930 --> 00:21:28,440 S11: in this case you actually get a trial, but of 367 00:21:28,440 --> 00:21:30,270 S11: course it can be used against you. You know, Chris 368 00:21:30,270 --> 00:21:33,210 S11: Dawson has tried to use the podcast as a reason 369 00:21:33,210 --> 00:21:36,270 S11: why he says he's not getting a fair trial. So 370 00:21:36,390 --> 00:21:39,180 S11: it's a fine line, but obviously a great way of 371 00:21:39,180 --> 00:21:48,590 S11: trying to deliver outcomes and answers for families. Listener.