Sydney: Former schoolteacher and rugby league star Chris Dawson has been sentenced to 24 years in prison for the famous murder of his first wife Lynette in 1982.
The 74-year-old has been in custody since he was found guilty in August this year after a judge-only trial in the NSW Supreme Court.
Justice Ian Harrison on Friday said that the murder was an “objectively very serious crime and Lynette Dawson was faultless and undeserving of her fate. Despite the deteriorating state of her marriage to Chris Dawson, she was undoubtedly also completely unsuspecting.”
Justice Harrison also took into account Chris’ age and failing health and said, “Dawson is not old by contemporary standards but the reality is that he will not live to reach the end of his non-parole period. I recognise that the unavoidable prospect is that Dawson will probably die in jail.”
Chris was in deteriorating health with signs of chronic traumatic encephalopathy, which is a degenerative brain condition often suffered by people who sustain head injuries while playing contact sports.
Chris Dawson reportedly was taken from court back to Silverwater prison, from where he is likely to be moved to another prison located in NSW. He has filed a plea against his conviction which is expected to be heard next year.
Lynette’s body has never been found despite extensive police searches and the Crown argued that the former killed her to have an ‘unfettered relationship’ with the family’s teenage babysitter, JC, who he later married. Lynette went missing from the couple’s marital home on Syndey’s northern beaches in January 1982.
Her family has pleaded with Dawson to reveal the location of her body. Lynette’s sudden disappearance was also the subject of the globally successful podcast- The Teacher’s Pet that was downloaded more than 28 million times across various countries.
This was seen as critical in re-animating stalled police investigations and bringing pressure to bear on officials to lay charges. Chris has also argued that the widespread discussions brought by the podcast meant that he could not receive a fair trial.
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from Ex-rugby league player Chris Dawson likely to 'die in jail' after being sentenced to 24 years for wife Lynette's murder
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