Lynette Dawson’s brother speaks after cold case arrest of her former husband
Lynette Dawson’s brother Greg Simms said today he just wanted to find out every minute detail of what happened to his sister following the dramatic arrest of her husband at his Queensland home. LISTEN TO THE INTERVIEW.
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Lynette Dawson’s brother Greg Simms said today he just wanted to find out every minute detail of what happened to his sister 37 years ago following the dramatic arrest of her husband at his Queensland home.
“I’m the happiest man alive today and if Lynette is up there looking down, she’d be smiling at us,” Mr Simms told The Daily Telegraph. “I am ecstatic, very emotional and teary.
GREG SIMMS SPEAKS TO THE DAILY TELEGRAPH:
BACKGROUNDER: WHO IS CHRIS DAWSON?
“This was our last chance with the DPP and we’ve finally got a result.
“I’m just so relieved, I want to find out every detail of what happened to my sister, every minute detail. It’s been years and finally we might get closure.”
NSW Homicide Squad officers were advised by the Director of Public Prosecutions on Monday they had sufficient evidence to charge Chris Dawson in the latest twist in the cold case mystery that has captivated Sydney for decades.
Yesterday officers applied and were granted an arrest warrant by a NSW magistrate and flew to the Gold Coast.
Relatives, including Mr Dawson’s two daughters, were informed of his arrest this morning.
Ms Dawson was 33 when she went missing from Sydney’s northern beaches in January 1982, leaving behind two young daughters.
The dramatic development follows revelations in the The Australian’s investigative podcast series The Teacher’s Pet.
Detectives from the NSW Homicide Squad began reinvestigating her suspected murder in 2015, calling on the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions to review their brief of evidence in April this year.
Police spent more than $500,000 on a mammoth forensic search in Bayview in the hope of unearthing clues into Lynette’s disappearance at the home she shared with Dawson on Sydney’s northern beaches.
The $2.4 million five-bedroom property at 2 Gilwinga Dr was owned by the couple when Lynette went missing on January 8, 1982, aged 33.
Two coroners declared Mr Dawson murdered Lynette but he has always maintained his innocence.
Mr Dawson was a sports teacher at Cromer High and was having an affair with pupil Joanne Curtis, which started when she was 16, when Mrs Dawson disappeared.
The Dawsons had built the family home with the help of money lent to them by Mrs Dawson’s parents.
TIMELINE
■ 1970: Chris Dawson marries Lynette Simms, both aged 21. They have two daughters together and Chris begins working as a PE teacher at Cromer High School
■ 1980: Chris begins a secret affair with Joanne Curtis, 16, his student, soon after introducing her to his family as the babysitter. He starts asking her to marry him.
■ 1981: Lyn is persuaded by Chris to let Joanne move into their family home as the teenager’s stepfather is violent. Lyn discovers the relationship.
■ 1981: Chris flees Sydney with Joanne to start a new life in Queensland, but Joanne has second thoughts and they turn around and return to Sydney.
■ 1982: Joanne goes camping with her sister and school friends to mark the end of their schooling. Chris and Lyn go to marriage counselling together.
■ 1982: Lyn speaks with her mum on the phone but the next day Lyn fails to meet her family at Northbridge Baths as planned.
■ 1982: One or two days after Lyn’s no-show at the pool, Chris drives to the Central Coast to pick up Joanne and they return to Sydney. He asks Joanne to move in with him. He does not report Lyn missing until almost six weeks later.
■ 1983-1985: Chris divorces the missing Lyn and marries Joanne. The couple move to Queensland and have a daughter together.
■ 1985: Chris starts working at Keebra Park State High School.
■ 1990: Joanne and Chris separate and she returns to Sydney. She contacts Lyn’s family and police and provides information about Chris and Lyn.
■ 1992-2000: Areas of the Dawsons’ former Sydney home are excavated by police on different occasions, and a woman’s cardigan is found, in pieces and bearing what appear to be slash marks. Forensic testing does not make a positive match with Lyn.
■ 2001-2003: Two inquests are held into Lyn’s disappearance. Two coroners find she was murdered by someone known to her. Chris does not appear at either inquest. The DPP does not support a prosecution for murder or the laying of charges, citing a lack of evidence.
■ 2010 — 2014: Rewards of up to $200,000 are offered for information to help solve the case.
Timeline by The Australian
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