Justice Ian Harrison SC sets Twitter ablaze as he hands down verdict in Chris Dawson trial
Justice Ian Harrison spent more than five hours handing down his guilty verdict in the Chris Dawson murder trial, and Australia was captivated.
A Supreme Court Justice’s long and brutal guilty verdict sparked a social media frenzy as high-profile murderer Chris Dawson learned his fate.
Social media commentators took to their feeds in droves as Justice Ian Harrison SC handed down a blunt guilty verdict that Dawson killed his wife Lynette in the 1980s.
Justice Harrison’s five hour-long verdict methodically picked apart Mr Dawson’s defence.
He blasted numerous testimonies which claimed Lynette had been seen since her disappearance in 1982, believing none of the five alleged sightings.
He told the court he was satisfied Lynnette was dead and it was unlikely she willingly disappeared.
“Lynette Dawson is dead … she died on or about 8 January 1982 and she did not voluntarily abandon her home,” he told the court.
Justice Harrison also shot down Mr Dawson’s claims of phone calls to Lynette after she went missing.
GUILTY: Christopher Michael Dawson “you did murder Lynette Dawson I find you guilty. Mr Dawson it will be necessary for you to be taken into custody.†@newscomauHQ
— Samantha Maiden (@samanthamaiden) August 30, 2022
“I’m satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that Mr Dawson’s reported telephone calls with Lynette Dawson after 9 January 1982 are lies,” he told the court.
Emotions were raw as the community refreshed their feeds for updates.
“Listening to #Chrisdawson verdict and actually shaking,” one tweeter wrote.
The marathon verdict lasted over five hours and frustrated plenty following along at home, but Justice Harrison found huge favour with others.
Listening to #Chrisdawson verdict and actually shaking.
— Kerri Sackville (@KerriSackville) August 30, 2022
“I think people should be heartened by the thoroughness of this verdict. It may be long but every minute the court is proving how competent and fair this trial has been,” another person tweeted.
Others saw the delivery as Justice Harrison “demolishing” the accused’s defence.
“Chris Dawson is having all his bulls**t called out by this very astute judge,” one tweeter wrote.
Approaching 3 hours of reading his judgement aloud to the court - the verdict not yet delivered. But Justice Harrison has been slowly demolishing Chris Dawson's defence piece by piece. He has now taken a 30 minute break. #teacherspet#chrisdawson
— Chris Reason (@ChrisReason7) August 30, 2022
Mr Dawson was found guilty of murdering his wife Lynette after the case of her disappearance was brought back into public focus through The Australian’s Teachers Pet podcast in early 2018.
The 74-year-old pleaded not guilty to murdering his wife Lynette, who mysteriously vanished from their Bayside home in the summer of 1982.
This verdict will be hard for Lynnette Dawson's daughters to hear but will hopefully bring closure. She sounded like a kind and loving person, mother, nurse, daughter and friend. She deserved a long and happy life with or without her husband. Chris Dawson stole that from her.
— Amber Robinson (@missrobinson) August 30, 2022
The 33-year-old nurse was last seen on Friday January 8, 1982 when she spoke to her mother on the phone. She was never seen or heard from again, and her body was never found.
After a three-month trial, Justice Ian Harrison SC’s guilty verdict saw Dawson taken to Silverwater prison to await sentencing.
– with NCA Newswire