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Matthew Condon is an award-winning journalist and the author of more than 18 works of both fiction and non-fiction, including the bestselling true crime trilogy – Three Crooked Kings, Jacks and Jokers and All Fall Down. His other books include The Trout Opera and The Motorcycle Café. In 2019 he was awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia for services to the community. He is a senior writer and podcaster for The Australian.

Matthew Condon

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Teacher’s TrialNation

Chris Dawson (right) leaves with his brother Peter Dawson (left) at Downing Centre Courts in Sydney Thursday, August, 8, 2019. (AAP Image/Dean Lewins) NO ARCHIVING

Courtroom cruise ship all at sea as evidentiary squalls rock boat

Trials can throw up moments of unfiltered drama, and on Thursday at the murder trial of former school teacher Christopher Dawson, such moments arrived with regularity.

Matthew Condon

The teacher’s trialNation

A recent picture of identical twins Chris (LEFT) and Paul Dawson. (Chris Dawson)

Double take from double vision as Dawson twin testifies

At 2.48pm on Wednesday in Court D of Sydney’s Supreme Court, a dark suited man suddenly appeared on the room’s four wall-mounted television screens.

Matthew Condon

The Teacher’s TrialNation

Copy pic of Lyn Dawson appearing on ABC show Chequerboard in the mid seventies.Picture: Justin Lloyd.

Mood swings in court as nostalgia gives way to pain

The murder trial of former schoolteacher Christopher Dawson continues its relentless graze through that nostalgic nirvana that was the early 1980s.

Matthew Condon

courtNation

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA - NewsWire Photos May 26, 2022: Chris Dawson leaves the Supreme Court in Sydney.Picture: NCA NewsWire / Christian Gilles

Web of chance entangles ordinary lives in intrigue

Some of Monday’s witnesses were ordinary people whose life story, for a delicate moment, intersected with another’s, and by fate became a small if potent tile in a murder trial.

Matthew Condon

courtNation

Babysitter’s ‘perfect home’ fantasy sours

The drama that preoccupied much of Chris Dawson’s murder trial on Thursday played out on a small and focused stage deep in the heart of 1970s Australian suburbia.

Matthew Condon

courtNation

Chris Dawson (left) and his twin brother Paul arrive at the Supreme Court of New South Wales in Sydney, Wednesday, May 25, 2022. Chris Dawson, 73, a former Newtown Jets rugby league player, has pleaded not guilty to murdering his wife in January 1982. (AAP Image/Jane Dempster) NO ARCHIVING

From tennis mums to murder claims

It was a day that swung mightily from an era of innocence to accusations of murder. From young mums playing social tennis to interrogation in a homicide squad interview room.

Matthew Condon

Nation

Witnesses fear no mayday over memories

Again and again through witness testimony, references were made to the paucity of human memory over time in the Chris Dawson trial.

Matthew Condon

courtNation

‘Why would I leave if he was loving?’

Marriage break-up laid bare by murder accused’s ex-wife.

Matthew Condon

CourtNation

Dawson’s schoolgirl lover stands firm in face of defence grilling

Given the number of legal eagles paying tribute to the late NSW District Court judge, Peter Zahra, starting times for court hearings were pushed back, including the murder trial of Christopher Dawson.

Matthew Condon

courtNation

Harrowing tale of marriage in decay

At midday on Thursday, as the witness JC in the Chris Dawson murder trial was set to be cross-examined, a robust chess match was unfolding in nearby Hyde Park.

Matthew Condon

Original URL: https://www.theaustralian.com.au/author/matthew-condon/page/15