Chris Dawson faces committal hearing on charge of murdering wife Lyn
A psychic will be the first witness called as Chris Dawson faces a committal hearing.
A psychic medium who claims to have helped NSW police with missing person investigations will be the first witness called as former star rugby league player Chris Dawson faces a committal hearing on a charge of murdering his wife, Lyn, 38 years ago.
Debbie Malone, who spoke to police following a 2003 episode of the ABC’s Australian Story program about Lynette Dawson’s disappearance from Sydney’s northern beaches, is scheduled to give evidence on Tuesday.
But the testimony from Ms Malone, and from other witnesses called to give evidence during a scheduled five-day hearing at Sydney’s Downing Centre Local Court, is to remain blocked from publication until at least the end of the week’s proceedings.
Magistrate Jacqueline Trad agreed on Monday, the first day of the committal hearing, to extend an interim non-publication order she granted in December related to the topics for cross-examining witnesses.
Mr Dawson, a 71-year-old former Newtown Jets rugby league player and PE school teacher, has pleaded not guilty to the murder of his wife, who vanished from the couple’s Bayview home in January 1982.
Her unsolved disappearance became the subject of The Australian’s investigative podcast series, The Teacher’s Pet, by national chief correspondent Hedley Thomas, which attracted global attention after it began airing in May 2018.
Proceedings were delayed on Monday as prosecution and defence lawyers sought an extended restriction on what could be published in the media.
Ms Trad said scrutiny of the Dawson case in the public domain was an issue of “fine balance”, and proceedings needed to be “fair but also transparent”.
She said she was concerned to issue appropriate orders when the court understood what was to be restricted or suppressed.
“Once we know the evidence of witnesses, we can deal with it,” Ms Trad said.
Mr Dawson’s barrister, Phillip Boulten SC, announced a surprise shift in plans shortly afterwards, when it was clear his side could not gain an assurance from the magistrate about the duration of the non-publication order.
Mr Boulten said his side would no longer require five key witnesses to give evidence at the committal hearing. These were The Australian’s Thomas; Lyn’s former friend and neighbour Julie Andrew; Rebecca Hazel, a lawyer and author of a book on the case; Detective Sergeant Damian Loone, who was assigned to investigate the matter in the 1990s; and Bev McNally, a former Dawson family babysitter.
Mr Boulten said it was anticipated that all would be called to give evidence later at a separate pre-trial hearing in the NSW Supreme Court. Supreme Court pre-trial evidence is not expected to be made public ahead of a trial.
Ms Trad will consider later this week whether the non-publication order should continue past the committal hearing.
She adjourned the hearing until Tuesday, with Ms Malone as the first witness. After viewing part of the 2003 Australian Story episode, Ms Malone told relatives of Lyn Dawson and police that she thought Lyn was dead and her body was buried under a retaining wall on the property of her former residence.
Another witness this week will be a 101-year-old woman, Elva McBay, who will appear via video link. Prosecutor Craig Everson said Ms McBay had a medical condition that meant she should not appear before 11.30am. At least three other witnesses are expected to give evidence.
Mr Boulten said the rest of the evidence at the committal hearing would not touch upon The Teacher’s Pet podcast or The Australian’s Thomas. He said he had wanted an extended non-publication order that would last until a trial, not wanting to risk the evidence appearing in the media beforehand to “contaminate” proceedings.
The extension was sought under a section of the NSW Court Suppression and Non-publication Orders Act 2010 that allows courts to block publication if “necessary to prevent prejudice to the proper administration of justice”.
The Australian has made The Teacher’s Pet podcast series temporarily unavailable in Australia pending Mr Dawson’s trial.
Crisafulli dodges ‘please explain’ on nuclear
LNP leader David Crisafulli has been unable — or unwilling — to say why he opposes federal Opposition Leader Peter Dutton’s nuclear power policy as Queensland’s pre-polling booths open.
Rising productivity loss from early Alzheimer’s diagnoses
Lost productivity has outstripped the cost of aged care as the biggest price paid for from Alzheimer’s in Australia – but it shouldn’t have to be this way.