Chris Dawson to face judge-only trial on charge he murdered his wife Lyn 40 years ago

Chris Dawson, accused of murdering his wife 40 years ago, will face a judge-only trial after successfully claiming pre-trial publicity could influence jurors.

Chris Dawson has pleaded not guilty to murdering wife Lynette, who has been missing since 1982. Picture: AAP

Former Sydney schoolteacher Chris Dawson, who is accused of murdering his wife 40 years ago, will face a judge-only trial after his legal team successfully claimed pre-trial publicity of the case could influence the decision-making of jurors.

Mr Dawson, who has pleaded not guilty to murdering wife Lynette, was formally charged in 2018. His partner disappeared from their home in Sydney’s northern beaches in January 1982, leaving behind their two young daughters, Shanelle and Sherryn.

Chris and Lyn Dawson on their wedding day. Picture: News Corp

In the NSW Supreme Court on Monday, Mr Dawson’s legal team – including barrister Pauline David and lawyer Greg Walsh – successfully argued that their client should be subject to a judge-only trial because of the extensive media coverage of Ms Dawson’s disappearance and the circumstances surrounding the case.

Mr Dawson, a former rugby league player and Sydney high school teacher, has previously -argued his chances of a fair trial were compromised by extensive pre-trial publicity and the fact the alleged murder occurred four decades ago.

In April, his legal team lodged a special leave application in the High Court for a permanent stay on the charge. But judges Stephen Gageler and Michelle Gordon ¬upheld the rulings made by the NSW Supreme Court and Court of Criminal Appeal, which had previously rejected his stay application.

At Monday’s hearing, Ms David argued publicity surrounding the case and the portrayal of Mr Dawson as a “probable murderer” had been in existence for such a long period it had been “seared in the mind of the public”.

“It is not something that is going to go away, and we say that it is significant,” she told the court.

“There is an enormous amount of material that may bear on how certain witnesses have -arrived at their ultimate statements or conclusions.”

The application for a judge-alone trial had been opposed by Prosecutor Craig Everson, SC, who is representing the Crown in the high-profile trial.

Mr Everson told the hearing there were already measures in place to deal with the “potential impact of the prejudicial publicity”.

While the Crown said it would not dispute the claims of “egregious” pre-trial publicity, Mr Everson argued there had been a sufficient “fade factor” since the initial coverage in 2018-19, which coincided with a podcast about the case.

“We’re focusing really on one particular aspect and that is the interest of justice being broader than the interests of the accused and the role of the public in administration of justice,” Mr Everson said.

Lyn with one of her daughters at her Bayview home in 1978. Picture: News Corp

He further argued that “inferences from human behaviour” would play a significant role.

“Questions like a young mother leaves the family and would appear on the accused’s version to have only had contact with him as opposed to her mother or her children,” he said.

“They are very much matters that, in the Crown’s submission, point to the matter being tried by people of diverse ages, backgrounds, experiences and genders.”

Last June, the NSW Supreme Court Chief Justice Tom Bathurst said it was important to consider “the public interest of the community in bringing those charged with serious criminal offences to trial”.

His comments were echoed by Justice Beech-Jones on Monday who said the trial had already been subject to long delays because of ongoing interlocutory processes. “There is a compelling interest in this matter now proceeding as quickly as possible to trial,” he told the court.

The trial will be presided over by Justice Ian Harrison and is due to commence on May 23, with pre-trial argument to begin next week.

At the outset of Monday’s hearing, the court was told Mr Dawson was informed late on -Friday that his application for Legal Aid funding for his defence had been refused.

Mr Dawson is seeking to appeal the funding refusal to the Legal Aid Review Committee.

As a result, his lawyers requested Monday’s application for a judge-alone trial to be adjourned.

The court was told that one potential outcome if Mr Dawson could not secure Legal Aid funding was that he could lose legal representation and face trial unrepresented – a factor that could influence whether he was tried before a judge or jury.

However, Justice Beech-Jones said there were special circumstances, and ruled that the judge-alone application should proceed.

The judge said the case had an extraordinary and long history, and it was in the interests of -justice for the trial to proceed as soon as possible.