Cops drew a blank on Lyn being alive

Police proof-of-life checks for missing mother Lynette Dawson found no indication she was alive, the former lead detective says.

Chris and Lynette and Dawson in 1974.

Police proof-of-life checks for missing mother Lynette Dawson found no indication she was alive, the former lead detective says.

Retired policeman Damian Loone told the murder trial of Lyn’s husband, Chris, that a constable from the missing persons unit conducted the checks in 1999 and again in 2001. This included checking bank accounts, Medicare, the Australian Taxation ­Office and financial institutions.

No trace was found of Lyn being alive, Mr Loone said.

On Friday there was extensive legal argument over whether the prosecution could tender statements summarising the checks, with defence barrister Pauline David saying she was provided ­primary documents supporting them. Prosecutor Craig Everson SC said the crown had to prove Lyn died on or about Friday, January 8, 1982. Usually the date and time was immaterial, but in this case it was an “indispensable link in the chain” of the case against Mr Dawson, Mr Everson said.

The statements summarised complex and voluminous government records helping to prove that at those dates Lyn was not alive, he said. Judge Ian Harrison SC ­deferred the tender of the statements.

Former detective Damian Loone.

Mr Loone said that in 1998 his superior officer, Inspector Paul Hulme, tasked him with investigating Lyn’s disappearance and taking it to the coroner.

“I was given a one-page document, I believe,” he said.

He was based at Dee Why station in Sydney at the time, and ­believed the document was from the missing persons branch.

There was some “local gossip” about Mr Dawson and his babysitter before Lyn went missing – his former student, JC.

Mr Loone eventually received from archives a video cassette tape and audio tapes of an interview two homicide detectives conducted with Mr Dawson in 1991. On viewing the material, he immediately believed there was something gravely suspicious about Lyn’s disappearance.

Mr Loone was questioned by the defence about organising a video of a psychic, Debbie Malone, at the home of Lyn’s sister, Pat Jenkins. He told the court it was “comfort for the family”.

Mr Everson objected to further questions on the issue, saying nothing came of the matter, it “goes nowhere” and was irrelevant. Justice Harrison said the crown’s position was that it “took a day”, hardly tying up resources.

Giving consideration to victims of crime was of “paramount ­importance” to the NSW police, and often steps were taken to maintain that, Justice Harrison said,

Ms David said it went to the priorities of police and the failure to conduct other key steps in the ­investigation. She put it to Mr Loone that he found time to talk to the psychic, but did not take statements from some witnesses who could corroborate things said by Mr Dawson. Ms David also took Mr Loone to inconsistencies in statements from Mr Dawson’s former babysitter and second wife JC.

JC’s statements from the 1990s said Mr Dawson picked her up from South West Rocks on January 15 or 16, 1982 – that is, a week after Lyn disappeared, not one or two days afterwards, as heard earlier in the trial. Mr Loone said his assumption was that JC had been confused about the dates.

The other point Ms David made was that in her original interviews with police, JC did not say that Mr Dawson had said “Lyn’s not coming back” after Lyn disappeared.

Instead, JC only said Mr Dawson said to her: “Lyn’s gone, come and live with me.”

Mr Loone will resume giving evidence at a later date after Ms David requested more time.

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