DPP seeks to suppress Chris Dawson witness evidence

Former star rugby league player Chris Dawson will face a committal hearing next week on a charge of murdering wife Lyn.

The 71-year-old former Newtown Jets player has pleaded not guilty to the murder of his wife, who vanished in 1982. Picture: John Grainger

Former star rugby league player Chris Dawson will face a committal hearing next week on a charge of murdering his wife Lyn, with prosecutors seeking to block public­ation of witness testimony.

Mr Dawson’s hearing has been set down for five days from Monday at Sydney’s Downing Centre Local Court.

The 71-year-old former New­town­ Jets player and ex-PE teacher has pleaded not guilty to the murder of his wife, who vanished from Sydney’s northern beaches in January 1982.

Her unsolved dis­appearance was the subject of The Australian’s investigative podcast series The Teacher’s Pet, by national chief correspondent Hedley Thomas.

Prosecutors would seek an order barring publication of witness testimony at the committal, a spokeswoman for the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions said on Friday.

Orders would be 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”.

Mr Dawson was arrested at his property at Runaway Bay on the Gold Coast in December 2018, extradited to NSW and formally charged with the murder of his wife.

The Australian has made the podcast temporarily unavailable in Australia pending his trial.