Jail threats force regional transfer for wife killer Chris Dawson

Convicted wife killer Chris Dawson has been transferred from Sydney to a regional prison following threats against his life.

A court sketch of Chris Dawson. Picture: NCA NewsWire

Convicted wife killer Chris Dawson has been transferred from Sydney to a regional prison following threats against his life.

Dawson, 74, was found guilty in August of murdering wife Lynette Dawson in early 1982 and was ­incarcerated in Sydney’s Silver­water remand centre awaiting sentencing.

But last month, after numerous physical and verbal threats, he was shifted to the new hi-tech Macquarie Correctional Centre outside the township of Wellington, 360km northwest of Sydney.

Dawson will be sentenced by judge Ian Harrison on ­November 11.

His solicitor, Greg Walsh, on Friday confirmed the transfer.

“He was in Silverwater remand prison and normally prisoners are kept there until they’re sentenced but I think because of his profile, there were issues, and for some reason he’s been shifted,” Mr Walsh said.

“I’ve not been made privy to the reasons. You know, I can’t speculate about that … it might have been just simply there was a ­vacancy they could afford to him at this time. There’s probably a lesser number of prisoners at Macquarie. But … with his profile, they’d all be chanting … ‘you’re a f..king dog, you’re going to be killed’. That’s not unusual for a bloke with his profile.

“Prisoners have access to televisions, computers and news­papers. And they would have followed this case adroitly. So when he gets into custody, you’ll have a group of prisoners who simply want to threaten him. I’ve confirmed that from other sources.”

The ultra-modern Macquarie houses up to 400 maximum-­security male inmates and is adjacent to the Wellington Correctional Centre. It was one of Australia’s first “rapid-build” prison com­plexes – 17 months from the first sod-turn to its official opening in December 2017 – as part of the NSW government’s $3.8bn Prison Bed Capacity Program.

Macquarie has attracted headlines for its progressive inmate programs, from gardening to mural painting to international computer chess tournaments.

Prisoners live in 25-person dormitories rather than cells.

Mr Walsh said Dawson was “stoic” and keeping to himself. He said his client had been in touch with family by telephone. He was unaware if Dawson had had any personal visits at Macquarie.

“I think things hopefully have settled down,” he said. “I don’t think that he would be facing threats against him (at Macquarie) to the extent that he would have in a mainstream jail.

“As far as I understand, he is in special protection. And he’s ­obviously keeping to himself and speaking to his family by … telephone as frequently as he can. He’s a very stoic person. You know, some people obviously will crumble and there’s no criticism of that. And others take tragic courses. But he seems to be someone who is very redoubtable in the sense of being stoic.”

Dawson was found guilty of murdering Lynette after a 10-week trial in the NSW Supreme Court. He maintained for more than four decades that Lyn had simply abandoned him and their two young daughters. But the court heard Dawson had murdered her and disposed of her body to facilitate an “unfettered” relationship with the family’s teenage babysitter.

This week Mr Walsh filed a ­Notice of Intention to Appeal in the NSW Court of Criminal Appeal on Dawson’s instructions, and the appellant now has six months to lodge the appeal, set out its grounds and present supporting documentation.

Mr Walsh said he had already briefed NSW senior public ­defender Belinda Rigg KC. He said it was a “very, very big job” and Dawson had been “courteous and appreciative”.

Lyn Dawson’s brother, Greg Simms, said on Friday night: “It’s his right to appeal. But I thought Justice Harrison’s summation was pretty watertight.”