Teacher’s Pet: Lyn Dawson’s neck bruises ‘a precursor to murder’

Bruises on Lyn Dawson’s neck before she vanished now recognised as a “red flag’’ that she was at risk of a fatal attack.

Lyn Dawson disappeared in 1982.

Marks on Lyn Dawson’s neck before she vanished were a major “red flag” that she was at risk of a fatal attack, two domestic violence advocates say.

Red Rose Foundation acting chairwoman Di Mangan and chief executive Betty Taylor yesterday said the bruises on Dawson’s neck would now be recognised as a potential precursor to murder.

Research and experience had shown a woman’s likelihood of being murdered skyrocketed when someone applied force to their throat, Ms Mangan said.

“It’s the No 1 indicator for domestic homicide,” she said.

Ms Taylor said US experts found no matter how a woman was murdered, there was often a history of non-lethal strangulation. Up to one in every two cases of strangulation left no external marks, she said.

“If people noticed bruises on her neck, it would have been quite significant. Certainly any marks around the neck would be quite a significant red flag,” she said.

The Australian’s podcast The Teacher’s Pet is investigating Dawson’s 1982 disappearance from Bayview, on Sydney’s northern beaches.

Two coroners found she was murdered by her husband, Chris, a former star rugby league player and high school sports teacher who maintains his innocence.

He was not charged after the NSW Director of Public Prosecutions found there was not enough evidence to prosecute.

In the third episode of the podcast, released last week, friends and acquaintances told of seeing disturbing bruises on Lyn Dawson’s arms, legs and neck.

Friend Annette Leary, who worked with Dawson at a childcare centre, said she would say she had argued with her husband and “probably made him angry”.

“She would say … they were having an argument, and he’d grab her by the arms,” Ms Leary said. “In another (instance), she had bruises on the side of the neck, and we said ‘Gosh, are you all right? What’s wrong? How did you get those?’ Again it was a story about him being rough with her, bullying her.”

Ms Mangan said in her previous role as chief executive of Queensland support service DV Connect, reports of women being “choked” came in “all day, every day … We didn’t realise for a number of years how serious that was.

“I went back through the files of the women who had been murdered and I saw strangulation in every file, but we didn’t understand the significance of it.

“It’s a fact now; it’s not even an opinion.”

Ms Taylor said the strong ­association between domestic murders and previous acts of nonlethal strangulation was not known when Dawson went missing.

“In Australia 36 years ago, ­people weren’t even calling things domestic violence,” she said.

“It was the very infancy of us having talks about violence in the home.”

The Red Rose Foundation, which aims to eliminate deaths from domestic and family violence, trains police on the potential long-term consequences of strangulation.

“Women can die up to a year later through stroking. It’s not something that might immediately kill them but can kill them later,” Ms Taylor said.

The podcast’s next episode will be released tomorrow.

Do you know more? Contact [e-mail]