The Teacher’s Pet: Family hopes for Lyn’s body, then for justice

Lyn Dawson’s family is braced for a second day of digging at her former home at Bayview, 36 years after her disappearance.

Lyn Dawson’s brother Greg Simms with wife Merilyn. Picture: Liam Driver

Lyn Dawson’s family is braced for a second day of digging at her former home at Bayview, 36 years after her disappearance.

Renee Simms, Lyn’s niece, says the family had accepted the missing Sydney mother was no longer alive and wanted to put her to rest.

“We knew that the dig was happening at some point but we didn’t know it was going to be happening yesterday,” Ms Simms told Nine’s Today this morning.

“We got the word not too long before everyone else got the word, so yesterday was incredibly intense.

“We’re just taking it day by day. There seems to be something new coming out almost every day. We never know what we’re going to wake up to.”

The family was controlling their own expectations about the search for Lyn’s remains after decades without a breakthrough.

“We’re not going to get too hopeful because we’ve been in a similar position before and nothing’s come of it. But it’s there under the surface,” Ms Simms said.

“The family has generally accepted that she is no longer with us. So to find remains would actually be a good thing for us. We could finally put her to rest.”

Asked for her views on camera crews being outside Chris Dawson’s home in Queensland, she said: “I think it’s good that someone’s watching.”

The family of Lynette Dawson who vanished from her Sydney home 36 years ago say they are quite hopeful a new search will reveal some answers. #9Today pic.twitter.com/btmd4cUlHT

— The Today Show (@TheTodayShow) September 12, 2018

It’s been a week of high emotion for Lyn’s family, who have waited 36 long years to find her.

“We can only hope,” said Lyn’s brother Greg Simms, a former police­man who has carried his sister’s disappearance like a heavy weight. “If they find Lyn, that’s a double whammy for us — we’ve got him (Lyn’s killer) and we’ve got her so we can put her to rest.”

A naturally private family that is not at all comfortable with shaking trees to get what they need, they have endured every twist and turn in this saga with dignity.

But they knew they had to speak up for Lyn, so they bared their hearts and souls to the public in The Teacher’s Petand many times before and since.

Their goal has been to bring Lyn home, and to bring a killer to justice. They are not there yet, and they know the latest search may not get them there, but they are closer.

If there is no Lyn at the former northern beaches home, any evidence would do. Even no evidence will give them certainty, answering a question that has been at the back of their minds for decades — has she been at Bayview all along?

“If they find something, it will vindicate everything we have been doing,” Mr Simms said.

“We just hope that a very extensive check is done on the whole block and we hope they find something. It needed to be done.”

Wendy Jennings, who has been a constant in the fight for justice for her cousin Lyn, struggled to contain her emotions at news of the search.

“(I’m) a bit anxious,” she told The Australian yesterday.

“It’s come as a bit of a shock. I understand why police retain information, that’s understandable, but then all of a sudden it hits.

“I can only hope. Just hope. I just hope they’ve got it right and that they will go to any lengths they need to go to.

“It’s a roller-coaster. It’s been like that for 36 years.”

Her daughter Allyson Jennings is among those in the next generation of the family to take up the fight for justice.

She praised NSW Police Commissioner Mick Fuller and homicide detectives yesterday for being open to further investigations.

“I have faith that the police tasked with this right now are going to do everything they possibly can,” she said.

“Commissioner Fuller has put his hand up and said we will keep pushing this until we get justice.

“I am confident in the police. I believe they are literally throwing everything they can at it.”

Mr Fuller’s dramatic intervention during the podcast series, when he publicly apologised to the family for police failings in the 1980s, had been a turning point.

“That’s reflective of the integrity of Police Commissioner Mick Fuller,” Allyson Jennings said.

“He apologised for the wrongdoings of police that weren’t even on his watch.

“That is incredible in itself.

“It means a lot to our family. It shows so much about what he does as a police commissioner, the force he represents and the job he does and the people that work under him.”