Explainer: The complete timeline of the Chris Dawson trial

Dawson's lawyer has told the Supreme Court he will not be applying for bail, despite calling for today's bail hearing.

Dawson's lawyer has told the Supreme Court he will not be applying for bail, despite calling for today's bail hearing.

Chris Dawson will not apply for bail after being convicted of his wife Lynette's murder, but has asked to be isolated from other inmates due to ongoing death threats.

Dawson’s lawyer Greg Walsh told Supreme Court judge Ian Harrison the former teacher would not be applying for bail, despite asking for a bail hearing Tuesday's trial.

Dawson, 74, appeared in the same court, 13A, and before the same Supreme Court judge, Ian Harrison SC, at 9.30am Thursday, wearing a green prison tracksuit and green shoes.

Walsh had previously said Dawson would apply for bail ahead of an appeal against his murder conviction. Dawson will be sentenced on November 11, and could spend the rest of his life in prison.

Dawson said people are constantly threatening to kill him in prison and has asked to be kept away from other inmates.

“In the brief instructions I’ve been able to obtain from Mr Dawson, it’s apparent he is being subjected to constant threats,” Walsh told the court. He added: “There’s a large number of people threatening his life."

Walsh asked the judge to direct prison authorities to give Dawson every protection.

Justice Harrison said he had no power to direct them, but recommended “appropriate steps” be taken “to protect Mr Dawson from people who think they know better than the law”.

The judge added: “If that requires non association … I would be the first person to recommend that they take immediate steps to put that in place.”

The conviction

Chris Dawson on Tuesday was found guilty of murdering his missing wife, Lyn.

The former teacher and rugby player may now spend the rest of his life in prison, following Judge Ian Harrison's ruling that he killed Lynette, disposed of her body and then lied for decades to cover up his crime. 

The guilty verdict, heard in the NSW Supreme Court, comes four years after The Australian's investigative podcast series The Teacher's Pet detailed the highly suspicious circumstances around Lynette's disappearance.

Justice Harrison took five hours to deliver his verdict on Tuesday. NSW has a maximum sentence of life imprisonment for murder, but no minimum, and Dawson will almost certainly appeal.

Dawson remained still and silent as Justice Harrison delivered his verdict, but was embraced by his older brother Peter who was sitting beside him.

Justice Harrison pointed to Dawson's “possessive infatuation” with his teenage babysitter, JC, who he had engaged in a sexual relationship with while still married to Lynette.

Lynette Dawson.

“That affected him very significantly,” Justice Harrison said, especially around January 2, 1982. JC had left for time away with friends at South West rocks, on the NSW north coast, just six days before Lyn went missing.

She had by then communicated her desire to end the relationship, but it was clear Ms Dawson did not want that to occur, the judge said.

JC was “suddenly out of his physical reach and out of his control”. The prospect Mr Dawson would lose JC led him to resolve to kill his wife, the judge found.

Justice Harrison found Dawson had lied on a number of occasions because "he feared telling the truth would expose his guilt."

Dawson lied about his relationship with JC, and about his desire for Lyn to come home, the judge said. He also lied about receiving phone calls from Lyn and receiving Bankcard statements that indicated she was still alive after her disappearance.

Justice Harrison said he did not know how Chris Dawson killed his wife, nor did he know where Dawson had disposed of the body.

Lynette and Chris Dawson.

Dawson’s 10-week trial was held without a jury at his request, to ensure proceedings weren’t tainted by publicity or prejudiced by the long delay in charging him.

The prosecution presented a wholly circumstantial but powerful case, overcoming the hurdle of Lyn’s remains never being found. Dawson will appeal his conviction and apply for bail, his lawyer Greg Walsh said outside court. 

“He’s not well and he’s been suffering from cognitive problems,” Walsh said.  “He’s obviously shocked, he’s upset, he wanted me to ring his wife Sue.”

Mr Walsh said Dawson would go to Parklea correctional centre or Surry Hills police centre to await Thursday’s bail hearing.

Greg Simms, Lyn's brother, called on Dawson to help the family "bring Lyn home" and admit to where her body was disposed.

“The journey is not complete. She is still missing. We still need to bring her home,” he said. 

He thanked the media and all who came forward to "give (Lyn) a voice 40 years after she lost her own."

The background

Chris Dawson, a former star rugby league player for the Newtown Jets, has staunchly defended himself against accusations he killed his wife in 1982.

Mr Dawson claimed his 33-year-old wife Lynette Dawson abandoned their home, her possessions, and their children on Sydney's northern beaches. Prosecutors disputed this in Dawson's 10-week-long trial, saying he had a motive to kill her and dispose of her body.

Namely, he was infatuated with his teenage babysitter, JC, and saw his wife as an "impediment" to their relationship.

On Tuesday, Justice Harrison said Dawson and JC were in an “energetic sexual relationship” before and after Lynette’s disappearance, and that Mr Dawson was “obsessed” with the teenager.

Notes from Chris Dawson “professing his love” to JC were tendered to the court during the trial, including a Christmas card that suggested she would one day be his wife.

Lyn's body was never found. From many accounts, she was a devoted mother of two girls, then aged four and two. 

Her case attracted global attention through The Australian 2018 podcast The Teacher's Pet, which drew out new witnesses. Partly as a result of this publicity, the trial was held by a judge alone, minus a jury.

The trial ended after its 10th week on July 11. Mr Dawson has been waiting out the verdict on bail at his Coolum home where visitors have been seen saying their goodbyes.

The defence's case

Mr Dawson pleaded not guilty to murder.

His lawyers told the trial he may have "failed" his wife by not being a great husband but he's not a killer and had no motivation to murder his wife.

He wanted to start a life with the babysitter which "provided a motive for Lynette Dawson to not want to be with him," his lawyer Pauline David said.

They claim Lyn "left and abandoned" their Bayview home "of her own accord" after Mr Dawson dropped her off at a Mona Vale bus stop on January 9. 

David said there were many possibilities for what might have happened to her.  She might have gone off and "created a new life", passed away, and suffered misadventure or suicide. She even suggested Lyn could have matched the fate of Prime Minister Harold Holt who disappeared at sea.

The defence's key witnesses 

The defence relied on witnesses who claimed to have seen Lynette in the years after her disappearance. A neighbour claimed to have seen Lyn at the hospital where she worked as a nurse in 1984. Mr Dawson's brother-in-law claimed to have seen her at a bus stop across the road from Gladesville Hospital.

Mr Dawson's defence team also relied on calls Dawson said he received from his wife. He says Lynette called him when he was on lifeguard duty at Northbridge Baths in January 1982 and told him she wouldn’t be coming home.

The Crown's case

Mr Dawson had a motive to kill his wife, the crown prosecutors say.

He wanted an "unfettered relationship" with the teenage babysitter, JC. Dawson later went on to marry her.

He had tried to end the marriage with Lyn a few times before, the crown argued, including trying to get Lyn to sell their northern beaches home, and allegedly considering recruiting a hitman. He also briefly planned to move to Queensland with JC just after Christmas 1981.

Yet, when that didn't happen, Lyn became an "impediment" to his relationship with JC and it "ultimately motivated him to murder her", Crown prosecutor Craig Everson SC said.

The Crown's key witnesses