For everyone listening, following, deciphering and deliberating Hedley Thomas’ award-winning true crime podcast, The Teacher’s Pet—yesterday was a pretty significant chapter in a devastating mystery that’s been locked up for over 30 years.
Yesterday, Chris Dawson was arrested at last.
And while the podcast has been on pause since August, two brand new episodes have just dropped, which reveal further insight into the case and some of the evidence that will likely be brought against Dawson in court.
For the unacquainted, Dawson is the primary suspect in an 80s murder mystery set on the Northern Beaches in Sydney. The story has all the classic trademarks of a blockbuster thriller: sordid affairs, a football star, twin brothers, late night dealings with hitmen, misdealings of justice, high school drama and teen angst. And at the centre of it all—Lynette Dawson, Chris’ wife and a doting mother who disappeared one night never to be seen again.
If you haven’t had a listen already, here’s why you probably should.
Thomas and The Teacher’s Pet producer Slade Gibson won a Gold Walkley last month for their storytelling and delicate, determined handling of a tragic, twisted cold case. NSW Police have credited the podcast with helping them to finally charge Dawson with the murder of his wife, Lyn.
The first of the new eps, titled “Digging”, follows the police’s very recent attempt to locate Lyn’s supposed grave at the Dawson’s former family home in Bayview. Thomas also interviews an expert in handwriting who, piece by piece, unravels Chris Dawson’s original handwritten police statement. Chilling stuff.
Today, following Dawson being taken into custody, an ep titled “Arrest” dropped. It details the circumstances of Chris Dawson’s arrest, as well as a moment during the magistrate’s hearing in which Dawson lost his cool. Apparently and unsurprisingly, he'll be pleading not guilty.
Get listening right here.
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Image credit: The Teacher's Pet.