Chris Dawson’s lawyer has told a judge that his client’s first wife may have left his family and that he later ran into misfortune, evoking the disappearance of former Prime Minister Harold Holt.
Key points:
- Chris Dawson’s lawyer, Pauline David, said it was possible his wife Lynette had died and his body was never found.
- Mrs. David admitted that it was Mr. Dawson who would have inflicted a “terrible mentality” on Mrs. Dawson.
- Dawson is accused of murdering the mother of two children and disposing of her body
Dawson, 73, pleaded not guilty to the murder of Lynette Dawson, who disappeared from the beaches of northern Sydney in 1982.
When her trial in the NSW Supreme Court comes to an end, attorney Pauline David has explained why Mr. Dawson’s legal team argues that there is an alternative hypothesis compatible with innocence.
Ms. David cited evidence heard during the proceedings of Ms. Dawson’s alleged sightings after her disappearance, the last of which was in 1984.
“At some point he potentially created a new life, later he died, he found himself in a misfortune otherwise,” he told the judge.
Ms David said there was also the “deeply unpleasant” possibility that Ms Dawson committed suicide and her body was not found.
He suggested that a person’s body could not be found if death involved the sea.
“Harold Holt … no one knows where he went,” he said.
“We can’t say this happened, we don’t know.”
Chris Dawson was described as an honest man and open by his lawyer. (AAP: Dean Lewins)
Crown’s case is that Mr. Dawson murdered his wife and removed her body while chasing the family’s nanny, known as JC, who was a student at the high school where he taught.
Crown prosecutor Craig Everson previously said Dawson was “delighted” with the student and, after four failed plans to leave his wife and be with JC, resorted to murder.
Mrs. David accepted that it was Mr. Dawson who put Mrs. Dawson in the “terrible mentality” of seriously contemplating her life.
He said that if a person had to leave his family, he might not want the input of relatives on the decision.
Mrs. David admitted that all of Mrs. Dawson’s clothes stayed in her house was a “curious aspect” of the case.
But he argued that if, as the Crown suggests, Mr. Dawson had the ability to kill Mrs. Dawson alone or with help and dispose of her body, it made no sense for him to leave his clothes intact instead of packing to do so. . it looks like his wife left.
Mrs. David said Mr. Dawson was an honest and open man.
He also pointed to “narrow” police investigations into the disappearance.
“We say there has been constant attention to detail for life sign inquiries,” he said.
The judge said changing the name and opening a bank account 40 years ago were “completely different exercises” than they are today.
The trial continues.
Posted 4 hours ago 4 hours ago Wed. July 6, 2022 at 2:08 am, updated 3 hours agoTuesday, July 6, 2022 at 2:20 AM