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An Australian man was convicted of the cold case murder of his wife on Tuesday after a true crime podcast drew widespread attention to the case in 2018.
A judge found 74-year-old former high school teacher Christopher Dawson murdered then-wife Lynette Dawson in 1982.
According to a 2003 court proceeding called an inquest, Dawson was having an affair with a 16-year-old babysitter for his two daughters, then aged 2 and 4, when his wife was murdered. was. Days after Lynette Dawson disappeared, the teenage girl moved in with Christopher Dawson. They got married after she turned 18 and separated four years later.
Australian newspaper investigative reporter Hedley Thomas documented the incident on his podcast, “The Teacher’s Pet.”
Subject of ‘Teacher’s Pet’ podcast, who moved in with student when wife went missing, accused of wife’s 1982 murder
Australian court records show Dawson, a high school teacher turned former professional rugby player, waived his jury rights and sought trial by a judge, citing a large audience for his podcast. rice field.
Mr. Thomas did not immediately respond to a request for comment early Tuesday afternoon local time.
The conviction was “40 years in arrears.” wrote in essay Published after judgment.
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“It was a hopelessly one-sided spectator affair,” he wrote of the proceedings. “Almost everyone there wanted Dawson in handcuffs before lunch.”
The podcast has amassed an estimated 60 million viewers worldwide and prompted new research into the incident. Australian police arrested Dawson at his Queensland home in December 2018.
Dawson reported his wife missing on February 18, 1982, according to New South Wales Police. But the last time she had contact was with her mother on January 8th, over a month ago. she didn’t show up.
Her body has never been found.
According to the Associated Press, Judge Ian Harrison told the court, “I am satisfied with all the circumstantial evidence that Lynette Dawson died on or about January 8, 1982 and did not voluntarily abandon her home. There are,โ he said.
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He said Dawson lied about receiving a phone call from his wife after her disappearance, and called the argument that she might have lost her family “ridiculous.”
Dawson faces life in prison.
Catherine Lamb of Fox News and Associated Press contributed to this report.