The Teacher's Pet

The Australian

Lyn and Chris Dawson appear to have the perfect marriage. He's a star footballer and popular high school teacher. She's a devoted wife and mother. They share a beautiful home above Sydney's northern beaches. But when Lyn goes missing, dark secrets are buried. This is no fairytale, but a sordid story of strangely close twin brothers, a vulnerable teenage student, and a shattering disappearance. The Australian's Hedley Thomas digs deep into a 40-year-old tragedy. In August 2022, Chris Dawson was convicted of murder. Some legal proceedings are still on foot, so in this rereleased series you will hear some bleeps.

  1. EPISODE 1

    Episode 1: Bayview

    Lyn was a devoted wife and mother. She adored her husband, but he betrayed and humiliated her in the most callous way. Now she's gone - missing, a likely victim of murder. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    42 min

  2. EPISODE 2

    Episode 2: Cromer High

    Cromer High School's pin-up sports teacher Chris Dawson pursued high school student JC with the sort of relentless determination he showed as a star of rugby league. Chris had model good looks, an easy charm, and students looked up to him. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    47 min

  3. EPISODE 3

    Episode 3: Bruised

    As Chris brazenly moved his teenage lover into the family home, Lyn saw the cracks in her marriage widen. It was crumbling all around her. Unable to believe the worst of her husband, she responded with denial, but to her family and friends Lyn's suffering was clear. And the toll was not just emotional. In this episode, a former babysitter for the Dawsons speaks for the first time about the violence she witnessed in the home. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    47 min

  4. EPISODE 4

    Episode 4: Soft Soil

    Humiliated and broken by her husband's affair, Lyn finally asked JC to leave the Bayview home. The teenager walked out, and into the home of Chris's twin brother, Paul, a few hundred metres down the same street. Tensions continued to rise. And then suddenly, Lyn vanished. Years later, JC suggested Lyn's remains were buried at Bayview, in the 'soft soil' - outside what were her daughters' bedroom windows. In this episode, a surprise new witness speaks publicly for the first time about something he was told in 1987, indicating the possible whereabouts of a body. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    1hr 6min

  5. EPISODE 5

    Episode 5: A Lovely Drink

    In January 1982, as most Australians enjoyed a carefree holiday season, Lyn Dawson was trying to pick up the tattered threads of her marriage. JC was taking tentative steps to extricate herself from her affair with Lyn's husband. And Chris Dawson was desperately seeking solutions. In this episode, a damning piece of evidence - once thought lost - is recovered, and it is something that should be vitally important to the Director of Public Prosecutions. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    1hr 4min

  6. EPISODE 6

    Episode 6: Gone

    In the days and months following Lyn's disappearance, Chris Dawson put forth a range of suggestions as to her possible whereabouts. Perhaps she had gone north to think about their marriage. Maybe she'd joined a cult, or a religious group. But whatever he said, he clearly believed she was never going to return, as he promptly moved JC back into the family home where she became the new mother to his two children.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    58 min

  7. EPISODE 7

    Episode 7: The Rings

    On January 15, 1984, Chris and JC wed at Bayview. With no veil, and in a non-traditional dress, the young bride looked like a flower girl. On her hand, she wore Lyn's rings. Chris's brother Paul and his wife Marilyn were witnesses. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    1hr 3min

  8. EPISODE 8

    Episode 8: Hopeless

    Lyn Dawson had been missing for three years when her worried friend Sue wrote to the Office of the Ombudsman - an independent government watchdog - about the lack of police action in the case. We go looking and recover a long-forgotten file after decades in storage, and the contents highlight the hopeless responses of police to a probable murder - and raise more questions, as public anger grows.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    1hr 9min
See All (27)

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Hosts & Guests

4.3
out of 5
286 Ratings

About

Lyn and Chris Dawson appear to have the perfect marriage. He's a star footballer and popular high school teacher. She's a devoted wife and mother. They share a beautiful home above Sydney's northern beaches. But when Lyn goes missing, dark secrets are buried. This is no fairytale, but a sordid story of strangely close twin brothers, a vulnerable teenage student, and a shattering disappearance. The Australian's Hedley Thomas digs deep into a 40-year-old tragedy. In August 2022, Chris Dawson was convicted of murder. Some legal proceedings are still on foot, so in this rereleased series you will hear some bleeps.

Information

  • Channel
    The Australian
  • Creator
    The Australian
  • Years Active
    2022 - 2023
  • Episodes
    27
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2026 News Corp Australia
  • Show Website
    The Teacher's Pet
  • Provider
    News Corp Australia

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