Chris Dawson taken to Silverwater jail after being found guilty of murdering wife Lynette – as life behind bars is revealed

Chris Dawson has been dropped off at Silverwater prison to await sentencing after he was found guilty of murdering his wife Lynette more than four decades ago.

The former teacher was accused of murdering Ms Dawson and disposing her body in 1982 to pursue a relationship with the family’s teenage babysitter.

He pleaded not guilty and insisted his wife had simply left the family behind and vanished after she discovered his affair.

But Justice Ian Harrison handed down his verdict in the NSW Supreme Court on Tuesday and found Dawson was guilty and he was satisfied the ex rugby league player had “resolved to kill his wife” on or about January 8 1982 before discarding the remains.

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Dawson is believed to have had breakfast at the Sydney Police Centre followed by a lengthy process of paperwork before he was escorted to a correctional services van.

The 74-year-old was then driven around half-an-hour away winding through Sydney roads to Silverwater prison in the city’s west where he arrived just before midday.

The vehicle pulled into the correctional facility and out of view from the waiting media pack for Dawson to be unloaded and processed to wait for his sentencing.

It’s likely he was body scanned or strip searched before the navy blue suit he was wearing in court was confiscated and replaced by a green prison uniform consisting of a tracksuit, T-shirt and prison-issued shoes.

A simple toiletries pack – comprising of basic hand-soap, toothbrush and toothpaste, razor and sanitiser – will also be provided for his daily use.

He will also be able to purchase extra items up to $100 a week on either goods to make him feel better or food, such as tinned tuna, instant noodles, soft drinks and vitamins.

Dawson will likely be transferred to isolation for his own safety as well as due to the high-profile nature of the murder case that has gripped the country.

He will be subject to a strict routine lifestyle in jail with only one hot meal served each day during dinner about 3pm.

Other rations will be provided, including milk, cereal, seven slices of bread, sachets of coffee and prison-issued tea bags either in the morning or at night before bed.

Each prison cell consists of a steel toilet, kettle or jug and a sandwich maker. 

Dawson will rise each morning about 7am for morning muster where offenders are counted and their welfare is checked before the day.

Justice Harrison handed down two significant findings during Tuesday’s verdict.

He said he was satisfied Ms Dawson had died on or about January 8, 1982, and that she did not leave her Sydney Northern Beaches home voluntarily. 

The judge also found Dawson had lied when he claimed his wife had contacted him via telephone on multiple occasions after that date. 

“The whole of the circumstantial evidence satisfies me that Lynette Dawson is dead, that she died on or about January 8 1982, and that she did not voluntarily abandon her home,” he told the Supreme Court packed with media and respective families.

“I am satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that the phone call material and the sightings evidenced do not establish that Lynette Dawson was alive … I’m satisfied that none of the alleged sightings was a genuine sighting of Lynette Dawson.”

He added there was “scant evidence” to suggest the then-33-year-old nurse had the means to fund a new life if she decided to ditch the family over the affair.

The family’s babysitter, referred to by the court as JC, began an affair with Dawson in 1981 before moving into the family home to care for their children.

The court heard JC, who was also a former student of Dawson’s, regularly had sex with her former teacher while his wife was asleep or intoxicated. 

Notes tendered to the court showed Dawson “professing his love” to JC as well as a Christmas card suggesting the pair would one day marry.  

Throughout the trial the prosecution had argued one of the motives Dawson had to murder his wife was his desire to pursue an “unfettered relationship” with JC.

“The heart of the Crown’s circumstantial case is said to be Mr Dawson’s very strong motive that flowed from what it said was his utter infatuation with JC and his desire to be with her,” Justice Harrison said on Tuesday.

He said he accepted the Crown’s argument Dawson “became infatuated with JC before she left school”.

The court heard the couple attempted to run away together to Queensland in late 1981 but turned back to the Harbour City after JC fell ill. 

The pair instead spent Christmas day in Dawson’s parents’ bed. 

In early 1982 JC claimed she received a call from Dawson informing her “Lyn’s gone, she’s not coming back” and the couple married two years later.

Judge Harrison said JC “had been swept up … confused and conflicted” and said her account of being groomed for a sexual relationship was believable. 

Dawson’s lawyer has indicated his client will apply for bail before his sentencing, and would likely appeal the guilty verdict.