Lynette Dawson vanished from her home in Sydney in 1982.
A short time later, her husband, Chris Dawson, moved his high school girlfriend into their house, effectively making the girl his de facto wife and new mother to his kids.
So begins true crime podcast The Teacher’s Pet.
Investigated and written by journalist Hedley Thomas, the series focuses on an Australian missing persons case that was all but ignored by police when it first surfaced back in the 1980s.
A wife vanishes into thin air, a husband replaces her with a teenager he had been sleeping with, two young kids start calling this girl their mother, and seemingly, no one batts an eyelid.
Here are six key reasons why you should, and need to, listen to The Teacher’s Pet ASAP.
1. You’ve heard this story before
It’s one everyone knows – the one where the famous, good-looking, well respected man might have been involved in something dodgy, but nothing ever comes of it because he’s well connected.
Chris Dawson may as well have been famous in Bayview that’s how untouchable he was. Not only were a lot of male teachers adamant that he couldn’t hurt a fly, but he was also mates with friends of police around the time of his wife’s disappearance.
Sound familiar? It should.
2. And yet at the same time, you’ve never heard anything like this story before
Just when you think The Teacher’s Pet has thrown all it can at you, there’s another twist or an extra piece of information that’ll make you reconsider everything you thought you knew about the case.
The troubling details shared by Chris’s young student lover, Joanne, in her police interview are told with such a calm clarity you’d almost be forgiven for forgetting she was talking about a man who groomed her from such a young age.
It wasn’t just Joanne who was in a sexual relationship with her teacher either.
There were many others – some of whom are still now dealing with the psychological affects of their past experiences as part of the alleged sex ring.
3. The only suspect is still alive
Lyn’s husband Chris has always denied having anything to do with his wife’s disappearance, and yet he remains the only suspect in the case.
Despite this, and the fact that two coroner’s reports have found that Chris was responsible for Lyn’s death, Chris had never been charged with anything related to the disappearance of his wife.
Until, that is, quite recently.
4. The case is ongoing
The case of Lyn’s disappearance was reopened again in the 1990s when many of the key players were interviewed, but up until the launch of the podcast, there had been very little movement.
Since then, however, there has been significant attention paid by Australian police and the justice system – so much so that the show has been removed from podcast platforms in Australia for reasons that you’ll understand once you listen to it.
5. More and more witnesses keep coming forward
Unlike a lot of true crime pods that are all recorded in one go, The Teacher’s Pet is constantly being updated and these updates are frequently referenced in the show itself.
As early as episode three sees journalist Hedley bring statements from new witnesses who have contacted him as a result of the podcast, providing the listener with new information that otherwise would have been unavailable.
This trend continues throughout the series as more and more people contact The Australian with tips and stories about Lyn and Chris.
It’s a probable murder case that’s still unfolding – in real time.
6. It’s yet another case of a woman in trouble being let down by the system
And because of that, it deserves to be heard.
If listeners are to believe Chris Dawson’s version of events that his wife left her family to go join a cult and has simply decided to not contact anybody for over 30 years, this is still a case of a woman who disappeared without a trace.
In 1982, police took Chris at his word that his wife had decided to leave her family behind.
If this is true, there still must have been a reason for Lyn to leave – one potentially related to the multiple times that people say they saw Chris threaten her or emotionally abuse her throughout their marriage.
Whether Lyn left or was murdered, her disappearance should have garnered more attention than it did.
And at least now, it is.
You can listen to The Teacher’s Pet online here or subscribe on Spotify.
