The Mystery Behind “The Teacher’s Pet”

Ok, ok. So we may seem a little late jumping on the bandwagon for this one, but know that this was intentional. Before jumping head first into the hype, we wanted to let the podcast play out a bit and see what evolved over the series.

The podcast series presented by reporter Hedley Thomas from The Australian,  has grasped the nation and essentially reignited the search for answers regarding missing mother and wife, Lyn Dawson.

The podcast follows the disappearance of Lyn Dawson, devoted wife to former Newtown Jets Rugby star, and mother two young daughters. What has made this case so intriguing is the fact that so many aspects just don’t line up. Lyn adored her children and was working on her marriage with Chris, had a stable job, and friends and family who she was very close to. The most confronting piece of evidence being that one of her cardigans was found buried in their backyard. This has called for the speculation that Lyn in fact met foul play at the hands of her husband Chris Dawson.

Chris is suspected to be involved with the disappearance of Lyn for many reasons. Lyn’s work colleagues described how she showed them bruises from the times in which Chris ‘lost his temper’ and was subject to domestic violence at the hands of Chris. But the most glaring fact is that he was having an affair with their 16 year old babysitter, Joanne Curtis, who was also his student at the time. Chris moved Joanne back into the house and bed just two days after Lyn’s disappearance, which was bewildering to many around them.

These signs among many, were witnessed by but not spoken about within the various groups that knew Lyn. Many have turned to the podcast to voice their evidence against Chris Dawson, after all these years of silence to finally resolve and have closure about what happened to Lyn.

For those of you who have not listened to The Teacher’s Pet, it may seem like something from a Netflix Drama/Mystery. It is a sinister feeling when you remember that this is not a fiction, but the reality of family, friends and all of those involved.

The podcast is astonishing in the way that it had brought forward new witnesses and evidence for the case, and reignited the investigation. However, we can’t help but think that in some circumstances the public involvement and strong opinion to ‘catch Chris Dawson’ may hinder the investigations.

We have seen this scenario before. When the police get the public involved they are influxed with opinions and have to sift through to identify truth. This can lead to potentially important leads being missed or the wrong ones pursued.

There is also the fact that- against popular opinion – Chris Dawson has not been prosecuted. This needs to be kept in mind as we the general public voice our strong opinions, even though we are not witnesses to this case. Unfortunately believing and witnessing are two very different things, and at the end of the day we do not know what happened only what has been found and told to us.

With the overwhelming amount of new evidence that has come forward, we are hopeful for Lyn’s family and friends that they may finally have some closure. We are also intrigued as to this new platform of gathering evidence has been tapped into via the use of investigative journalism will pan out for the case. Very pleased to see that journalism of this calibre is appreciated.

For the time being, The Teacher’s Pet podcast has gone into hiatus, turning over the fresh evidence to police and leaving it in their hands.