Chris Dawson is a former football player who competed professionally in rugby football. On the other hand, he has come a long way from those beautiful days to today, where he is serving time for the murder of his wife.
On August 30, a Sydney judge found Dawson, a retired educator, guilty of murdering his first wife, who mysteriously disappeared more than four decades ago in 1982. Dawson was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
After several years of investigations hampered by delays and dead ends, Dawson was finally arrested in December 2018 and formally charged with the murder. On May 9, 2022, hearing of his case began in the New South Wales Supreme Court.
He has been married twice and each time has produced a child for him. The first took place in 1970 with the woman who would later be identified as a murder victim, Lynette Dawson. After she disappeared, Dawson married one of his former students, Joanne Curtis, in 1984, but the couple later separated in 1993.
Where are Chris Dawson’s children currently living? Sherryn, Kristen and Shanelle Dawson in 2022.
Sherryn Dawson and Shanelle Dawson are the products of Chris Dawson’s first marriage to Lynette Dawson, which resulted in the birth of their respective children.
Her mother, Lynette, disappeared on Sydney’s northern beaches in 1982, and her eldest daughter, Shanelle, was just four years old at the time. And that was the very last time two of them would ever hear from her in their lives.
Dawson, her biological father, was initially ruled out as a possible candidate for the kidnapping and murder of his wife, Lynette, but it has now come to light that Dawson was the one who committed both crimes. Shanelle, who had just turned four at the time of the traumatic event, is now 44 and a mother herself.
The couple’s second daughter, Sherryn Dawson, was born in 1980 after Shanelle Dawson and is currently 42 years old. Sherryn Dawson was the second of the couple’s two daughters. On the other hand, no further information about her current whereabouts can be found at the moment. Sherryn doesn’t want to attract media attention as she is busy with her life and family and doesn’t want to draw attention away from them.
On the other hand, Dawson’s third child, Kristen Dawson, was born in 1985 and is the product of his second marriage to former classmate Joanne Curtis. The year 1984 marked Chris and Joanne’s wedding, and the following year saw the couple give birth to their daughter Kristen.
Kristen, who is now in her 30s with two young children, continues to live on Sydney’s North Beaches, close to her mother and not too far from where Chris and Lyn Dawson once called home.
Before Lynette Dawson disappeared she is shown here with her two daughters.
Recent developments in the case of Chris Dawson and information about his family
Sherryn, Kristen and Shanelle Dawson did not want to accept that their father Chris Dawson had murdered their mother Lynette. They just couldn’t believe it.
No wonder the 74-year-old denies any involvement in the kidnapping of his wife. Lynette Dawson disappeared from the city’s northern beaches in January 1982 and was never found after that.
Lawyers representing Dawson have proposed an alternative explanation for her disappearance, arguing that she may have abandoned her family after discovering her religious beliefs had been invalidated.
On the other hand, during a judge-only trial in the New South Wales Supreme Court, prosecutors alleged that he murdered Lynette to pursue a romantic relationship with her teenage babysitter and former student Joanne Curtis, whom he married in 1984, per the prosecution’s allegation was raised during the process.
In December 2018, Chris was arrested in Queensland and transported to New South Wales for further trial. He has been jailed pending the outcome of his wife’s murder trial, which is scheduled to take place in February 2020. It is said that he engaged in sexual activity with Curtis while he was still employed as a teacher at Cromer High School. He is also said to have had sexual relations with a student.
Shanelle and Sherryn Dawson are Lynette Dawson’s two daughters.
What happened to Chris Dawson’s wife? Murder of Lynette Dawson
Lynette Joy Dawson, born in 1948 and aged 33 when she disappeared on January 9, 1982, appeared to have vanished into thin air. Her husband Chris Dawson and their two daughters were the only people she left behind after her death.
Although her whereabouts and the whereabouts of her remains are currently unknown, investigations conducted by the Coroner Police have concluded that she was murdered.
It was the year 1970 when this event happened. Chris and Lynette, who met while students at the same high school, were married at St. Jude’s Church in Randwick, which is in Sydney. They turned 21 earlier this month. In the end they were blessed with two little ones.
On January 8, 1982, Lynette attempted to go to her mother’s home, which was in Northbridge Baths. However, she could not find a way to get there and subsequently disappeared. And that was the very last time anyone saw or heard from her.
Professional career in rugby
Eastern Suburbs were represented in rugby union by both Chris and Paul, who played for the team.
1972 was the year the Dawson brothers made the switch from rugby union to rugby league while playing for the Newtown Jets. Along with Paul, Chris Dawson spent all five seasons of the Newtown Jets Club playing back row for the team. The Dawson brothers made important contributions to the squad that won the 1973 New South Wales Rugby League Club Championship.
Subsequent career
Upon completing their respective rugby careers, Chris and Paul Dawson both held jobs as physical education teachers at public high schools on Sydney’s North Shore and North Beaches. When Dawson began having sexual intercourse with Joanne Curtis, then 16 and a student at Cromer High School, in 1981, he was married to Lynette Dawson at the time. During this time, Dawson was employed as a teacher at Cromer High School.
In 1985, the Dawson brothers and their families uprooted their lives and moved to Queensland. After beginning his career at Keebra Park State High School, Chris Dawson later followed his brother Paul to Coombabah State High School, where he began working with him.
In 2003, Dawson was employed at St. Ursula’s College, Yeppoon, located in Queensland.
Background by Lynette Dawson
In 1965, Lynette Simms and Chris Dawson first met at a meeting held at their respective high schools. Both were 16 years old. They married in 1970 at St. Jude’s Church, Randwick, located in the city of Sydney, and had two children. Both Chris and his identical twin brother Paul were members of the Newtown Jets professional rugby league football team in 1972 and 1976 respectively. In 1975, the Dawson brothers and their respective wives appeared on the documentary show Checkerboard, which aired on ABC. The purpose of their appearance was to talk about how the twins’ strong friendship has impacted their lives.
After ending their careers as professional rugby players, the Dawson brothers found work as physical education teachers. Chris Dawson is currently employed at Cromer High School near Sydney. Chris and Paul are both accused of regularly engaging in inappropriate sexual behavior with students at their respective schools; Chris is also accused of being one of six male teachers at Cromer High School who exploited students. Paul is also accused of engaging in inappropriate sexual behavior with female students at his school. In 1981, Chris pursued and maintained sexual relationships with Cromer University student Joanne Curtis, who had been invited by Chris to temporarily reside at the Dawson family home in Bayview. Chris also slept with Joanne. On January 10, 1982, two days after Lynette was reported missing, she moved in there permanently.
On January 8, 1982, Lynette’s mother called her. This would be the last time the two spoke to each other. The next day, she never showed up at Northbridge Baths, where she had expected to meet her mother and the rest of her family. Chris did not report his wife missing until February 18, 1982, after she had been gone for six weeks. He claimed that she left the relationship due to marital problems caused by her excessive use of credit cards. Chris indicated in a statement to police that she had become a member of a religious organization. In 1983 he settled the divorce proceedings against Dawson and married Curtis the following year.