Judge hopes to deliver verdict ‘relatively quickly’ as Chris Dawson trial ends
Chris Dawson’s marathon murder trial in NSW is over, with his fate now in the hands of Supreme Court Justice Ian Harrison.
The accused wife killer remains on bail and will return home to Queensland until the verdict is handed down in the nine-week trial of the murder of his wife Lynette in 1982.
There were allegations of domestic violence, bruises seen on the mother-of-two, claims of hiring a hitman and Dawson’s alleged desire to have an “unfettered relationship” with the family’s teenaged babysitter, JC.
But the defence argued the former teacher was framed by his teenage lover turned second wife in the heat of a bitter custody battle.
The finger was also pointed at prejudiced police and journalist Hedley Thomas, accused of contaminating witnesses through The Teacher’s Pet podcast.
“As the case has gone up, obviously the defence was also discussing the influence of the podcast and questions about contamination of witnesses, what impact it may have on the fairness of this trial and the recollection of some of those witnesses,” 2GB reporter Josh Bryant told Gareth Parker on 6PR Breakfast.
Tap PLAY to hear Josh discuss more about the intriguing case