(CTN NEWS) – An Australian former high school teacher featured in the hit podcast "The Teacher's Pet" has been sentenced to 24 years in prison for murdering his wife 40 years ago.
Following pressure from the 2018 podcast, the police decided to reopen the cold case against Christopher Dawson.
Australia ‘Teacher’s Pet’ podcast subject gets 24-year sentence for 1982 murder – https://t.co/jT1uRdYtzp
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According to a 2003 inquest, Dawson should have been charged with killing his wife Lynette, but prosecutors decided against it due to a dearth of proof.
During the sentencing, New South Wales Supreme Court Judge Ian Harrison stated, "Dawson has enjoyed 36 years in the community, unhindered by the taint of a conviction for killing his wife or by any punishment for doing so."
"His refusal to accept responsibility for the crime has helped him clearly, practically speaking."
Popular Australian podcast The Teacher's Pet cover.— Apple Podcast
Greg Walsh, Dawson's attorney, said he intended to challenge the verdict.
He told the reporters on Friday that "the presumption of innocence is the foundation of our legal system and democracy." "He continues to act innocently."
Greg Simms, Lynette Dawson's brother, said the family accepted the judgment.
"We respect and appreciate Judge Harrison's decision, and we hope Chris Dawson lives a long life to pay that sentence," he said in a statement to the media.
When Dawson reaches the age of 92 in 2040, he will be able to apply for parole.
While the punishment will comfort the victim's family, the case is still open, according to Dan Doherty, a murder detective involved in filing the charge. This is because the victim's body has not yet been found.
A file photograph of Chris Dawson (right) after he was extradited from the Gold Coast to Sydney, where he was charged with the murder of his wife, Lynette Dawson. Photograph: Dan Himbrechts/EPA
How Did The Murder Occur?
The Supreme Court concluded in August that Dawson killed his wife on purpose in January 1982 to have an affair with a young student who had babysat for him and moved into his Sydney house at the time.
Harrison criticized Dawson's 74-year-old assertion that his wife had abandoned him as improbable.
Lawyers for Dawson claimed that the podcast "The Teacher's Pet," created by News Corp's Australian newspaper, denied him a fair trial because of how he was portrayed.
Dawson was tried without a jury because of the attention surrounding the case.
Harrison concurred that the podcast, which the newspaper reports have been downloaded more than 50 million times, threw a poor light on Dawson, but it had no bearing on the decision.
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