Sahar Mourad
Legal

Lynette’s former colleague “saw bruises” on her throat

Lynette Dawson’s former colleague has claimed she saw bruises on the nurse's throat before she disappeared 40 years ago. 

Chris Dawson has pleaded not guilty to murdering his wife Lynette, who went missing from the family home in Sydney's Northern Beaches in January 1982. 

Annette Leary, Lynette’s former colleague, told the NSW Supreme Court that she had asked Lynette about the bruises on her neck after the pair had attended a couple’s counselling session. 

"She said that Chris had grabbed her throat and shook her a little and said 'if this doesn't work, I'm getting rid of you...I am only doing it once'," Leary told the court, Nine News reported.

A few days after their conversation, Lynette’s contract with the hospital ended following a phone call from Dawson saying she needed time away.

"Lyn had gone away, she needed some time out and he didn't know when she was coming back,” centre director Barbara Cruise recalled at court.

Cruise told the judges that she was doubtful that Lynette had left on her own accord and looked up her mother’s phone number before raising the alarm. 

It comes as the former babysitter, who became Dawson's mistress and then his wife, has taken the stand at his murder trial.

The woman, who has been known only as JC throughout the high-profile trial, first met Dawson in 1980 when he was her Year 11 sports teacher at Cromer High School.

The following year, the teenager had moved in with Dawson, his wife Lynette, and their two children to work as their live-in babysitter.

She told the judges that Dawson had driven her to a pub in western Sydney, claiming to have wanted to hire a hitman to kill Lynette. 

"I went inside to get a hitman to kill Lyn and then I decided I couldn't do it because innocent people could be hurt,” JC said.

The conversation was kept private until 1990, when Dawson and JC split - she rejects claims that she made it up during the divorce and custody battle. 

The trial continues. 

Images: Nine News

Tags:
Lynette Dawson, Chris Dawson, Teacher's Pet, NSW Supreme Court