Body of evidence enough to charge

THERE is no body, no witness to any suspected murder, no forensic DNA traces and no confession but there appears to be enough circumstantial evidence for police yesterday to charge Chris Dawson with his wife’s death.

Given it is one of the country’s highest-profile investigations, legal experts said they expected Dawson’s legal team would be seriously considering seeking a trial by judge alone instead of a jury.

With the international success of The Australian’s Teacher’s Pet podcast, this could become the trial of the century.

“One of the major issues in a case like this is whether or not there has been such a level of publicity that it is determined that there is a risk a person may not get a fair trial,” Australian Lawyers Alliance spokesman Greg Barns said.

“However, it appears to be a circumstantial case and his lawyers may have a look at it all and think that they are better off with a jury.”

Next stop in the judicial process for Dawson, 70, is an appearance before a Sydney court this morning after he was yesterday extradited from Queensland. He has the choice to apply for bail. His lawyers could apply for a permanent stay of the proceedings based partly on the time that has passed since

Lyn Dawson disappeared in January, 1982.

Contested committal hearings, where the evidence is tested before the defendant is either committed for trial or the charges thrown out, were abolished in NSW this year but prosecution witnesses can still be cross-examined with the permission of the magistrate.

In the past decade there have been several convictions for murder in cases where the victim’s body was never found.