Hedley Thomas
If you thought you knew the story of The Teacher’s Pet, get ready to be shocked. Hedley Thomas takes you behind the scenes with a blow-by-blow account of one of the most intriguing and enduring murder mysteries of our time – the crime, the podcast investigation, the sexual exploitation of teenage students, the courtroom drama – and how justice was finally delivered.
Lynette Simms disappeared from Sydney’s idyllic Northern Beaches in 1982 and was never seen again.
Lyn was a caring nurse, loving mother and devoted wife. Her husband Chris Dawson was a rugby league star, a popular teacher and exceptionally close to his identical twin brother, Paul. But this facade of domestic bliss was shattered when Chris became infatuated with the family’s babysitter – his 16-year-old student – a girl he moved into Lyn’s home and bed just two days after her disappearance.
Thirty-six years later, investigative journalist Hedley Thomas revisited the story in a record-breaking podcast series that captured the unconditional support of Lyn’s friends, colleagues, neighbours and family, and an international audience. With fresh leads and old evidence resulting in a public groundswell for authorities to take action, Chris was arrested in late 2018 and after a dramatic trial was found guilty of murder in August 2022.