The narrative of slain mother Lyn Dawson is dominated by three relationships: her marriage to Chris, his extramarital liaison with a young woman, and their unbreakable bond with Paul, his identical twin.
There is the typical brotherly relationship that is often seen, the sometimes eerie parallels between twins, and then there is the very strange affinity between the Dawson siblings.
The Dawson brothers shared a close closeness for 74 years when they lived, worked, and played, which is borderline odd to anyone outside of their two-man bubble.
The Dawson brothers decided to join the same sports teams, pursue the same occupations, and buy property to construct houses in the same neighbourhood once they finished school.
They attended teacher’s college, played professional rugby league for the same team in the same position, and did so for the same length of time. They also held the same positions at the same or neighbouring schools.
When they weren’t working, they ran side by side on road runs, worked as trash collectors, models, and personal trainers, and each fathered three children.
Additionally, they had relationships with former students, and according to testimony presented at a 2003 coronial inquiry, both had relations with the babysitter Chris would later wed.
Four years ago, a new inquiry into Lyn Dawson’s 1982 disappearance propelled the Dawson brothers to the forefront of the world’s media. As usual, they adhered firmly.
They were both 70 years old at the time, residing in Queensland (Paul on the Gold Coast and Chris on the Sunshine Coast), and they often got together.
Paul’s Subaru SUV had “1 TWIN” licence plates, whereas Chris’s Volkswagen van had “2 TWIN” plates.
Justice Ian Harrison ruled that Chris had determined to kill Lyn after being fixated with the young babysitter JC during that marriage, and he was found guilty of Lyn’s murder on Tuesday.
The more assertive of the two, his brother will now need to get used to living without his almost constant companion.
Unlike his twice-divorced brother, Paul was a better football player, a more successful teacher (becoming a deputy principle), and has been married to the same lady, Marilyn, for more than 40 years.
The Dawson brothers were cited as stating it was “wonderful being a twin because you have a mate for life no matter what happened” in a 1989 media interview unconnected to Lyn Dawson’s disappearance.
We always requested to be in the same classes at school, and we have played the same sports together our whole lives, they stated, adding that they ‘enjoy it.
The Australian newspaper’s popular podcast, The Teacher’s Pet, which has been downloaded by 30 million listeners worldwide, highlighted the closeness of the brothers.
On July 26, 1948, Syd and Joan Dawson welcomed Christopher Michael and Paul Anthony into the world. First into the world was Paul.
The couple had their own private language when they were little and later needed speech treatment to be understood by others.
Lynette Joy Simms was in the fifth form of Sydney Girls High while the males attended Sydney Boys High, and the three of them later became prefects.
The brothers earned teaching credentials from Balmain Teachers’ College before going on to the University of New England to get arts degrees. Both went on to teach physical education.
In 1970, Chris and Lyn were hitched. The twins had been playing rugby union for Eastern Suburbs since 1967. In 1972, they moved to league and became second rowers for the Newtown Jets.
Paul was thought to be the more skilled player, therefore the two apparently went to the inner-city club since it was the only place that would accept them both.
The younger sibling was referred to as “Cranky Chris” by his teammates, a coronial inquest heard in 2003. Passive Paul was his elder brother.
Sergeant Matt Fordham told coroner Carl Milovanovich that Chris and Paul Dawson tended to keep to themselves among their football buddies. Without one another, “they seemed to be shy and fragile.”
The brothers made an appearance in 1975 on an edition of the ABC show Chequerboard that focused on the unique bond between twins.
The brothers were seen on camera during that episode watching each other lift weights in front of a mirror.
One of the twins stated, “Quite frequently you’ll notice a mirror of yourself and immediately away you say, “Ha, it’s the other one.”
Naturally, when you realise it’s you, you kind of giggle to yourself that you might possibly be misunderstood.
Our whole lives are really mirror images of one another.
They can hardly be considered to be married to one guy when you’re so close, so the interviewer questioned the brothers whether it was difficult for their wives to be married to twins.
When the interviewer questioned if they had ever “pulled the trick” of switching places with their spouses, they laughed.
No, no, Paul.
That’s a definite no, no, we haven’t, says Chris.
That’s most definitely an emphatic no, Paul.
However, Paul believed that when people begin dating twins, they become aware of their link and tend to accept it.
And until they did embrace this, you know, this tie or this relationship between their spouse and his twin, they wouldn’t get into anything like marriage.
What it was like to be married to an identical twin was another topic covered by Lyn Dawson.
I hadn’t give in sharing him much attention until someone asked, “What is it like sharing a husband?” a few years ago, she said.
And since I hadn’t given it any consideration and you simply joined in, it seemed absurd to me. You promote their intimacy, not that it need any support. When someone asked, “What is it like sharing a husband?” a few years ago, I hadn’t given sharing him any consideration.
Both brothers purchased property parcels in the middle of the 1970s at Gilwinga Drive in Bayview, a few hundred metres apart, on Sydney’s northern beaches.
They engaged the same contractor to build their dream houses, and they subsequently hired the same business to install swimming pools.
After having difficulty becoming pregnant, Lyn gave birth to a daughter in 1977 and another two years later. Three girls were already born to Paul and Marilyn.
At the conclusion of the 1977 season, the Dawson brothers parted ways with the Jets and joined the Gosford Townies on the Central Coast, where they won a championship in 1978.
Later, they served as co-captain coaches for the neighbourhood Belrose Eagles for two seasons.
In 1977, the Dawson brothers assisted Manfred Moore in learning how to tackle when he was a member of the Newtown Jets, a short-lived NFL team. Moore and the Oakland Raiders won the Super Bowl in 1976.
On the northern beaches, they were regarded by many as small celebrities because they were attractive, well-built, and photogenic.
Paul was a physical education teacher at Forest High when Lyn Dawson vanished, and Chris had a similar position at adjacent Cromer High, where he seduced a pupil he later referred to as “JC” in court.
The sibling rivalry was discussed by Sergeant Fordham in his final arguments during the 2003 coronial inquest.
Chris was always striving, according to Sergeant Fordham, “to live up to the standard established by his elder twin brother.”
According to my input, there was some kind of sibling rivalry between the two twin brothers about their connections with women, money, jobs, prestige, athletic ability, and property.
The brothers supposedly had a sexual propensity towards schoolgirls as a result of their same experiences and interests.
Chris Dawson had a reputation among his friends for having affairs, Sergeant Fordham said during the coronial inquest in 2003.
“Some of these involved his twin brother Paul’s involvement, and the brief contains evidence that sex was planned for his brother as a form of gift-giving.”
Chris Dawson’s ability to maintain appearances with his twin brother appears to have been crucial to maintaining his sense of self-worth.
At the 2003 inquest, Detective Sergeant Damian Loone stated: “[JC] confirms that she had sexual contacts with Paul Dawson, including encounters with both Christopher and Paul Dawson together, at Christopher Dawson’s encouragement.”
In 1998, JC admitted to Detective Sergeant Loone that Marilyn and Paul Dawson were aware of her relationship with Chris.
She responded, “Well, Paul did because he was dating young girls all over the place, so you know, he was…”
I wouldn’t name names, but he had relationships going with schoolgirls, you know.
“Did Marilyn know Paul was having affairs?” inquired Detective Sergeant Loone.
Well, I wouldn’t mention any names, but he did have relationships with schoolgirls.
JC: “I don’t believe so, but I’m not sure.” I have no idea since it was unquestionably taking place right in front of her. Whether or whether she just ignored it.
In the same interview, JC said that Chris Dawson was a narcissist and that his sister was the only other person in the world to whom he really cared.
He was quite possessive and antisocial, but he was unquestionably the most significant person and nobody else really mattered, she said.
Paul was, you know, very, very important to him, but, you know, being a twin, that’s not unusual.
It seems certain that on January 8 or 9, 1982, when Lyn vanished from Bayview, Paul Dawson, his wife, and their kids were at Lake Munmorah on the Central Coast.
Since then, Mrs. Dawson has not been seen, and before Chris Dawson was officially charged with her murder in 2018, two coroners had recommended that action. He has always maintained his innocence.
There is no indication that his elder twin brother may have had a hand in Lyn Dawson’s abduction.
NSW investigators questioned Paul Dawson in March 1999 about his knowledge of his brother’s marriage and his sister-in-disappearance. law’s
He stated, “I believe they were both unhappy with some facets of their marriage. “They both likely had valid beefs…
Chris is my twin brother, so it goes without saying that we are close. I believe they were working things out between themselves.
In that interview, Paul disclosed to authorities what Chris had told him: that Lyn had called him after she vanished, that she had been seen on the Central Coast, and that it was possible that she had fled with a religious organisation.
Although he acknowledged that Lyn Dawson was a good mother, he thought she lacked excessive affection. He said they had never had sex.
Detective: “Did you ever have a connection with [JC] about [JC]?”
No, says Paul Dawson.
No physical connection, detective?
“No. No,” said Paul Dawson.
Detective: “There is absolutely no relationship?”
“No. No,” said Paul Dawson.
the oldest daughter of Chris and Lyn Dawson. Since January 1982, Lyn has been missing.
He did, however, acknowledge that he had been dating a former Forest High student for a few months.
Although Chris denied ever having sex with the same youngster, Paul claimed to have had intercourse with the kid in “different settings,” including once at his house.
He was certain that his brother was unrelated to the abduction of his wife.
He is, after all, my twin brother. He would not have been involved in Lyn’s disappearance in any way.
It wouldn’t have occurred, he said. He’s my twin brother, so of course I know he wouldn’t have, I don’t know, whatever, had any role in Lyn’s abduction.
If Chris honestly felt Lyn wanted to come home after a brief absence from their marriage, he and Marilyn had thought about how Chris would explain JC staying with him.
According to his memories, “I believe we asked ourselves the same question at the time,” he remarked. “I don’t know, I think Marilyn and I probably said the same thing. I’m not sure how they planned to resolve it.
Around the same time that Paul and Marilyn made the same move to the Queensland Gold Coast, Chris and JC got married.
According to Paul in his 1999 police statement, they would not need as much money or cover as they had in Sydney, therefore before the relocation both brothers cashed in their life insurance policies.
Would you agree that, even taking into account the fact that you were twins, you were somewhat closer than maybe twins would anticipate being?
Paul Dawson: “We… are close twins.
Yeah. If you’re not a twin, it can be difficult to understand, but they are close, so, yeah.
Given their proximity, has Chris ever hinted at anything troubling that could have transpired?
Paul Dawson: “Absolutely none.”
The day her husband was interrogated, so was Marilyn Dawson.
My husband and his twin are very close, so we were fairly deeply involved in Chris and Lyn’s lives, she said.
I wanted Lyn to stand up for Chris, her marriage, and the kids, but she chose not to…
“She appeared weak when I needed her to be powerful,” I said.
“I would have fought and in a way I did fight for my marriage,” said the speaker. “My husband was his twin and, you know, whatever Chris was doing my husband may have been doing too.” I fought for my husband, and I wish Lyn had.
I fought for my husband because whatever Chris was doing, my husband might have been doing it as well.
Marilyn Dawson discussed the personalities of Chris and Paul instead of being questioned about her husband’s relationship with a former pupil.
Paul and I would stay up late at night transcribing Chris’s projects while he was doing his university work, she said.
I think my husband is the one with the dominant personality and the most common sense. I also think he loves his brother and would do whatever it took to protect him.
“But I don’t think Chris could do anything to hurt his wife Lyn, and I don’t think my husband could keep it from me,” she said.
Marilyn was directly questioned as to whether she thought her husband would mislead her or the police regarding Chris’s alleged involvement in Lyn’s disappearance.
I don’t think he would do anything to make it difficult for you to do your job, she said. But after his wife and family, “but I’m telling you that his twin is the most, probably the most important person to him in the world.”
In 2003, Sergeant Fordham brought up the claims that Paul Dawson had sex with a pupil once again in his closing arguments.
Photograph of Chris and Lyn Dawson on their wedding day, March 26, 1970. Mr. Dawson is now in his third marriage to Sue after marrying his teenage love, JC, in 1984.
The accusation that he and Chris had intercourse with a different female student at the same time is also bluntly refuted in his interview record, according to Sergeant Fordham.
Despite the fact that the girl’s statement describes events that could only have happened during her school years, Paul also maintains that his relationship with her did not take place while she was a student.
Peter Dawson, a lawyer, represented Chris and Paul Dawson during the 2003 inquest and argued that Lyn’s disappearance should remain under investigation.
The coroner was informed by Peter Dawson that “the investigating officers also hinted at Paul Dawson’s involvement in Lynette’s disappearance and my friend has suggested some sinister connection between them.”
“Sir, I respectfully think that all that has been shown is a very strong sibling relationship.”
The NSW Supreme Court hearing where their brother was convicted of killing Lyn was attended by Paul and Peter.
After the judgement, Chris shook his head angrily as he was carried down to the cells, and Paul mumbled, “Bull****.”
Later, Sky News reporter Gabriella Power met Paul in neighbouring Hyde Park, thinking he was his brother who had been arrested but whom she had not seen.
‘Chris, you’re heading to Silverwater. Do you have any comments to make? Power questioned Paul.
You moron, I’m Paul, he retorted.