Queensland Man Arrested For Murder of Northern Beaches Mother Lynette Dawson

NSW Police addressed the media following the arrest of a man in Queensland on December 5 in relation to the 1982 disappearance of Northern Beaches woman Lynette Joy Dawson.“Just before 8am today (Wednesday, December 5), a 70-year-old Coolum man was arrested by detectives from the Queensland Police Service’s Homicide Squad,” a statement issued by NSW Police said.NSW Police Commissioner Mick Fuller and Detective Superintendent Scott Cook spoke to media outside the NSW Police Headquarters in Parramatta at about 11:30 am on Wednesday.They said due to the work of the media, which encouraged extra evidence and statements, they were able to make the arrest.Commissioner Fuller said the fact that the body of Lynette Joy Dawson had not been found by police was not critical to the case.“We’ve solved homicides before without identifying the body.

We won’t give up on trying to identify the whereabouts of Lynette Dawson but it’s not crucial in the matter,” he said.At the time of reporting, the Coolum man was waiting to go before the courts to be extradited to NSW.

He cannot be named.“An extradition process will commence where we hope to have him back in NSW in the coming days,” Commissioner Fuller said.Lynette Dawson disappeared 36 years ago.

Her body has never been found by police.

Her disappearance came under new scrutiny thanks to popular true crime podcast The Teacher’s Pet.On September 17, police conducted a forensic dig at her former home in Bayview in Sydney’s northern beaches.Her husband, rugby league player and teacher Chris Dawson, had previously been named by police as a suspect in her disappearance.

Credit: NSW Police Force via Storyful