Focused on the unsolved disappearance of Sydney mother-of-two Lyn Dawson, who was last seen on January 8, 1982, The Teacher's Pet delves into the life and marriage of the 33-year-old, revealing that her friends and family are certain she was murdered - and certain it was at the hands of her husband, Chris Dawson.
Produced by The Australian and hosted by the national chief correspondent Hedley Thomas, the podcast drops a bomb in the early stages of episode 1: Chris, a former star football player, who had started teaching at Cromer High on Sydney's Northern Beaches, groomed a vulnerable 16-year-old student named Joanne Curtis, soon entering into an affair with the teenager which lasted over a year.
It then reveals that Chris moved Joanne into the family home with Lyn and their two children on the basis that she was the children's babysitter, putting a huge strain on his marriage.
"As Chris brazenly moved his teenage lover into the family home, Lyn saw the cracks in her marriage widen," The Australian writes. "It was crumbling all around her. Unable to believe the worst of her husband, she responded with denial, but to her family and friends Lyn’s suffering was clear. And the toll was not just emotional."
Despite being the prime suspect in the case, two days after reporting his wife missing, Chris and Joanne went public with their relationship. Chris has always maintained that Lyn is alive, though there is no evidence to support the theory and no one believes she would have gone so long without contacting her beloved daughters, Shanelle and Sherryn.
"I just want justice, and I want her little girls to know she didn't leave them," a friend says in the podcast's opener.
Though only three episodes have been released so far, the series touches on Chris' unusually close relationship with his twin brother, Paul, the horrible culture at Cromer High - where a former student says at least six teachers were sleeping with students - and new details about Lyn's disappearance.
Watch the trailer below and then get listening here.
