Former Sydney school teacher Chris Dawson murdered his first wife Lynette so he could pursue a relationship with the family babysitter, a judge has found.

In a marathon ruling that spanned five hours, Justice Ian Harrison said Dawson lied about receiving phone calls from his missing wife, and concluded she was killed on or around January 8, 1982.

Justice Harrison said Dawson, now 74, was "obsessed" with the family babysitter, known as JC, and sought to replace his wife with her.

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TIMELINE: Key events that lead to Chris Dawson's guilty murder verdict

"I am left in no doubt. I am satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that the only rational inference (is that) Lynette Dawson died on or about 8 January 1982 as a result of conscious or voluntary act committed by Christopher Dawson," the judge said.

He also said he was satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that Lynette did not abandon her family, and would not have left her two daughters.

He also dismissed claims Mrs Dawson had been seen alive after January 1982 or that she had contacted her husband.

"The whole of the circumstantial evidence satisfies me that Lynette Dawson is dead, that she died on or about 8 January 1982 and that she did not voluntarily abandon her home," the judge said.

Days after Lynette was last seen, the teenage babysitter moved in with Dawson.

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The former Newtown Jets rugby league player faced a marathon two-month trial before Justice Ian Harrison.

He was immediately handcuffed and taken into custody after the guilty verdict. He will be taken to Silverwater Jail ahead of his sentencing.

Lynette's family were sitting just a metre away from Chris Dawson as the verdict was reached.

They clasped each other's hands and gasped as he was led away.

Dozens of witnesses, including Chris' twin brother Paul, Lynette's brother and former detectives were called to give evidence.

Sightings of Lyn all dismissed

In the lengthy verdict, Justice Harrison discussed in detail every witness testimony.

He dismissed every testimony from witnesses who claimed they saw Lynette after she went missing.

He said the reported sighting of Lynette Dawson at a bus stop near Gladesville Hospital in Sydney by Chris' brother-in-law Ross Hutcheon was false .

Hutcheon gave evidence to police in 2019 in which he told detectives he was driving along Victoria Road months after she vanished when he saw the missing mother.

Hutcheon is married to Chris Dawson's sister, also called Lynette.

He died earlier this year before he could give evidence at trial, however the video of his police interview was played in court.

Justice Harrison also dismissed a supposed sighting of Lyn at a northern beaches hospital by neighbours, and testimony from a man who said he saw her in a bar in 1982.

"I find it very difficult to accept a casual meeting with a stranger in 1982" without any extra context would "make the occasion remarkable", the judge said.

Phone calls a 'lie'

Justice Ian Harrison said Chris Dawson's claim he received a phone call from Lynette at the Northbridge Baths on January 9, 1982 is "a lie".

"The only evidence that Mr Dawson received a call from Lynette is from Mr Dawson," he said.

"No one apart from Mr Dawson has ever received a phone call from Lynette Dawson since she was last spoken to on Friday January 8, 1982."

Justice Harrison said within the context of an emotional and stressful marriage breakdown: "I cannot accept that Lynette Dawson would merely have telephoned Mr Dawson to say that she needed more time."

He said it is his view "fanciful" to suggest such conversations "lacking in detail" ever occurred.

"It seems remarkable that a woman that was troubled enough to call… Did not feel the need to inform her husband when her final decision was reached."

Justice Harrison said it was concerning to him that Lyn never contacted anybody else besides Dawson.

Idea Lyn would have abandoned family 'ludicrous'

Justice Harrison has Dawson's claim Lyn left her family, in particular her children, is "ludicrous".

The Crown emphasised during the trial that the mother packed no clothes, no bags, no makeup and not even her contact lenses.

"It seems to me to be extremely unlikely that Lynette Dawson would have left without any personal effects," Justice Harrison said.

He repeated the most compelling argument against Lyn walking away from her family is the love she had for her young daughters.

Justice Harrison said: "I am satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that Lynette did not abandon her home".

Hitman claims dismissed

The trial heard evidence of two separate instances when Chris Dawson supposedly mentioned hiring a hitman to kill Lyn, but Justice Harrison ruled these were both unlikely.

The first claim came from Robert Silkman, who said Chris Dawson asked him about a hitman in 1975.

Silkman, a convicted criminal, testified that Dawson spoke to him on a flight home from the Gold Coast if he knew someone who could "get rid of" Lyn.

Justice Harrison said this claim "cannot be believed", is "entirely improbable" and a "fabrication".

The second claim came from JC – who said Dawson drove her somewhere in Western Sydney to speak to someone about a hitman.

Justice Harrison said this claim is "one of the most contentious" in the trial, Justice Harrison said and he is not satisfied Dawson ever said to JC he was contemplating hiring a hitman.

Hit podcast in the spotlight

The cold case came into the public's attention decades on thanks to a podcast named Teacher's Pet.

That podcast, which had to be taken off the internet during the trial, revealed new evidence which led police to charge Dawson with his missing wife's murder.

Justice Harrison was somewhat scathing of the podcast and it's creator – journalist Hedley Thomas – describing it as "less than balanced".

Dawson 'certain' to appeal guilty verdict, says lawyer

Chris Dawson is certain to appeal his guilty verdict, his lawyer has said.

Greg Walsh spoke outside court following Justice Ian Harrison's decision, and said his client still maintains his innocence.

"In respect of an appeal, I can confirm that it's probable that of course he will appeal against his conviction," Walsh said.

"Mr Dawson has always asserted, and he still does, his absolute innocence of the crime of which he's been convicted, and he will continue to assert that innocence.

"He will certainly appeal."

Walsh said Dawson is "in shock" and "upset" after being found guilty.

He said there could be an application for bail made ahead of sentencing – the date for which has not been said – due to Dawson's health.

"He's not well. He's been suffering from cognitive problems and also a lot of other, physical problems," Walsh said.

Walsh later said Dawson has been diagnosed with dementia, which may be a result of his rugby league career.

Former Australian of the Year Grace Tame has lamented the police response after she accused the man who sexually abused her of harassing her online.

Tame on Monday wrote on Twitter that she was dealing with "open threats and harassment" from her her maths teacher Nicolaas Bester, who groomed and raped her when she was 15.

She wrote today she had made a second report against Bester.

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"TasPol's response to the first open threat from April was for me to source the IP address," she tweeted on Tuesday afternoon.

"If it weren't for the fact that I work in the sector and advocate myself, I might have given up then."

"'Knowing is one thing, proving is another', they said," she wrote.

She wrote that her foundation had received "veiled, intimidating emails" that indicated one of their communication lines had been hacked.

"I was also told to identify speech patterns in evidence myself," she tweeted.

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A screenshot of an email included a long and bizarre rant directed at Tame's boyfriend.

Tame has been a vocal advocate for victims of child sexual abuse.

Bester was sentenced to two years and 10 months in jail for maintaining a sexual relationship with someone under the age of 17 and possession of child exploitation material, but released earlier.

Earlier this week Bester tweeted what appeared to be a threat.

"Here it comes! Only four weeks to go. The good old come-uppance is on its way," he tweeted, using Tame's childhood email address.

After Tame drew attention to the tweet, Bester's account was suspended.

"This is targeted harassment of a known victim of his past crimes, designed to cause further harm," she said.

"I've reported them to police, but our reactive justice system is too slow, and nothing's changed."

For help in a crisis call 000. If you or anyone you know needs support, you can contact the National Sexual Assault, Domestic and Family Violence Counselling Service on 1800RESPECT (1800 737 732), Lifeline 131 114, or Beyond Blue 1300 224 636.

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A cheating husband has accused his wife of "aggressively attacking" him years before she allegedly drove into him and his mistress.

Christie Lee Kennedy, 37, had been married to David Larkin for almost a decade when she discovered he was having an affair in March 2021.

She allegedly then got into her BMW SUV, tracked down her husband using a phone locator app, and hit him and Zowie Noring at Wavell Heights, in Brisbane's north.

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Kennedy got out of her car, grabbed Noring by the hair and punched her in the head while screaming obscenities, the District Court was told.

Larkin said there had been "aggression in the past" from his wife.

Years earlier she hit him in the back of the head and ripped his shirt off during an argument, Larkin said.

"She grabbed me and said 'you are not going anywhere' … she continued to try and … stop me from leaving," he said.

But defence barrister Penny White said Kennedy was the only one who was injured during the argument, suffering a rolled ankle that prompted her to visit a doctor.

"You didn't (visit doctor) though, did you? No," White said.

"You are doing everything you can I would suggest to paint yourself as a victim here and my client as the aggressor."

Larkin replied: "I did not harm her."

White then took Larkin to task about telling a hospital social worker after he was hit by the car that he was just friends with Noring.

Larkin had told the court on Monday that he had been having an affair with Noring but only "been intimate" once.

However, he said on Tuesday his memory of the hospital stay was foggy due to medication.

"You told her (social worker) that Christie thought that you were seeing someone else but this was not the case and she (Noring) is just a female friend – remember that?" White said.

"Surely you are not saying you were so under the influence of drugs you didn't know that you were more than a friend with Zowie at the time?"

When pressed Larkin said: "I believe you would interpret that as being a lie, I guess."

The jury on Tuesday was shown CCTV footage from a nearby home of the incident.

White suggested to Larkin that Kennedy asked if he was OK after the incident as he lay dazed on the road.

"You said 'yes, I can't believe you just did that to me'," White said.

"She said 'I am sorry but I can't believe that you did that to me either'."

But Larkin said: "Possibly. I had just been hit by a car, I can't be sure."

The court heard Kennedy had allegedly tracked down her husband and ran him over along with his lover, moments after discovering the affair.

Kennedy then got out of her car, grabbed the mistress by the hair and punched her in the head screaming "fat moll", Brisbane District Court was told.

Noring said she could recall being held by the hair and punched "multiple times" by Kennedy after she was struck by the car and regained consciousness.

"I was being called, excuse my French, 'you're a f—ing fat moll'," she said.

White told a jury, "She (Kennedy) found herself in a position no one would want to be in. She found out that her husband … was having an affair with another woman.

"The events that followed from that realisation … all happened in a matter of seconds after she found out."

Kennedy accelerated towards them in her BMW SUV, driving on the wrong side of road "for some time" before hitting the pair, crown prosecutor Jennifer O'Brien said.

"The footage will show that they were lined up and hit and rolled off the bonnet," O'Brien said.

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"There was no attempt to swerve away or correct course to stop her from hitting (the pair).

"Put simply … the defendant drove her car, a large and powerful object … and ran them over."

Larkin said he had been speaking to Noring for a few minutes before he heard a car "accelerating erratically" and looked up to see his wife's BMW, which he identified due to the personalised plates.

He said the next thing he remembered was "coming to on the roadway".

Larkin suffered head cuts, arm and leg bruising and swelling, rib pain and a dislocated finger.

Noring was treated for head cuts, abdominal pain, arm abrasions as well as thigh and ankle injuries.

Larkin said he had met Noring years ago through friends but had become close in the weeks prior to the incident after they had both been through "traumatic events".

He described his marriage as "fairly rocky" but initially denied sleeping with Noring before conceding he had been cheating on his wife.

"We were having an affair if that is how you want to describe it," Larkin said under cross examination.

Kennedy pleaded not guilty to two counts of unlawful assault causing bodily harm.

She pleaded guilty to unlawful assault.

The trial before Judge Tony Moynihan continues.

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The brother of convicted murderer Chris Dawson has clashed with members of the media outside court.

Paul Dawson emerged from the court to find a scrum of reporters and camera operators.

As he walked away, Paul was jostled into a Nine cameraman.

LYNETTE DAWSON FAMILY REACTION: 'Still need to bring her home'

A police officer had to step in after he pushed off the cameraman.

Paul then shook his finger and shouted at the media before walking off.

Chris and Paul Dawson are identical twins who both played rugby league for the Newtown Jets.

They both became PE teachers on the Northern Beaches of Sydney.

Chris Dawson was found guilty of murdering his wife Lynette, 40 years after she vanished.

LIVE UPDATES & REACTION: Chris Dawson murder trial verdict

Paul and his brother Peter were in court to support their brother.

Chris Dawson's lawyer Greg Walsh said an appeal was "probable".

"Mr (Chris) Dawson has always asserted and still does his absolute innocence of the crime he has been convicted," Walsh said.

The five-hour verdict handed down today came after a two-month trial.

Chris Dawson was immediately handcuffed and taken into custody after the guilty verdict.

He will be taken to Silverwater Jail ahead of his sentencing.

Paul was among dozens of witnesses who testified in the trial.

The whereabouts of Lynette's body remains unknown.

The cold case came into the public's attention decades on thanks to a podcast named Teacher's Pet.

That podcast, which had to be taken off the internet during the trial, revealed new evidence which led police to charge Dawson with his missing wife's murder.

TIMELINE: Key events that lead to Chris Dawson's guilty murder verdict

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