5 Dec 2018

Chris Dawson from Teacher's Pet podcast arrested by homicide squad

2:39 pm on 5 December 2018

Chris Dawson, the former husband of missing Sydney woman Lynette Dawson, has been arrested on Queensland's Gold Coast this morning.

An Australian police officer (file photo)

Photo: 123RF

The ABC understands the former Newtown Jets rugby league player, who is at the centre of the popular Teacher's Pet podcast, will be extradited to New South Wales as soon as possible.

Mr Dawson, 70, was arrested at Biggera Waters by detectives from Queensland Police Service's Homicide Squad.

He is expected to be charged with murder.

Ms Dawson disappeared from Sydney's northern beaches 37 years ago.

She was 33 at the time.

Her husband Chris Dawson, a former PE teacher, moved his schoolgirl lover into the family home just days after his wife went missing.

Mr Dawson told Lynette's family that she needed time away, and he did not report her missing to police for almost six weeks.

He continues to maintain he had nothing to do with his wife's disappearance.

In September, police searched Ms Dawson's former home but failed to discover any remains or items of interest.

Two separate coronial investigations have been held into Ms Dawson's disappearance.

New South Wales police's Strike Force Scriven was established in 2015 to reinvestigate the case.

Detectives from the taskforce asked the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) to review their brief of evidence in April.

An application for a warrant was lodged after NSW Police received advice back from the DPP earlier this week.

The podcast on the case, Teacher's Pet, has had millions of downloads and recently won The Australian's Hedley Thomas and Slade Gibson a Gold Walkley.

- ABC