Chris Dawson has formally entered a plea of not guilty after being charged with the murder of his wife Lynette, who has been missing for 37 years.
According to the news outlet, Greg Walsh, the former rugby league star’s lawyer, entered the plea at Downing Centre Local Court on Thursday.
The matter is due back before the same court on August 8.
The disappearance of mother-of-two Lynette Dawson attracted widespread attention last year after The Australian journalist Hedley Thomas made the cold case the focus of his podcast The Teacher’s Pet, which was listened to by millions of people worldwide.
Following the success of the true crime podcast, with a renewed public interest in the case, police launched a new forensic search at the former home of the Dawson family in Bayview in September last year. However the search of the $2.4 million property turned up nothing of interest.
Lynette has not been seen since January 9, 1982, when the 33-year-old mother went missing from the home she shared with Chris and their two young daughters, with her husband claiming at the time that she had said she needed some time away. Just a few days later, he moved his schoolgirl lover into the family home.
Dawson didn’t inform police that his wife was missing for nearly six weeks.