Cop Who Caught Ivan Milat Weighs In On The Wild Theory That He Killed Lyn Dawson

Ivan Milat Chris Dawson Lyn Dawson Murder

Former Sydney rugby league player and subject of the podcast The Teacher’s Pet, Chris Dawson, has been charged with the murder of his wife Lynette Dawson, who went missing from Sydney’s Northern Beaches in 1982. But Chris’ brother Peter Dawson has floated the theory that Lyn was actually a victim of notorious serial killer Ivan Milat rather than her own husband.

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Back on Dec 12, Peter wrote to 7 News saying: “Milat… is alleged to have killed several women around the same time and in an area Lyn was seen”, adding that “Lyn didn’t drive”, seemingly linking Milat’s penchant for victimising hitchhikers with Lyn’s case.

But now Clive Small, the cop who headed the investigation that eventually nabbed backpacker murderer Milat in 1994, has trashed the theory suggested by Peter.

Former detective Small, who was at one stage the assistant commissioner of NSW Police, says a distinct lack of evidence disproves the claims.

Speaking to News.com.au, Small explained that geographically it didn’t make sense that Milat, who mainly operated in the western Sydney area of Liverpool, would cross paths with Northern Beaches local Lyn.

“I heard nothing to suggest that [Lyn] was hitchhiking, nothing to suggest that she was going down south, and nothing to suggest that she was in the Liverpool area”, Small told the outlet.

He added that extensive searches of the sprawling Belanglo State Forest south of Sydney, where Ivan Milat’s 7 confirmed victims’ remains were found during a four-month search operation, would have turned up physical evidence if there was any to be found.

Furthermore, if she’d been taken to Belanglo State Forest, I’m satisfied her remains would have been found, given the months that we spent in the forest searching it. When we set up a search of the forest, we made a commitment that we were not going to leave until we were satisfied we had searched the relevant parts of the forest totally, and that there was nothing else there to find.

Small adds that one of Milat’s signatures was to take “trophies” or “souvenirs” from his victims and place them in house, and points out: “There was no sign of anything coming from Dawson’s wife, of anything belonging to her there.”

Chris Dawson was granted bail on Monday, but remains behind bars in Sydney’s Silverwater Correctional Centre after complications with land deeds for his Gold Coast home failed to secure the $1.5million surety required to make bail.

SBS reports that his lawyer Greg Walsh said his client is “anxious” to get out of jail, although that may not occur until Xmas Eve.

Interested in true crime and cold cases? Then you might like Pedestrian’s All Aussie Mystery Hour podcast. Subscribe on iTunes HERE, or on Spotify HERE. Or, you can just listen / download below.

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