A man who lived next to a house where a woman vanished 36 years ago has revealed he found a black swimming costume ‘covered in something’ in his garden as police searched for her body.
Mother-of-two Lynette Dawson, 34, mysteriously went missing from her home in Bayview, north Sydney in 1982.
Two coroners concluded she was killed by her husband – former Newtown Jets rugby league star Chris Dawson – but police digging in the garden never found a body and he, maintaining his innocence, was never charged.
Now, a man who lived in the house next door about 10 years after Mrs Dawson’s disappearance has told of a ‘creepy’ discovery he made as a child.
The man said he found the costume at 6 Gilwinga Drive (pictured), which is opposite 2 Gilwinga Drive where he said Lynette and Chris Dawson used to live before she vanished
Mother-of-two Lynette Dawson (left with her daughter and right with husband Chris on their wedding day), 34, went missing from her home in Bayview, north Sydney in 1982
The man said he lived at 6 Gilwinga Drive, which is opposite 2 Gilwinga Drive where he said Lynette and Chris Dawson used to live.
He said number six used to be owned by Chris Dawson’s twin brother Paul, who also played for the Newtown Jets.
Speaking on the condition of anonymity, the man told Daily Mail Australia: ‘My family home was next door to the woman who went missing.
‘In the mid 1990s, my neighbours and I used to play as kids in the backyard – these properties have heaps of land, acres each.
‘The properties back on to a national park – it’s in Sydney but may as well be the jungle – full of goannas, snakes and kangaroos.
Mother-of-two Lynette Dawson, 34, mysteriously went missing from her home in Bayview, north Sydney in 1982. Pictured: 2 Gilwinga Drive where the neighbour said Lynette and Chris Dawson used to live
Mrs Dawson (pictured with her daughter) was last seen at Mona Vale on Sydney’s Northern Beaches in January 1982. Her last contact with her family was six days before her disappearance
In 1998, one officer found remains of Mrs Dawson’s favourite cardigan (pictured), which had been sliced with a knife – but no body was discovered
‘There are natural rocks everywhere and literally heaps of random places that can’t be found.
‘One day me and another kid found a random female swimming costume next to a huge rock. It was black and covered in something but I’m not sure what.
‘We didn’t think anything of it at the time so never mentioned it but looking back, it’s kind of creepy.’
The neighbour added: ‘The houses have been excavated heaps and had a lot of work done on them so are quite different now.’
He was speaking out after a builder who was contracted to do work on the Dawsons’ former house in 1988 said last week he thinks there could be a body in the garden.
Joe Cimino’s family company did some digging and concreting for the new owners of the house after Mr Dawson sold it in 1984.
Two coroners concluded Mrs Dawson (pictured) was killed by her husband but he maintains his innocence and her body was never found
Now builder Joe Cimino (pictured with his wife Sandra) who was contracted to do work on their house in 1988 has spoken out to say he thinks there could be a body in the garden
This is a replica of Joe Cimino’s diary note after he worked on the house of Neville and Sue Johnston in 1988. The couple bought the house, previously owned by the Dawsons, in 1987
He kept a diary note of the job which says he poured 11 cubic metres of concrete in areas of soft soil at the back of the home and near the swimming pool in the front garden.
Mr Cimino said the soil felt abnormally soft, which made him wonder if it had been dug up before.
‘I can remember this clear as today that the shovel was just going into dirt like I was cutting a cheesecake, it was so soft,’ he told The Australian.
He said he remembers digging up some soil near the pool but there was a larger area he didn’t work on which her claims is ‘absolutely’ big enough to bury a body.
Joe Cimino’s family company did some digging and concreting for the new owners of the house after Mr Dawson sold it in 1984. Pictured: Mr and Mrs Dawson on their wedding day
In the 1970s Mr Dawson (pictured) played for the Newtown Jets in the New South Wales Rugby League
‘And the easiest place,’ he said. ‘When a pool’s constructed you always over-excavate and then backfill.
‘It concerns me because if I was going to get rid of a body, to pull up those pavers and excavate down there and place the pavers back and cover it up is not a huge job to do.’
Mr Cimino said he was never contacted by police investigating the suspected murder – but came forward after hearing about it on The Australian ‘s investigative podcast series The Teacher’s Pet.
A source close to Mr Cimino told Daily Mail Australia: ‘Hopefullly this helps the family solve the issue and she gets found.’
Mrs Dawson was last seen at Mona Vale on Sydney’s Northern Beaches in January 1982. Her last contact with her family was six days before her disappearance.
Two separate coroners’ inquires in 2001 and 2003 found Mrs Dawson was murdered by Mr Dawson but he was never charged and insists he is innocent.
Sports teacher Mr Dawson was having an affair with one of his 16-year-old pupils, his babysitter Joanne Curtis, at the time.
When the pair broke up in 1990, she urged police to search around the swimming pool of the house.
In 1998, one officer found remains of Mrs Dawson’s favourite cardigan, which had been sliced with a knife – but no body was discovered.
Despite numerous police appeals for information, the case remains a mystery.
Mr Dawson now lives in Noosa, Queensland with his third wife.
Chris Dawson married Lynette Simms (left and right, together) when they were both aged 21
Mr and Mrs Dawson with one of their two children. Mr Dawson now lives in Noosa, Queensland with his third wife