A former neighbour allegedly saw Chris Dawson push his wife, Lynette, up against a trampoline and scream at her shortly before she went missing, a court has been told.
Mr Dawson is on trial for allegedly murdering his then-wife in 1982, but on Monday his lawyers told the NSW Supreme Court it was he who was the victim of improper police investigations that disregarded evidence Ms Dawson was still alive.
Defence barrister Pauline David told the judge-alone trial that, although the former professional footballer had failed as a husband, that did not mean he had killed his wife.
Ms Dawson has not made contact with her family or friends since January 8, 1982.
Although her remains have never been found, the Crown is arguing that Mr Dawson wanted to "get rid" of Lynette so he could be with the family's babysitter.
Julie Andrew lived next to the Dawsons in the Sydney suburb of Bayview and took to the witness box to describe a day in December, 1981, when she allegedly heard "wailing" coming from her neighbour's property.
She said that, on further investigation, she saw Mr Dawson "shaking" Ms Dawson as he held her against the trampoline in their backyard with at least one hand.
"He was screaming at her and she was crying," she said.
"He was towering over her … he was roaring at her."
Ms Andrew said she couldn't hear what Mr Dawson was saying but he eventually let Ms Dawson go and walked back into the house.
She said Ms Dawson then said: "What's Daddy doing to us?"
Ms Andrew said a few hours later she popped over to see Ms Dawson, who told her she was upset because the family babysitter, who cannot be named, was moving into the home permanently and Mr Dawson was infatuated with her.
"I said: 'You can't let her live here. This is your house. You can't have her move in'," Ms Andrew told the court.
"Lyn then became defensive … I had to shake her up … I said: 'Lyn, you can't have her move in here. [Mr Dawson's] f*****g the babysitter'."
Ms Andrew told the court that Ms Dawson had told her about a time she came home from work early and caught Mr Dawson and the babysitter in bed together.
"She said, 'I'm sure she just wasn't feeling well and he was looking after her'," Ms Andrew said.
This was the last time Ms Andrew says she saw Ms Dawson and she gradually realised that only Mr Dawson, the babysitter and the Dawson children appeared to be living in the house.
"I kept ringing. I never got through. The phone was never answered," she told the court.
"I was too nervous to go up and knock on the door."
Mr Dawson reported his former wife missing at the Mona Vale police station on February 18, 1982, and, later that year, told police he had contacted "all girlfriends" of Ms Dawson concerning her whereabouts.
However, Ms Andrew said Mr Dawson never called nor stopped by to see if she had heard from his wife, despite the fact the pair were good friends who socialised most weeks.
Defence barrister Ms David accused Ms Andrew of not putting in enough effort to find out where her "close friend" was.
"To my great regret and shame I did not," she said.
Ms Andrew told the court she was "frightened" of Mr Dawson as he had a "really unsettling manner" and, on occasion, she had seen bruises on Ms Dawson's arms.
Ms David accused Ms Andrew of coming to court to portray Mr Dawson in the "most monstrous" way possible, which she denied.
"I've come to tell the truth," she said.
Mr Dawson has pleaded not guilty to murder and claims his former wife rang him on January 9, 1982, to tell him she was going away and "not to worry".
As part of his defence, Mr Dawson will rely on several alleged sightings of Ms Dawson after this date, including around the Gladesville Hospital and on Macquarie Street, which he says police never properly followed up.
"It's a sad fact that, at times, people do make difficult choices in difficult circumstances and that people, like Lyn, do — from time to time — disappear," Ms David said in her opening statement Monday.
The trial continues.
