The journalist behind The Teacher's Pet podcast has told a court he wanted justice for Lynette Dawson, believing she had been killed by her husband in January 1982.
Giving evidence in the murder trial of Christopher Michael Dawson on Monday, The Australian's Hedley Thomas said he had produced the 2018 podcast to help Mrs Dawson's family seek justice for their daughter and sister who had vanished with no explanation.
"And so justice for Lyn meant to you, didn't it, the prosecution of Christopher Dawson," asked defence barrister Pauline David.
"I think that is a fair call, yes," Thomas replied.
The Teacher's Pet examined the disappearance of Mrs Dawson, strongly suggesting her husband had been involved in her disappearance. In an interview with 60 Minutes, Thomas said she had been killed in cold blood.
On Monday, the Walkley award winner said the podcast episodes had been downloaded 60 million times internationally, but did not know how many individual listeners there had been.
Dawson, now 73, is accused of murdering his wife and disposing of her body in January 1982 to have an unfettered relationship with his babysitter and former student, known as JC. He has pleaded not guilty.
Thomas said he had tried to tell as full a story as possible with the podcast, saying that Dawson was the only suspect he knew about over the alleged murder.
He denied accusations by Mrs David that he had engaged in a campaign to incite prejudice against Dawson, saying he remained open to evidence that Mrs Dawson had not been murdered.
"If I had uncovered or received information from anybody that disrupted, changed the narrative ... that would have become a very significant part of the podcast," he said.
Dawson's legal team have claimed evidence provided to police and the court by key witnesses has been contaminated by the negative tone of The Teacher's Pet and interviews done with Thomas.
Allegations in the podcast included claims of sex rings in Sydney's northern beaches where teachers sought out students. Dawson worked at a high school in the area as a physical education teacher when he is alleged to have started his relationship with JC.
Thomas stood by statements he made on 60 Minutes that Dawson was a despicable, narcissistic and dangerous liar despite never having met him.
He said he had first viewed Dawson as suspicious when embarking on the podcast, telling the court this opinion had been strengthened as he talked with more people.
Former detective Damian Loone who examined the disappearance of Mrs Dawson from 1998 to 2015, also appeared in court and rejected claims he manipulated evidence because he believed she was murdered.
Mr Loone was accused of ignoring evidence that corroborated Dawson's accounts his wife had called him at the Northbridge Baths the day she was allegedly killed.
Ms David accused Mr Loone of concealing evidence from a 2003 inquest into Mrs Dawson's disappearance that one of the kiosk girls at the baths remembered the phone call and that family friend Phillip Day was there at the time and could corroborate the story.
"If a witness came forward with any evidence that might support Christopher Dawson, you would not have disclosed that in your investigation, I want to suggest," Ms David asked.
"I reject that completely," Mr Loone replied.
Dawson claims his wife rang him at Northbridge Baths to say she needed some time away and never returned home.
Mr Loone, who is now retired from the NSW Police Force, admitted that he had conducted the investigation in a creative manner where he thought outside of the square, but denied ignoring evidence suggesting Mrs Dawson was alive.
He told Justice Ian Harrison he believed there had been an inadequate investigation into the disappearance before he came on board, but rejected suggestions he had referred to the police officers who previously examined the case as meatheads.
The hearing continues.
