Hi there. It's Tuesday, August 30 and you're reading The Loop, a quick wrap-up of today's news.
Let's start here: Chris Dawson has been found guilty of murder
After a marathon five-and-a-half-hour verdict, the 74-year-old former teacher and footballer was found guilty of murdering wife Lynette in January 1982.
The key findings included:
- Justice Ian Harrison said claims that Chris and Lynette Dawson spoke on the phone after January 8, 1982 were "lies" and an alleged sighting of her was "a fabrication"
- He believed Lynette Dawson didn't leave her home in Sydney's northern beaches "voluntarily"
- Justice Harrison said he was "satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that Lynette Dawson is dead"
- The judge found evidence from one of Dawson's former rugby league teammates about hiring a hitman to "get rid" of his wife was a lie
- Justice Harrison said he was satisfied beyond all reasonable doubt that Dawson was determined to leave his relationship with his wife and commence a relationship with schoolgirl 'JC'
- The judge said he was satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that Lynette Dawson died as a result of a conscious and voluntary act by Chris Dawson with the intention of causing her death
Dawson is now in custody, but his lawyer, Greg Walsh, has raised the prospect of a bail application ahead of a sentence date, and said it's "probable" that he will appeal his conviction.
Lynette Dawson's family also spoke outside the court, saying "the journey is not complete" and asking Dawson to tell them where her body is.
"She's still missing. We still need to bring her home. We would ask Chris also to find it in himself, to allow us to bring her home for peaceful rest," said Greg Simms, Lynette's brother.
We heard more details about the Queensland plane crash
Three people who died in a light plane crash west of Brisbane on Tuesday have been identified as millionaire businessman Tom Strachan, his son Noah and pilot Garry Liehm.
Police said initial information suggests the Cessna aircraft departed Dalby around 9am on Tuesday and was due to land at Archerfield Airport an hour later.
After conducting an aerial search in dense bushland near Fernvale, around an hour west of Brisbane, police located the wreckage and pronounced all three dead at the scene on Tuesday afternoon.
Queensland police inspector Mick Thiesfield said there was no record of communication from the plane that indicated the trio were in trouble, and police are working alongside the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) to determine the cause.
"The aircraft is displaced — it's over a period of some distance — and it's going to take quite some time, obviously, to put those parts together and then they'll [ATSB] have to reconstruct the aircraft to try to determine what happened," he said.
News alerts you might have missed
- Former rugby league coach and player Paul Green has been remembered as "a wonderful mate" at a funeral service at Kougari Oval, home of his first professional club, the Wynnum-Manly Seagulls in Brisbane
- NASA says it's too early to know whether Artemis 1 will launch as planned later this week, but will provide an update tomorrow at 8am AEST. The space agency called off its planned launch at the last minute overnight due to engine issues
What Australia has been searching for online
- Serena Williams. The tennis great is through to the second round of the US Open after defeating Danka Kovinić in straight sets, 6-3, 6-3. It's widely expected Williams will retire from tennis after the tournament
- Mariah Carey. The singer's home in Atlanta has been allegedly broken into by a gang targeting celebrities who "show their wealth on social media". A prosecutor says other celebrities, athletes and influencers have also been targeted by Drug Rich gang members
- Erin Molan. A Federal Court judge has awarded the broadcaster $150,000 in damages after finding she was defamed by a Daily Mail Australia article
One more thing
It's not just Cinderella and Kath Day-Knight who are partial to pumpkin travel — a man in the US has broken the Guinness World Record for riding 61 kilometres in a giant pumpkin down the Missouri River (yes, really).
Nebraska resident Duane Hansen spent years growing the whopping 384kg pumpkin in his garden before hollowing it out, dubbing it SS Berta, and paddling down the river.
He beat the previous 41km record that was first set in 2018 on his 60th birthday on August 27. Not a bad way to celebrate!
Still don't believe it? Let the video do the talking:
You're up to date
We'll be back with more tomorrow.
ABC/wires
