[7] Between 1972 and 1976, Chris and his identical twin brother Paul played professional rugby league football for the Newtown Jets.
In 1975, the Dawson brothers and their spouses appeared on the ABC documentary program Chequerboard to discuss how the twins' close bond affected their lives.
[8][9] After ending their rugby careers, the Dawson brothers found employment as physical education teachers, with Chris working at Cromer High School near Sydney.
[5] After investigations by the New South Wales Police proved inconclusive, the NSW State Coroner conducted two coronial inquiries into Lynette's disappearance.
At the first inquest held in February 2001, the Deputy State Coroner Jan Stevenson determined that Lynette had been murdered and that her killer was someone she knew.
The coroner recommended charges be laid; however, Nicholas Cowdery QC, the NSW Director of Public Prosecutions, assessed that there was insufficient evidence for a criminal conviction.
[18] He also faced a charge of carnal knowledge with a girl between the ages of 10 and 17, relating to his sexual relationship with Curtis while still a teacher at Cromer High School.
[20][22] In May 2022, Justice Robert Beech-Jones granted Dawson's application for a judge-alone trial after he argued the "extensive pre-trial publicity meant a jury was unsuitable in his case.
[23] The prosecution presented a circumstantial case, alleging Dawson's motive for murder was his desire for an "unfettered relationship" with Curtis.