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Killers in NSW will be refused parole if they don't reveal the whereabouts of the victim's body
Featured Image Credit: IOIO IMAGES / Alamy Stock Photo. Andriy Kravchenko / Alamy Stock Photo
New South Wales is set to introduce new rules that will make it 'impossible' for convicted killers to get parole if they don't give authorities information about their victim's body.
The state government's new ''no body no parole' laws will be introduced to parliament on Wednesday (September 21).
The new laws will impact six prisoners currently detained in the NSW penitentiary system.
NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet said the proposed bill will put pressure on inmates convicted of murder or homicide offences to co-operate with investigators.
"We will make it impossible for offenders who wilfully and deliberately refuse to disclose information about their victim's remains, to be granted parole," Perrottet said, as per Sky News Australia.
“Being unable to locate a loved one’s body is extremely distressing and traumatic for the families and friends of victims and it denies a victim the dignity of being laid to rest appropriately."
Perrottet added that the new legislation is designed 'to end the torment of families and return to them the remains of their loved ones'.
Under the proposed laws, the State Parole Authority will be unable to grant killers parole unless it deems the offender to have cooperated satisfactorily in identifying the location of their victims.
The new legislation comes following a push for legal reform in the wake of the 1982 murder of Lynette Dawson.
A petition, dubbed 'Lyn's law', was launched in September and called for NSW to join Victoria, Queensland, South Australia, Western Australia, and the Northern Territory in implementing a 'no body, no parole' bill.
Former teacher and rugby league player Chris Dawson, who murdered his 33-year-old wife Lynette, was finally convicted in 2022 for her slaying.
Justice Ian Harrison ruled in August that Dawson had killed Lynette after he became obsessed with the family's teenage babysitter and a student at Dawson's school.
The woman, dubbed 'JC' by the courts, was 16 when Dawson began to target her for sex.
Lyn's body has never been found, but Justice Harrison told the court that the evidence against Dawson, now 73, was 'persuasive and compelling'.
Justice Harrison said: "I'm satisfied that the prospect that he would lose [JC] so distressed, frustrated, and ultimately overwhelmed him that... Mr Dawson resolved to kill his wife.
"I am left in no doubt... I am satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that the only rational inference [is that] Lynette Dawson died on or about 8 January 1982 as a result of a conscious or voluntary act committed by Christopher Dawson."
The case shot to prominence in 2018 when true crime podcast The Teacher's Pet investigated Lynette's disappearance, with millions of listeners fascinated by the decades-old crime.
The mother of two's body has never been found and Dawson, who insists he is innocent, refuses to reveal its location to police.
Dawson's legal representatives said they intend to appeal the guilty verdict.
Topics: Australia, News, Crime, True Crime
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