Podcast leads to Australian’s conviction in wife’s murder

SYDNEY (AP) — An Australian man has been convicted of murdering his wife 40 years ago after a renewed police investigation that was triggered by a popular podcast. Christopher Dawson faces a possible life sentence. He opted for a trial by judge instead of a jury in the New South Wales state Supreme Court due to his notoriety from “The Teacher’s Pet” podcast, which 60 million people have listened to since 2018. The judge rejected any possibility that Dawson’s wife had abandoned her husband and children to vanish without a trace. At the time, Dawson was a high school teacher who was in a sexual relationship with a teenage former student and babysitter for his two daughters.