Families of campers ‘devastated’ after verdict

The families of an elderly couple have shared they are “relief and devastated” after a jury found a former pilot murdered one half of the couple on a camping trip, but not the other.

For the past five weeks, Gregory Stuart Lynn, 57, had been facing trial after denying he was responsible for the deaths of Russell Hill, 74, and Carol Clay, 73, in the state’s remote High Country.

The couple, childhood sweethearts who had reconnected later in life, vanished a day after arriving at Bucks Camp in the Wonnangatta Valley on March 19, 2020.

Mr Lynn was taken into the courtroom by security shortly before 1pm on Tuesday, wearing a black suit, blue shirt and silver tie.

He remained emotionless as the jury foreperson delivered their verdict: not guilty of the murder of Russell Hill, but guilty of the murder of Carol Clay.

The group was thanked by Justice Michael Croucher and led from the room.

Following the verdict, the families of Mr Hill and Ms Clay have issued a statement saying they were both “relieved and devastated at the verdicts”.

“The verdict of guilty was the only charge. The possibility of a verdict of ‘manslaughter’ was ruled out,” the statement reads.

“We thank the jury for their verdict of guilty in the murder of Carol Clay. It was an extremely difficult task given that the accused destroyed so much evidence.”

The statement said the verdict of not guilty in relation to Mr Hill was “devastating”.

“There was not enough evidence to be sure of how he died,” it said.

“Our families were always aware that the prosecutor had an enormous burden of proof as there were no eyewitnesses.

“The accused was the only person who saw and experienced what happened. He was also the only person who emerged alive.”

The family thanked the prosecutors “wholeheartedly” for their “diligent effort” throughout the trial.

They praised the “enormous job” in putting a case together with limited evidence, saying the prosecutors “fought hard to keep their evidence allowed in court” so the jury could make an informed decision.

The family thanked the Victoria Police Missing Persons Squad for their “tireless investigative work” over four and a half years.

“They have gone above and beyond in their duties to solve this case and we sincerely thank them for their time, effort, persistence, care and professionalism to bring us answers,” the families said.

“For the wider Victoria Police involvement, thank you, we appreciated the efforts of you all and are extremely grateful for your expertise, your hard work and support. Plus, we thank all the wonderful volunteers who spent weeks searching for our loved ones.”

They lastly thanked their friends and family who had given their support throughout the “harrowing” experience.

“We are heartbroken at the loss of our loved ones. It will take time to absorb the verdicts, put this behind us and set about healing and getting on with our lives. Right now, we ask you to respect our privacy while we do this.”

Mr Lynn’s son, who attended to hear the verdict and spoke with his father briefly after it was handed down, remained silent as he left the courthouse alongside one of his father’s lawyers.

Mr Hill’s family took a back exit out of the court precinct to avoid the pack of about 15 reporters and camera operators. They are expected to release a statement through Victoria Police later on Tuesday.

Police issued their own statement, praising the Hill and Clay families for their “courage and resilience in the face of their grief, amid enormous public attention”, and the Missing Persons Squad detectives for their determination and perseverance over the course of the investigation.

Mr Lynn’s barrister, Michael McGrath, and counsel assisting did not entertain any questions of appeal or reaction from the press pack. Mr McGrath marched away from the courthouse, mute and expressionless in the wake of the verdicts.

For much of the trial, Mr Lynn kept his head down and could be seen writing notes in two packed yellow manila folders titled, in block letters, “Greg Lynn court records”.

Led into court by two custody officers daily, the former Jetstar captain would smile and wave at his wife, Melanie, as she stood waving enthusiastically from the upstairs public gallery.

It was a simple defence put forward by his legal team; could the prosecution disprove his account of their deaths being accidental beyond reasonable doubt.

Taking the stand at his trial, Mr Lynn maintained he was innocent of murder but said he deserved to be punished for the efforts he took to hide his involvement.

“All I can say to their families is that I’m very sorry for your suffering,” he said.

Prosecutors, led by crown prosecutor Daniel Porceddu, had alleged the former Jetstar captain killed the pair deliberately and without lawful justification in the evening of March 20.

They were unable to outline the specific circumstances of the deaths, other than Mrs Clay was shot in the head, but argued it was likely after a dispute with Mr Hill.

After his arrest in November the following year, Mr Lynn told police Mrs Clay was accidentally killed when his shotgun discharged as the two men struggled for control.

He said Mr Hill had made a “ridiculous” accusation he was hunting too close to camp, and threatened to lie to police that Lynn had shot through camp.

Mr Lynn said he was annoyed, and made the “childish” decision to blare music from his car, where Mr Hill stole the hunter’s shotgun between 9pm and 10pm.

“I wasn’t trying to provoke a response. I just thought if he could be rude, I could be rude too,” he said.

After the accidental discharge, Mr Hill, he said, came at him with a knife screaming; “she’s dead”, and fell on the blade as the two men fought a second time.

The jury heard Mr Lynn took steps to hide he was involved, including cleaning and burning the campsite and dumping their bodies off the Union Spur track after driving throughout the night.

He then went home and attempted to move on with his life.

“My plan was to disappear and, um, for a long time I thought I had,” he said.

At trial, Mr Porceddu alleged Mr Lynn’s efforts were taken because he knew the forensic evidence would be able to prove or disprove his account.

He suggested the only reasonable explanation for the “extreme” acts was because Mr Lynn knew he had murdered the pair.

“The accused’s story is indeed a series of very unfortunate events. Like the book series of that name, it is also a complete fiction,” Mr Porceddu had argued.

Defence barrister, Dermot Dann KC, told the jury his client believed his career and home life would be ruined and that he feared he would be wrongly blamed for the deaths.

“He thought he was going to be blamed for the deaths and he was 100 per cent correct,” he said.

After his arrest in November 2021, the jury was told, Mr Lynn had answered questions from detectives over a two-day period and directed them to the location where he burnt the bodies.

“I didn’t want to have to do it. It was a horrific thing, I was sick several times,” he said.

Mr Dawn said police had two and a half years to test whether his client’s account was false and were unable to prove anything he said was a lie.

He told the jury the prosecution had asked the jury to fill the gaps in their case with speculation, breaching rules by “making things up”.

“It just smacks of a prosecution case that’s just gone off the rails,” he said.

He said his client had been “overcharged” and had offered to plead guilty to a destruction of evidence charge before the trial began.