‘Awful person’: Daughter reveals anger
The daughter of one of the campers, whom former Jetstar pilot Gregory Stuart Lynn was found not guilty of killing, has revealed she’s lost faith in the justice system following the jury’s verdict.
The 57-year-old faced a lengthy trial over the deaths of Russell Hill, 74, and Carol Clay, 73, in the state’s remote High Country.
On June 25, the jury found the former Jetstar pilot not guilty of the murder of Mr Hill, but guilty of the murder of Ms Clay.
The pair had been childhood sweethearts before they reconnected later in life, and had been camping when they arrived at Bucks Camp in the Wonnangatta Valley on March 19, 2020.
They were later reported missing to police after they hadn’t been heard from by their families.
Following the verdict, Mr Hill’s daughter, Debbie, said she was “angry” and that she felt her father didn’t get the justice he deserved.
“It’s new, we’ve only just found out, but the more I think about it, the more angry I get at the fact that it didn’t have to be this way,” Ms Hill told 60 Minutes on Sunday.
“My dad was not a violent person in any way.
“He wouldn’t have provoked anything.”
The prosecution had argued throughout the trial that Lynn had allegedly killed the couple deliberately and without lawful justification in the evening of March 20.
They were unable to outline the specific circumstances of the deaths, but argued it was likely after a dispute with Mr Hill and Mrs Clay was shot in the head.
Lynn had always maintained he was innocent of the alleged murders, with his defence team arguing that the prosecution couldn’t disprove his account of their deaths being accidental beyond reasonable doubt.
Ms Hill said she thinks about what happened to her father every day.
“I’m just really angry that he went camping that day, that time, that the is the person he is and he happened to be right there with my dad and Carol, and this is what happened,” she said.
“I think it was just really bad luck for Dad and Carol that they were there at the time, but it wouldn’t have happened if he wasn’t such an awful person.”
Since the verdict was read out, more information about Lynn’s past has come to light after non-publication orders were lifted.
His first wife Lisa Lynn, 34, was discovered dead in the foetal position in the front yard of her Mount Macedon home on October 26, 1999.
A coroner’s report indicated a blood-alcohol level of 0.21 and high levels of anti-depression medication was detected in Ms Lynn’s system.
No suicide note was ever found.
In 2000, Victorian coroner Graeme Johnstone attributed her death to “combined alcohol and drug toxicity”.
Lynn was never charged, and Mr Johnstone found no evidence suggesting suspicious circumstances or involvement of others in her death.
But now detectives are looking to have the Victorian coroner conduct a full inquest into the 1999 death.
Ms Hill said it was quite concerning to learn about Lynn’s history but ultimately she remains hopeful that her family won’t ever have to go through a potential appeal, should Lynn’s legal team opt to return to court.
“I hope he doesn’t get away with this, but I’ve lost a bit of faith in the whole system,” she said.
“I’m not trusting of it now. We’ll have to wait and see.
“He’s just such a terrible person.”
