Former pilot Greg Lynn found guilty of murdering Victorian camper Carol Clay but acquitted of killing Russell Hill

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ABC

Former Jetstar pilot Greg Lynn has been found guilty of murdering retiree Carol Clay at a Victorian campsite four years ago, but a jury has acquitted him of murdering fellow camper Russell Hill.

In a statement released on Tuesday afternoon, the families of Mr Hill and Ms Clay said they were “both relieved and devastated” by the verdict.

“The verdict of not guilty in relation to the murder [of] Russell Hill is devastating. There was not enough evidence to be sure of how he died,” they said.

“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 pair was last seen alive during a camping trip in the Wonnangatta Valley, about five hours east of Melbourne, in March 2020.

Lynn was arrested more than a year later and charged over their deaths.

He pleaded not guilty in Victoria’s Supreme Court, but during his five-week trial admitted to destroying evidence and burning the pair’s remains.

The case generated huge media interest during the two-year investigation into the campers’ disappearance, and then during Lynn’s Supreme Court trial. At times the court’s public gallery was so full, people had to stand or were turned away.

With no eyewitnesses, the case boiled down to two competing theories about what happened at a remote location named Bucks Camp.

Prosecutors argued Lynn killed the retirees with murderous intent — likely killing Mr Hill first, then shooting Ms Clay, possibly following a dispute over a drone.

They argued Lynn’s “disproportionate” actions to contaminate the crime scene and dispose of the bodies was “incriminating conduct” that pointed to murder.

However, Lynn’s lawyers described a scenario of two tragic, accidental killings.

Defence barrister Dermot Dann KC argued Ms Clay was fatally wounded as Lynn and Mr Hill wrestled over a shotgun, which discharged and fired a projectile that struck her in the head.

Mr Hill was then killed when he came at Lynn with a knife and fell to the ground, with the blade going through his chest, Mr Dann said.

Lynn took to the witness box in the trial, and conceded his decision to dump the bodies and set them on fire was “despicable”.

WATCH

Duration: 2 minutes 50 seconds2m 50s

Lynn emotionless as verdict handed down

Lynn remained emotionless as the jury foreperson read out the two verdicts in the case.

Throughout the trial, Lynn was supported in court by his wife, Melanie, and son, Geordie.

Lynn’s son Geordie was sitting in the courtroom, his arms crossed, looking despondent but Melanie did not appear to be in the courtroom when the verdict was handed down.

Lynn’s final words before he was taken into custody were to his son. “Don’t stress,” Lynn told him.

Family of Mr Hill were also in the courtroom as the verdict was handed down.

Mr Hill was a retired logger and high-frequency radio enthusiast who regularly visited the Wonnangatta Valley, while Ms Clay was a former Victorian Country Women’s Association president.

The pair had once been childhood sweethearts, and Mr Hill kept their affair secret from his wife.

The trial was told Lynn only crossed paths with the retired campers the day before the deadly incident on March 20, 2020.

Lynn later told police the conflict began because Mr Hill was unhappy he had been hunting near the campsite, and threatened to take footage from his drone to the police.

Lynn claimed he then blasted loud music from his car in an attempt to annoy Mr Hill. The former pilot then claimed Mr Hill stole his shotgun and fired a warning shot into the air.

A physical struggle over the gun occurred when Lynn tried to snatch the weapon back, he told police.

Former pilot admitted to destroying evidence

Lynn said he feared nobody would believe the two deaths were accidental, so he decided to try to hide his involvement to protect his aviation career, family and sporting club memberships.

He torched the campsite, put the bodies in his trailer and dumped them next to the remote Union Spur Track.

Police were eventually able to link Lynn to the campers’ disappearance when his vehicle was snapped on a roadside traffic camera near Mount Hotham.

In the months that followed, detectives closed in on Lynn, who returned to the burial site and torched what was left of the decomposing remains.

When forensic experts turned up to Union Spur Track in November 2021, after Lynn’s arrest, they discovered more than 2,100 skeletal fragments.

Pathologists said they could not determine a cause of death because the remains had been so badly “obliterated”.

At the end of the trial, prosecutors told the jury to reject Lynn’s story, saying it was an elaborate lie and a “complete fiction”.

After weeks of evidence, Lynn’s lawyers pointed to perceived flaws in the case against him, saying prosecutors were unable to point to a clear motive or even outline the order in which the alleged murders occurred.

Lynn’s barrister Mr Dann called the prosecution case “hopeless” and said it was based on “half-baked theories”.

With the end of the trial, the ABC can report details which were not shared with the jury, including secret recordings of Lynn and his wife and a bungled police interview.

The jury was also not told about the self-inflicted overdose death of Lynn’s former wife 25 years ago. A coroner later found investigations did not reveal any suspicious circumstances or the involvement of other people.

Police praise ‘courage’ of Hill and Clay families after verdict

Following the verdict, Victoria Police Assistant Commissioner Martin O’Brien acknowledged the jury’s decision.

“Our thoughts are with the Hill and Clay families at this time and we acknowledge how difficult these past four years have been for them,” he said.

“Their courage and resilience in the face of their grief, amidst enormous public attention, has been nothing short of extraordinary. We will continue to support them in every way possible following this decision.”

The matter will return to court on Friday July 19, as the case enters its next phase, which is the sentencing process of Lynn.

A person in Victoria found guilty of murder faces a maximum penalty of life in prison, with the standard sentence 25 years’ jail.

Timeline of events

• March 16, 2020 — Greg Lynn drives to Victoria’s High Country for a solo camping and hunting trip.
• March 19, 7:30am — Russell Hill picks up Carol Clay from her home, and the pair sets off for the same region.
• March 20, 5pm — A Parks Victoria contractor sees a drone in the Wonnangatta Valley, presumably being flown by Mr Hill.
• March 20, 6pm — Mr Hill joins a daily high-frequency radio call with friends and signs off 40 minutes later.
• March 20, evening — After a dispute over Mr Hill’s drone, a violent confrontation involving Mr Lynn, Mr Hill and Ms Clay occurs at a campsite named Bucks Camp. The elderly pair die. Prosecutors claim they were murdered, but Mr Lynn insists the deaths were accidental.
• March 20, evening — Mr Lynn takes steps to cover up the deaths, including setting fire to the campsite, placing the bodies in the trailer of his four-wheel drive and destroying evidence. He drives for several hours from Bucks Camp to the Union Spur track, on the outskirts of the Dargo township, and hides the bodies.
• March 22, afternoon — Mr Lynn returns home to Caroline Springs.
• March 28 — Police examine the scene at Bucks Camp, finding the burnt campsite and damage to Mr Hill’s abandoned vehicle.
• April 1 — Police allege Mr Lynn tried to sell his trailer on Gumtree in an attempt to distance himself from the deaths. The trailer has never been located.
• May 13 — Mr Lynn returns to Union Spur Track to check on the bodies.
• June 4 — Mr Lynn allegedly repaints his vehicle, with prosecutors claiming it was an attempt to avoid detection.
• November 2020 — Mr Lynn returns to the burial site and sets the human remains on fire.
• September 22, 2021 — Police plant surveillance devices in Mr Lynn’s home and car.
• November 22, 2021 — Mr Lynn drives to a secluded camp area in Arbuckle. Police arrest him, and he later tells officers he is innocent of murder.
• November 29, 2021 — Forensic experts find human remains and other items at Union Spur Track, finding DNA evidence of Mr Hill and Ms Clay.
• May 13, 2024 — A jury is picked for Mr Lynn’s Supreme Court murder trial. He pleads not guilty to two counts of murder.