Pilot lied to wife over campers’ deaths

As the trial of a former Jetstar captain draws to a close, jurors will soon be asked to decide if the deaths of Russell Hill and Carol Clay were murder or misfortune.

Gregory Stuart Lynn, 57, is facing trial after pleading not guilty to murdering the elderly pair, asking the jury to accept his account of two tragic accidents.

Over the past month, the trial heard from almost 50 witnesses, including police, forensic experts, friends and family of the pair and Mr Lynn himself.

Mr Hill, 74, and Mrs Clay, 73, were childhood sweethearts who disappeared while camping in the remote Wonnangatta Valley in March 2020.

Despite extensive searches, no trace of the pair was located until Mr Lynn told police where he’d burned their bodies following his arrest in November 2021.

Last week, Mr Lynn said he lied to his wife, Melanie, “every time a comment was made” about the missing campers to protect her.

Watching from the gallery, Mrs Lynn was present in court as Crown prosecutor Daniel Porceddu questioned what discussion he’d had with his family.

“I lied to her. I told her I had nothing to do with it, knew nothing,” Mr Lynn said.

“If I told her, then she would then be involved in it.”

He told the jury his family had seen footage of his police interview, but he had not discussed it with them yet.

Jurors will return to the Victorian Supreme Court on Tuesday morning as prosecutors are expected to begin delivering their closing remarks.

Last week, Justice Michael Croucher advised the jury that closing arguments from both parties could take up to two days.

“So on those calculations it means the likelihood is … you’d be going out to consider your verdicts on at the earliest some time Thursday; more likely, I reckon, Friday,” he said.

“Now, the best-laid plans are apt to go astray. I may be wildly wrong with some of those estimates, but that’s just to give you an idea of the timeframe that is expected.”

At the start of the trial, Mr Porceddu told the jury that Mr Lynn killed the pair on the evening of March 20, likely following a dispute with Mr Hill.

“The precise circumstances of the killings are not known. Nor is the motivation,” he said.

“The prosecution alleges that all of the relevant circumstances, including the violent deaths of two people in close proximity, point to Mr Hill and Mrs Clay each being killed deliberately and without lawful justification.”

Mr Porceddu said after the deaths, Mr Lynn took considerable steps to contaminate the crime scene and hide his involvement, including burning their camp and disposing of their bodies along a dirt track.

He argued the jury could use this conduct as an “implied admission” of guilt to prove each of the four elements of murder.

Through his barrister, Dermot Dann KC, Mr Lynn said he did not dispute taking these steps to distance himself from the deaths, but the jury should accept they were the “panicked” decisions of a man fearing he would be wrongly blamed and lose everything.

He claimed Mrs Clay was killed accidentally as the two men wrestled over Mr Lynn’s shotgun and the firearm discharged.

Mr Hill died after charging at Mr Lynn with a knife and falling on the blade as the former pilot defended himself, he said.

The jury wad told Mr Lynn accepted his actions were “despicable” and he had earlier offered to plead guilty to the alternative offence of destruction of evidence.

The trial continues.