Former Jetstar pilot Greg Lynn will face questioning under oath after making the decision to testify in his murder trial.
Lynn, 57, has been acquitted in the Supreme Court of Victoria of the murders of Russell Hill, 74, and Carol Clay, 73, in the Wonnangatta Valley, Victoria’s Alpine region, on March 20, 2020.
On Wednesday, the prosecution’s final witness, Missing Persons Detective Brett Florence, was cross-examined by Lynn’s attorney Dermot Dann, KC.
But on Thursday, Lynn will take the witness stand to give his version of events in person and in his own words.
Missing Persons Detective Brett Florence agreed that Lynn provided them with information they had no idea existed
Lynn told police exactly where Carol Clay was shot and where he thought Russell Hill had fallen on his own knife
Sergeant Florence and his partner Daniel Passingham had questioned Lynn about the alleged murders at Sale Police Station on November 23, 2021.
The jury was shown just over three hours of that interview this week, during which they watched Lynn recall how he claimed the campers had died and the efforts he made to hide their bodies.
Mr Dann walked Sergeant Florence through all of these claims on Wednesday, each time asking whether the evidence obtained by police supported what Lynn had told them.
Time and time again, Sergeant Florence answered in the affirmative.
“Mr. Lynn answered every question put to him, correct,” Mr. Dann asked.
“Yes,” was the answer.
“He marked every card that was issued to him, is that correct? Did he flag every photo provided?” Mr. Dann asked.
“Yes,” Sergeant Florence replied.
“He helped you locate the place where the bodies were taken and burned, is that okay?” came the question.
“Yes,” said the detective.
The process of confirming the facts lasted another hour in court.
Greg Lynn made a sketch of the police station where he camped (top) and Russell Hill (bottom). The river surrounding both campsites is shown
The jury heard that Greg Lynn covered up and destroyed evidence but freely offered information when police eventually caught up with him
Not only did the jury hear that Lynn’s account of what he told detectives matched what they would later determine to be true, but he also provided them with information they didn’t even know existed at the time.
Until Lynn’s interview, detectives had no idea that Ms. Clay’s blood spatter could be found in the rear hood of Mr. Hill’s Landcruiser.
“Even you did not know where there was any blood spatter or human tissue in the hood attached to his vehicle,” Mr Dann said.
“No, I didn’t,” Sergeant Florence said.
The video recording of Lynn’s police interview showed the pilot, wearing a gray windbreaker, goggles and surgical mask, recalling the fateful late-night police claim that he had killed the pair.
Images showed his lower body wrapped in a duvet due to the extreme cold in the police interrogation room.
The jury heard evidence from several witnesses who were in the bush when Lynn and the campers were there.
Many told nearly identical versions of events that Lynn offered to police during his account of the interview.
Lynn’s lawyer Dermot Dann, QC got Detective Brett Florence of the Missing Persons Unit to admit that what Lynn told him was found to be true in the evidence he could rely on
The jury heard Victoria Police’s own ballistics expert agreed Lynn’s account of how Ms Clay was shot appeared accurate.
“The shot going through the mirror, Ms. Clay in a position with her head about 4 feet away… you know (your expert) said that all in terms of Mr. Lynn’s version, or that version – that set of circumstances – was absolutely perfect,” Mr Dann said.
While Sergeant Florence claimed to have no idea of his own expert’s findings, he reluctantly agreed that he was probably right.
‘I didn’t know he had given that evidence. I thought the tests were inconclusive. I didn’t know he used the words ‘perfect,'” Sergeant Florence said.
“If he says it’s true, then yes, he’s an expert and we’ll take his word for it.”
Lynn told detectives he had become involved in a deadly struggle with Mr Hill as they fought for control of a shotgun when it went off, killing Ms Clay.
The jury heard Lynn approached Mr Hill when a scuffle took place over the firearm.
‘I confronted him. ‘Give it back. What are you doing,’ and he said he was going to take that to the police,” Lynn said.
“When I next came up to him he had the magazine in the shotgun at this stage, he pulled the action back and let a few rounds go into the air.”
This peaceful location became the scene of what police believe was a bloody murder
Lynn told detectives that Russell Hill shot his side mirror (circled) with the same shot that killed Carol Clay
Lynn claimed he ran for his life before crawling back to Mr Hill from the shadows.
“I stayed in the shadows and got closer,” Lynn said.
“To try to disarm him, I jumped up, grabbed the barrel of the gun with my right arm and turned around to face him…I had the left hand on the butt, the right hand on the barrel, and we struggled.
“The shotgun was pointed this way and fired. My hand was not on the trigger, but on the barrel… it wouldn’t let go, it fired. It went through the left rear view (mirror) and killed Mrs. Clay.”
Lynn claimed he hid the shotgun on Mr Hill and let it go, only to be confronted by him again moments later, armed with a kitchen knife.
‘He comes towards me with a knife in his right hand and a clenched fist in his left hand. He swings first with his left hand, I blocked it,” Lynn said.
‘He makes a wave with the knife with his right hand, I (grabbed) his wrist and pulled over his right with my left arm and he pushed me back to the ground and the knife went into his chest.
‘He rolled over and when I got off him he crawled a little and then stopped moving. And I thought, “What am I going to do?”
Lynn claimed he checked both campers for signs of life, but soon realized they were both dead.
“And from here I panicked. You know, that’s my gun. One person is dead, he is dead now too. And I will be found guilty of this,” Lynn said.
The jury heard Lynn quickly did her best to cover up the bloody crime.
The trial is expected to continue next week before the jury is ultimately asked to retire and consider its verdict.