A former cop and private investigator has said there is still ‘a long way to go’ following the outcome of the murder trial over the deaths of Carol Clay and Russell Hill.
Ex-Jetstar pilot Gregory Lynn was found guilty of the murder of Ms Clay, 73, but not guilty of the murder of Mr Hill, 74, in the Supreme Court of Victoria on Tuesday.
The 57-year-old had pleaded not guilty to the murder of the two campers in the Wonnangatta Valley, in Victoria’s Alpine region, on March 20, 2020.
The jury has been deliberating on murder charges against Lynn since June 14.
Duncan McNab, a former police detective, said Tuesday afternoon after the verdict that the case has not yet been concluded and that the chance of an appeal is “very real.”
“What I think about in these cases is the poor bloody family and the investigators and the people around them, this is far from over,” he told Seven News.
‘But this whole thing has been very strange from the start, with so many different components, all bloody unusual.
Ex-Jetstar pilot Gregory Lynn (pictured) was found guilty of the murder of Carol Clay, 73, but not guilty of the murder of Russell Hill, 74, in the Supreme Court of Victoria on Tuesday
“It’s not over yet, there’s still a long way to go.”
Former homicide detective Charlie Bezzina added that there is an exception to the double jeopardy rule that could come into play.
Double jeopardy means that a person cannot be tried twice for the same crime, but an exception can be made if new and compelling evidence emerges.
“If new or compelling evidence emerges in the future, that is unlikely, but if it does, he could certainly be charged again for the alleged murder of Mr. Hill,” Bezzina said.
“Let’s see what happens next from today.”
Lynn claimed the two deaths were accidental, but admitted to burning the crime scene and destroying their bodies.
Forty-nine witnesses were called during the trial, including park rangers, weed sprayers, campers, deer hunters, police forensic and ballistics experts and the families of Mr Hill and Ms Clay.
Lynn had pleaded not guilty to the murders of the two campers in the Wonnangatta Valley, in the Alpine region of Victoria, on March 20, 2020 (Carol Clay is pictured left and Russell Hill right)
Mr Hill was married and the couple were having a secret affair together when they disappeared.
Lynn, Mr Hill and Ms Clay were the only people staying at Bucks Camp that evening, March 20, 2020.
Lynn said he had been deer hunting when he returned to Mr Hill’s threats that he had drone footage of Lynn hunting so close to the campsite that he would call the police.
Later that evening, he said Mr. Hill took a shotgun and ammunition from Lynn’s car.
Lynn claimed he went to get his gun from Mr. Hill, who fired a few warning shots before pointing the gun at Lynn.
Lynn and Mr. Hill were struggling for the gun, Lynn claimed, when another shot went off and hit the side of Mr. Hill’s mirror, which ricocheted and hit Ms. Clay’s head.
Gunshot fragments were later found, proving that Ms. Clay was killed in a shooting.
Mr Hill then attacked Lynn with a knife, the pilot claimed, before a second struggle ensued.
Lynn said he was trying to defend himself when the knife went into Mr Hill’s chest and no evidence was shown to the jury about how Mr Hill died.
Lynn admitted that he set fire to the couple’s campsite, put their bodies in a trailer and drove to the Union Spur Track, where he unloaded their bodies and covered them with sticks.
He returned twice, including in November 2020 when he set fire to the remains of Mr Hill and Ms Clay.
A year later he was arrested, where he told his story to police and led investigators to the couple’s bodies, which were discovered to have been broken down into 2,100 bone fragments.
Duncan McNab, a former police detective, said after the verdict Tuesday afternoon that the case is not over and that the prospect of an appeal “is very real.”
Lynn insisted he was innocent of murder and admitted to the jury that his actions in covering up the crime, including repainting his 4WD used to remove the bodies, were ‘despicable’.
He had offered to plead guilty to destroying evidence before the trial began, his defense team said.
But the prosecutor said Lynn’s story was a fictional one and that his behavior after the killings proved beyond a reasonable doubt that he intended to kill the couple.
Lynn, dressed in a suit and blue sweater, remained silent as the two verdicts were read out, raising his eyebrows after learning his fate.
He waved to his son Geordie, who sat in front of him in the courtroom, after the jury left the court.
He spoke to his lawyers before being escorted from court, flanked by custody officials, and will be sentenced at a later date.
The maximum penalty for murder is life in prison.
Lynn will return to court on July 19 to announce where the dates will be set.