The jury in the murder trial of Greg Lynn has been reminded of a series of prosecutorial errors after returning to court to ask the judge a question.
The former Jetstar pilot has been acquitted in the Supreme Court of Victoria of the murders of secret lovers Russell Hill, 74, and Carol Clay, 73, in the Wonnangatta Valley, in Victoria’s Alpine region, on March 20, 2020.
On Wednesday, Judge Michael Croucher told the jury they could watch recordings of both Lynn and ballistics expert Senior Constable Paul Griffiths giving evidence in court.
Greg Lynn appears in the Supreme Court of Victoria
Secret lovers Russell Hill, 74, and Carol Clay, 73, died in March 2020 in the Wonnangatta Valley, in Victoria’s Alpine region.
The jury had asked the question Tuesday before retiring for the day.
In telling the jury they had access to the video recordings, Justice Croucher reminded them of a series of clues he gave after the closing speeches were delivered last week.
Judge Croucher told the jury to remember his directions about “fairness” as they watched the evidence again on video.
On Friday, Judge Croucher targeted Crown Prosecutor Daniel Porceddu for violating established rules of ‘fairness’ in his closing speech.
“The rule of fairness was broken by Mr Porceddu when he presented arguments against you,” he told the jury.
“If Mr. Porceddu had asked Mr. Lynn these questions and presented these proposals to him, Mr. Lynn might have been able to respond in a strong and persuasive manner.”
The jury heard that Mr Porceddu erred in making comments in his closing speech that he had not given Lynn the opportunity to respond while he was in the witness box last week.
“In assessing the prosecution’s case on these matters, you must take into account Mr. Lynn… he has not been given the opportunity by the prosecutor to answer these points directly,” he said.
“Because of this violation of the basic rules of fairness and because of the consequences of the violation, you can more easily reject the prosecutor’s argument and you can more easily reject the inferences the prosecutor wants you to draw.”
Shotgun police say Greg Lynn killed elderly camper Carol Clay
Greg Lynn’s shotgun was equipped with a laser sight
On Wednesday, Judge Croucher again told the jury that Lynn is presumed innocent and did not have to prove ‘anything’ to them.
The jury was told they had to be satisfied beyond a reasonable doubt. Lynn was guilty of murder to reach such a verdict.
Judge Croucher told the jury that Lynn and Senior Constable Griffiths had not been given the opportunity to respond to multiple allegations made to them by Mr Porceddu in his closing address.
Judge Croucher said the jury needed to look at both the prosecution’s questioning and the defense’s cross-examination of both witnesses to “get the full picture”.
The court heard the jury was given access to more than five hours of video footage of Lynn and the ballistics expert, which they will view behind closed doors.
The jury withdrew on Monday afternoon to consider its verdict and has now deliberated for a day and a half.
Senior Constable Griffiths had previously told the jury that on March 2, 2022, he found the 12-gauge slug allegedly used to kill Ms Clay at the location where her burnt campsite was found.
The mutilated slug was also found to contain fibers and ‘biological material’, believed to be that of Mrs Clay.
The jury has previously heard claims that the slug that killed Ms Clay blew off the passenger side mirror of Mr Hill’s Landcruiser before hitting Ms Clay in the head.
‘Since quite some time had passed, we had to use a sifting technique. So we went down almost an inch in that area,” he said.
Using a metal detector, the detective located shards of glass and the slug, he told the court.
“It was a fired projectile with a significant amount of impact damage,” Senior Constable Griffiths said.
A week later, a new search turned up even more alleged evidence, including bone fragments.
Police believe the side mirror of Russell Hill’s car was shot off (photo)
Senior Constable Griffiths said he was sent back into the bush in March 2022 in the hope of finding evidence that may have been previously missed.
“The purpose was to search for other objects and, from memory, find shell casings… and other bone fragments,” he told the jury.
His evidence was destroyed by Lynn’s lawyer Dermott Dann, KC.
During cross-examination, Senior Constable Griffiths came under fire for not checking Lynn’s story before carrying out trajectory tests.
The jury heard that the detective had not used Lynn’s shotgun to carry out the tests, despite previously telling him he had a preliminary hearing.
“This is just a failed exercise, isn’t it,” Mr Dann said.
“It’s absolutely right,” was the answer.
Lynn himself spent much of the day on the witness stand giving his version of events.
Although Lynn has always denied killing the couple, the jury heard he had openly admitted to cleaning up the alleged crime scene and destroying evidence.
“It was despicable,” Lynn admitted.
‘All I can say to the families is that I am very sorry for all the suffering I have caused… yes, I should be punished for it. For what I did.’
The jury heard that Lynn had offered to plead guilty to destroying evidence before going to trial, but this was rejected by the prosecutor.
“I am innocent of murder,” he said. ‘I am innocent (also of manslaughter). I didn’t kill anyone.’
Smartly dressed in a suit and dark glasses, the former pilot spoke in a cool and calm manner as he guided the jury through the gory details of what police say was cold-blooded murder.