Former Jetstar pilot Greg Lynn accused of killing secret lover campers apologises to their families for his ‘despicable act’ – but continues to deny he murdered the couple

Former Jetstar pilot Greg Lynn has apologized to the families of secret campers Russell Hill and Carol Clay after taking the witness box to defend his ‘despicable’ behaviour.

Lynn, 57, has been acquitted in the Supreme Court of Victoria of the murders of Mr Hill, 74, and Carol Clay, 73, in the Wonnangatta Valley, Victoria’s Alpine region, on March 20, 2020.

On Thursday, Lynn took the witness stand to tell the jury in his own words how the campers died as a result of a tragic accident.

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.

A diagram compiled by Greg Lynn shows police the open doors of his Nissan Patrol in relation to Russell Hill’s camp

“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.

The jury heard Lynn claimed the couple died after Mr Hill stole his shotgun and the pair engaged in a deadly battle for control.

“I don’t know if he intended to shoot me or not, probably not,” Lynn told the jury. “I think he was just trying to keep the shotgun for himself and scare me off.”

The jury heard that Lynn had been sitting by his campfire by the river when he saw Mr Hill take out his shotgun and load the magazine.

The doors of Lynn’s Nissan Patrol were wide open to release “all the music” from his car radio, which the pilot said was done in a “childish attempt” to irritate Mr Hill after a previous run-in with him.

The 12 Gauge ‘Barathrum Arms’ Model S/P 12 semi-automatic shotgun used to kill Carol Clay

The deadly battle is said to have taken place at the front of Russell Hill’s Landcruiser (pictured)

Lynn sketched the scene to help jurors figure out how he claimed Mr. Hill gained access to his Nissan Patrol to steal his shotgun.

The image showed an image of Lynn’s 4WD with all the doors open, allowing Mr Hill to grab Lynn’s shotgun from the back and the ammunition clip from the front.

Lynn claimed Mr Hill accidentally shot Ms Clay in the head when he tried to wrestle the shotgun away from him.

Lynn pressed the bull bar of Mr Hill’s Landcruiser and claimed Mr Hill pulled the trigger, breaking the side mirror and hitting Ms Clay directly in the head.

Mr Hill died moments later after falling on his own knife during another struggle, Lynn claimed.

Standing before the jury, and about a hundred other members of the public gathered in the courtroom, Lynn portrayed himself as a caring and respectful airline captain who went out of his way to assist cleaning crews in cleaning up his plane after landing.

When asked about a pair of Jetstar brand gloves he owned, Lynn claimed he would often keep them after helping out.

‘After work, the cabin crew must clean the aircraft while flying. It’s not a deep cleaning, they just go through and pick up the paperwork, clear out the seat belts and rearrange all the paperwork in the back of the seat pockets,” he said.

“Most pilots just take off and leave that to the cabin crew, but I always grab a pair of gloves, go through and help them clean up.”

Carol Clay was shot in the head while Russell Hill was impaled by his own knife, Greg Lynn claimed

The side mirror was destroyed with the same shot that killed Carol Clay, Greg Lynn told the jury

The jury heard Lynn placed a laser sight on the shotgun that killed Carol Clay to ensure he could focus on the heart and lungs of the deer he liked to stalk.

Lynn suggested that if he had wanted to kill Mrs Clay, he would not have destroyed the side mirror of Mr Hill’s Landcruiser in the process.

“The whole point of having a laser sight on the shotgun … is that you can point the tip of the laser at the target and be confident the bullet will hit that target,” Lynn said.

“So the slug went through the mirror, if I had done what the police said I did… if someone had shot Carol Clay with the laser sight on, the laser would have shined on the mirror and not on Carol Clay. ‘

Lynn described in gruesome detail the bloody aftermath of the alleged crime scene, which he admitted went to great lengths to destroy and clean up.

“The scene was horrible,” Lynn said.

‘There was blood spatter on the tow rails and the bed floor of the Toyota Landcruiser. There was something on the inside of the canopy.

“I wiped all of that off… the solar panels… there was blood and other material on them and on the camp furniture.

“Some of those pieces were covered in a lot of tissue and blood. There was a very large pool of blood on the ground between the Landcruiser and the tent where Carol Clay was.”

Lynn is currently being interrogated by the prosecutor, Crown Prosecutor Daniel Porceddu, who closed the prosecution on Wednesday before Lynn began giving his version of events.

The process continues.