Missing campers’ accused killer, Gregory Lynn, set to give evidence

Accused double killer Gregory Lynn is expected to enter the witness box in the missing campers trial.

The Supreme Court jury was told on Wednesday that Lynn would be the only witness called by the defence after the prosecution closed its case. The jury will return to hear Lynn’s evidence on Thursday.

Gregory Lynn (pictured) is accused of killing Carol Clay and Russell Hill at Bucks Camp (right).

“The defence call one witness. That will be Mr Lynn,” defence barrister Dermot Dann, KC, said.

Earlier, the jury was told police secretly recorded Lynn and his wife speaking about the search for missing campers Russell Hill and Carol Clay.

The court heard the couple watched a 60 Minutes episode about the disappearance of Hill, 74, and Clay, 73, which aired in November 2021.

A clip was played to the jury in which a journalist reported police had eliminated every vehicle that was in the Wonnangatta Valley at the time the pair vanished except for a dark-coloured Nissan Patrol, described as the “strongest lead” in the hunt for clues.

CCTV footage of Lynn removing the awning from his car.Credit: Victoria Police

The program included a photograph, captured on a roadside camera, of the car and trailer police were seeking to identify.

The court heard Melanie Lynn commented to her husband that the footage “really looked like” his car and trailer.

Days later, Lynn was captured on a CCTV camera removing a black awning from the passenger side of his Nissan Patrol.

Detective Senior Constable Brett Florence said a listening device was placed in the couple’s home and the TV program was aired as part of a police strategy.

Traffic camera footage of Lynn’s Nissan Patrol shown on 60 Minutes.Credit: Victoria Police

“As part of our media strategies, and in trying to elicit information, the 60 Minutes program was used. Just like many other programs that are used, it was just one of the avenues, the tools,” he said.

Florence agreed under Dann’s cross-examination that a number of things Lynn told police during an interview at Sale police station in late November 2021 were correct.

They included where suspected blood spatter was found on Hill’s car, how a site at Bucks Camp was set up, Lynn’s path in and out of the valley, what had been burnt in a campsite fire and where human remains were located.

Florence agreed that as part of this account, Lynn drew diagrams on paper in the interview room which showed where the two parties had been camping and where, on Lynn’s version of events, Clay and Hill had died.

Gregory Lynn’s son, Geordie, and wife Melanie outside court last month.Credit: Wayne Taylor

Dann said Lynn maintained he had feared he’d be “wrongly blamed” for the two deaths, and even risked losing his career due to failing to legally store his guns in a locked place at the campsite.

In putting his client’s version of events to the detective, Dann suggested Lynn was “brutally honest” during his police interview and even went to the lengths of talking about the damage caused to Clay’s head.

“Mr Lynn answered every question you asked of him. Marked every map you provided to him. Assisted you in locating where the bodies were taken to and burnt. Is that correct?” Dann asked.

“Yes,” Florence replied.

A map of Bucks Camp with drawings on it by Lynn that show where Hill and Clay were camping (bottom of drawing) and where Lynn’s car and camp was (top of drawing).Credit: Supreme Court of Victoria

The detective also agreed police had gone to some effort to test Lynn’s account of what happened on March 20, 2020.

“As best we can, yes, we’ve tested all the theories,” Florence said.

“Was everything [Lynn] said to you true?” Dann asked.

“No,” Florence replied.

The detective also denied police had cut any corners during the investigation, but conceded he did not check items seized from the site to determine if there were any knives missing.

Florence said this was because police did not hear Lynn’s version of events – that a knife killed Hill – until 18 months after their deaths.

Members of the Hill and Clay families returned to court on Wednesday to listen to the evidence, and sat metres away from the accused man.

Above, in a public gallery, were Lynn’s wife, Melanie, and son Geordie.

Lynn, 57, has pleaded not guilty to the murder of Hill and Clay, claiming both died accidentally.

He told police that he and Hill were struggling over Lynn’s shotgun when it accidentally fired and struck Clay, killing her.

Lynn told police that soon after Clay was shot dead, Hill ran at him with a black-handled kitchen knife and died when he fell on the knife during a struggle. Lynn said the knife had penetrated the area around Hill’s heart as the pair fell to the ground.

The prosecution disputes his account and says Lynn killed the pair with murderous intent.

The trial continues.

A new podcast from 9News, The Age and 9Podcasts will follow the court case as it unfolds. The Missing Campers Trial is the first podcast to follow a jury trial in real time in Victoria. It’s presented by Nine reporter Penelope Liersch and Age reporter Erin Pearson.