‘Cackling like a hyena’: Weirdest moments inside the missing campers courtroom
Jaw-dropping witness evidence, juror problems, and outbursts in the public gallery – these were among the strangest things to unfold during the missing campers murder trial.
Police & Courts
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For more than 50 days since October 2023, accused missing campers killer Greg Lynn has sat in the dock of the Supreme Court.
And almost every day of preliminary argument, pre-trial rulings, then his six-week trial, the ex-pilot took down notes and stared with laser focus when witnesses took the stand, appearing more like a lawyer than an accused double murderer.
From tears in the public gallery to surprise witness evidence and juror problems, here are some of the strangest moments during eight months of hearings in the Greg Lynn case.
Lynn’s wife ‘cackling like a hyena’ on recordings
Plenty of evidence that was part of the court brief was never heard or seen by the jury.
That’s because Justice Michael Croucher ruled certain information in or out of the trial, often because it could have been prejudicial to Mr Lynn.
One such piece of evidence that was ruled out was a secret recording from police bugs inside Mr Lynn’s home, capturing a conversation between him and his wife, Melanie, about a 60 Minutes program on the missing campers in November, 2021.
In the audio, Mrs Lynn laughs as she says the suspect’s car looks eerily similar to her husband’s.
“That’s not funny, sweet pea,” Mr Lynn replied.
Justice Michael Croucher ruled the clip out, saying Mrs Lynn could be heard “cackling like a hyena” and it could prejudice her husband’s case.
Overhearing the whole debate, Mrs Lynn – who was sitting in the upstairs public gallery – could be heard sobbing.
After agreement between the prosecution and defence, the jury were told about the contents of the audio clip but they did not hear it.
Lynn ‘looked like Ivan Milat’: Witness
When weed sprayer Robert Williams described to police his interaction with Greg Lynn before Russell Hill and Carol Clay went missing, he said “some pretty inflammatory things”, according to defence barrister Dermot Dann KC.
Mr Williams was with a crew working on a patch of isolated weeds at Dry River Flats on March 17, 2020, when he said a man who “didn’t look well” and was “sweating badly” approached them asking where to camp.
The sprayer directed Mr Lynn, who had “80s-style weathered skin” to Bucks Camp 200m away, where the elderly campers would arrive two days later.
“The male was mid-50s. He had shorts on, blue singlet and Gators on. He was a creepy fellow. He was really sweating,” Mr Williams said in his police statement.
“We then continue working but joked amongst ourselves that this bloke looked like (serial killer) Ivan Milat.”
Mr Williams later drove past and saw that Mr Lynn had backed his car and trailer into the bush “like he was hiding his camp in the scrub”.
Mr Dann told the court his client “doesn’t look like Mr Milat on my limited observations”, and argued that comment, along with Mr Lynn being described as “creepy” or hiding his car, was prejudicial.
Justice Croucher agreed, and the jury never heard that part of Mr Williams’ evidence.
Mr Hill’s wife talked about his ‘enlarged penis’
Speaking of odd witness evidence, there was one comment from Russell Hill’s widow that surprised everyone.
Robyn Hill told the court her husband had been on antidepressants after a logging incident in the 1970s.
At one point, she told the jury he was hospitalised with a “very enlarged penis”.
“It wouldn’t go down, and that was part of the depression, actually,” she said.
It was evidence that no one was expecting, as Mrs Hill had already been questioned on the stand in the absence of the jury, and never mentioned anything about her husband’s penis.
Plenty of other evidence about Mr Hill’s personal life was aired to the court.
There was information about police finding his empty Viagra box in Carol Clay’s rubbish bin.
And his accused murderer, Mr Lynn, even claimed the night the couple died that Mr Hill was “trying to have fun in bed” before he “lost his temper” because the ex-pilot was blaring music from his nearby campsite.
It was these loud tunes that Mr Lynn claimed caused a fight between the two men over the gun, which led to a chain of events resulting in the pair’s deaths.
Juror snafu
Greg Lynn’s long-anticipated murder trial hit a hurdle on the very first day, when the (first) jury was dismissed before the case even began.
With a court full of legal eagles, journalists, family members of both victims and the accused and observers ready to hear the case kick off, Justice Michael Croucher announced there was a spanner in the works on May 10.
A total of 14 jurors had been empanelled for the six-week trial the day before but, suddenly that morning, two of them had texted the court with concerns.
The first, who stated they worked night shift and couldn’t focus on a full day of evidence, said graphic images made them feel unwell but they were “too nervous and shy” to tell the court earlier.
It seemed this juror had “slipped through” the cracks, as those who worked nights were supposed to tell Juries Victoria as much during the selection, making them ineligible.
A second juror announcement that same morning was even more concerning.
The person said they’d gone home after they were chosen to sit on the jury and “had some anxieties around my safety as a juror”.
“Can you please confirm that we are safe despite our full names being called out in court with the defendant (Mr Lynn),” they’d texted the court.
Justice Croucher questioned his “wisdom” in empanelling the jurors by name, rather than by number.
“In today’s world people just don’t seem to be as robust as they once were, but maybe that’s a harsh judgment,” His Honour said.
With the jury pool quickly fading from 14 members to a possible 12 – the minimum required to sit on the six-week trial – both the defence and prosecution applied to discharge the jury.
A new jury was empanelled days later.
They were called out by numbers, not names.
Picture ban: ‘Do they need his image jammed down their throats?’
You may have noticed that in all the news coverage of the Greg Lynn trial, not a single image has depicted the accused killer in handcuffs or standing near a prison officer.
That’s because a judge’s order banned the media from showing just that.
Despite Mr Lynn being charged with two counts of murder, and the jury seeing him sitting in a dock beside two custody officers every day, his lawyers argued it would be prejudicial to depict him in cuffs or being ushered about by security.
The media argued back, noting therehad never been such a restriction for any other accused criminal led from the prison van through the Supreme Court laneway.
But the decision was made and Mr Lynn was no longer allowed to be shown with security or in cuffs, meaning every image of him had to be cropped.
Media also had to apply for permission for a sketch artist to sit in court and draw Mr Lynn during his trial.
One day, faced with yet another application for a sketch artist to appear, Justice Croucher asked, “Do the public need (Greg Lynn’s) image jammed down their throats?”
The sketch artist did not get a guernsey that day.
Media in the gun: ‘You’re scaring the journalists’
When police ballistics specialists Paul Griffiths took the stand, he brought with him Mr Lynn’s 12-gauge Barathrum shotgun that he said shot Mrs Clay dead.
Presenting the weapon just metres from the jury, Mr Griffiths swung the gun about as the barrel was repeatedly flung in the direction of the media box.
Faced with the unloaded weapon, the demonstration left some reporters feeling “genuinely quite anxious”.
Sensing the fear, Justice Michael Croucher asked Mr Griffiths if he could “point it the other way?”
“You’re frightening the journalists,” His Honour said.
Prosecutor took time out to run an ultramarathon
Crown prosecutor Daniel Porceddu was missing in action for a couple days of the trial, with his junior stepping up to the crease in his absence.
No explanation was provided to the jury but Mr Porceddu, an avid runner, was taking part in an outback ultra-marathon.
In the gruelling “Standley Monster” race, competitors traverse 65km of the spectacular Larapinta Trail in the Northern Territory.
Not for the faint of heart, event organisers say participants negotiate “challenging, rocky, technical terrain” but are rewarded with stunning vistas of the red centre.
Mr Porceddu — who bears more than a passing resemblance to American Pie star Eugene Levy — completed the run in just over 12 and a half hours, coming in at 45th place.
“Started in the dark and finished in the dark. It was a long day out in the desert,” he told the court upon his return.
Not bad for someone who had plenty else on his plate.
The Greg Lynn uniform
There was something Steve Jobs about Greg Lynn.
The accused killer seemed to mimic the mentality of the late Apple computers founder, who used to wear the same black turtleneck, blue jeans and New Balance sneakers every day.
Mr Jobs would say that the less time he spent deciding his wardrobe, the more time and energy he had for what was important.
And what’s more important than fronting a murder trial that could put you behind bars for the rest of your life?
Every day of his pre-trial hearings – about 32 days in total between October and May — Mr Lynn stepped into the dock wearing what appeared to be the same black and white chequered shirt and grey tie under a dark suit.
But by the time of the trial – which from May to June – his outfit changed to a blue shirt and silver tie.
There was always a question that lingered in the public gallery.
Is it the same outfit, which he regularly takes to the prison drycleaners?
Or, like Steve Jobs, does he have a wardrobe filled with carbon copies of the exact same ensemble?
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