Catching a killer: How the police brought down Greg Lynn

By Greg Lynn’s own admission, his plan to hide any involvement with the missing campers started “unravelling at the first turn”, landing him front and centre of the police investigation.

The Russell Hill-Carol Clay case was complex, protracted and full of crucial turning points.

One of the first came on the night of thecampers’ deaths, after Lynn had put the bodies in his 4WD’s trailer and done what he could to destroy evidence at the scene.

He slowly headed north towards Myrtleford but was stopped by a road closed sign which had been put up because of earlier bushfires in the area ahead.

Lynn could have rammed through with his Nissan Patrol but, investigators believe, chose not to because of the risk of being heard by someone staying nearby.

As it happens, he was right.

If this track out of the campsite hadn’t been blocked, Lynn may never have come to the attention of police. Picture: Supplied

Someone was close by in the darkness and heard Lynn patiently working the vehicle through a many-points turn until he was able to get it around.

The witness knew it was towing a trailer because chains could be heard clinking in the night.

For the second time in the space of a few hours, Lynn had to put his pilot’s hat on, assess his options and set a course.

There are those who believe that, had he been able to sneak out at night through the northern route, Lynn would never have been found.

It would have enabled him to be on the Hume Highway and headed for Caroline Springs, probably undetected.

Greg Lynn’s Nissan Patrol and trailer travelling along the Great Alpine Rd on March 21, 2020. Picture: Supreme Court of Victoria

Instead, Lynn was forced to make the hard call, setting off on a six-hour drive along tracks which are challenging enough in the daylight hours.

Somewhere on a long, draining trip to the Great Alpine Highway, he hid the bodies of Mr Hill and Mrs Clay.

A former airline worker said Lynn would have been better prepared than most, having built a career on being ready to deal with critical situations.

“It takes a particular type of person to manage it. They are so cool under pressure,” the worker said.

“They have to continually stay ahead or they’re out.”

Lynn never came forward to say he had been in the area, despite several public appeals for information. Picture: David Geraghty

After emerging in the Dargo area, Lynn’s next move was to head north and that was where police would later glean their most important clue.

Near Hotham Heights he passed an automatic traffic camera at the roadside.

It recorded a number of vehicles coming through in that period but only one – Lynn’s Nissan – at the same time Russell Hill’s passing mobile phone pinged off a transponder.

While detectives had to investigate many other people to exclude them from the inquiry, they knew this was a significant lead.

When police visited his home, Lynn told them he had not been at Wonnangatta when the couple vanished – but his lie was later ruled inadmissable in court.

There were repeated public urgings by Victoria Police for anyone who had been in the Wonnangatta area at the time of the disappearances to come forward.

Lynn could not have missed them but he never came forward, adding another intriguing layer.

Detectives must have been almost certain they had their man when they called on him many months into the probe, a visit they were at pains to portray as not having any special significance.

Lynn said he had not been at Wonnangatta when the couple vanished.

That lie was later ruled inadmissible at court because of paperwork uncovered in the discovery process, which referred to Lynn as a “suspect”.

That meant that under Victorian law he should have been cautioned before talking to officers.

But from an investigative point of view, the detectives knew they were on the right track.