Daughter of slain camper Carol Clay refuses to say Greg Lynn’s name in court

The devastated daughter of murdered camper Carol Clay has refused to say Greg Lynn’s name in court, as prosecutors called for the killer to be sentenced to life behind bars.

The grieving daughter of slain camper Carol Clay has refused to say Greg Lynn’s name in court, as other family members described his crimes as “evil, wicked and unconscionable”.

Seated in the dock of the Supreme Court, the former Jetstar pilot, 58, came face-to-face with the family of Mrs Clay on Thursday, as prosecutors called for him to be sentenced to life in jail over her murder.

Lynn was convicted of killing Mrs Clay, 73, who along with Russell Hill, 74, vanished during a camping trip to the Wonnangatta Valley in Victoria’s high country in March 2020.

He was cleared of murdering Mr Hill.

Lynn showed little emotion during the nearly five-hour long pre-sentence hearing, silently watching on as Emma Davies likened her mother’s violent death to a “horror movie”.

“I will not be saying the man who murdered my mother’s name,” she said, at times wiping away tears.

“I find it difficult to form the words of his name without feeling nauseous.

“He destroyed my mother, he burned her beyond all possible recognition.”

Lynn was found guilty of the murder of Mrs Clay but acquitted of the murder of Russell Hill.

Jillian Walker described her sister as a selfless person who dedicated her life to charitable causes, and her death was like “losing half my life”.

“The story of what happened still shocks me. It is unfathomable,” she said.

“The treatment of the bodies was unimaginable.

“It was evil, wicked and unconscionable. This is what was done to my sister.”

Alison Abbott remembered her best friend’s “wicked sense of humour and infectious laugh” and said “no one deserved to die” the way she did.

Lynn’s barrister Dermot Dann KC said his client — who maintains his innocence — had penned a letter to Mrs Clay’s family in which he apologised for destroying her remains.

He told the court Lynn recognised his conduct was “selfish and callous” and caused unimaginable grief for the missing campers’ families who were kept in the dark about what had happened to them for 20 months.

“For those actions he is very sorry,” he said.

The barrister revealed his client would not seek to stay the sentence, as had previously been flagged, but that did not mean he was “coming to terms with the verdict”.

Lynn plans to appeal his conviction. Picture: Supplied

Mr Dann reiterated Lynn’s intention to appeal his conviction, after earlier raising concerns over a lack of motive and how the jury could have arrived at a split verdict.

The court heard about Lynn’s past which Mr Dann said included a history of charity work, church involvement and child fostering.

He said Lynn was granted full custody of his two sons after his estranged first wife, Lisa Lynn, was found dead from an apparent suicide in the front yard of the couple’s Mount Macedon home in 1999.

Lynn was raised in the Blue Mountains in NSW before his family moved to Lismore.

He was accepted into an engineering course but followed his dreams of becoming a pilot and joined the RAAF.

But Mr Dann said Lynn “fell at the last hurdle” and was discharged before he pursued a career as a commercial pilot, later working for Ansett, Qatar Airways and Jetstar.
After Lisa’s death, Lynn had a daughter with another woman in Adelaide, before he married his current wife Melanie, who he shares a son with.

Mr Dann said his family remained supportive but were at risk of losing their Caroline Springs home.

Earlier, Crown prosecutor Daniel Porceddu said Lynn had shown “no remorse” for the murder of Mrs Clay, and his apology during his testimony was “nothing more than self-serving”.

He said a life sentence should be imposed as it was a “grave example of the crime of murder”.

“The murder was cold blooded and callous,” he said.

Lynn will return to court for sentence on October 18.