‘I was very concerned’: Robyn Hill speaks after missing campers verdict

The widow of slain camper Russell Hill says the verdict “could have been better” but she was relieved after initially fearing Greg Lynn would walk free.

The widow of slain camper Russell Hill has told how she feared Greg Lynn would walk free, saying “an innocent person doesn’t get rid of the bodies”.

Robyn Hill breathed a bittersweet sigh of relief on Tuesday after the jury determined Lynn guilty of the murder of Mr Hill’s secret lover, Carol Clay.

But Ms Hill told the Herald Sun she was initially worried he would be cleared over both the missing campers’ deaths.

After seven days of ­deliberations, the Supreme Court ­reconvened shortly after 12.40pm on Tuesday, with the jury returning a shock verdict that the former Jetstar captain was not guilty of her husband’s murder.

The jury determined Greg Lynn guilty of Carol Clay’s murder but not Russell Hill’s.

But the 12 jurors convicted Lynn, 57, of the murder of Ms Clay, 73, who along with Mr Hill, 74, vanished during a camping trip to the Wonnangatta Valley in March 2020.

The pair were high school sweethearts who had rekindled their relationship in secret in 2006.

Speaking exclusively to the Herald Sun, Ms Hill – who listened to the verdict via audiovisual link – said she was pleased Lynn was convicted on at least one of the charges.

“It could have been a better verdict,” an emotional Ms Hill said outside her Drouin home.

Robyn Hill spoke exclusively to the Herald Sun about the verdict. Picture: Jake Nowakowski

“It’s been a very long (process) and I was very concerned about what the verdict was going to be. When I heard Russell’s (verdict) first, I was really concerned it was going to be Carol not guilty as well.

“An innocent person doesn’t get rid of the bodies … that’s how I looked at it.”

Lynn had admitted to dumping the pair’s bodies in remote bushland following their deaths, before returning eight months later and setting fire to their remains, telling police he panicked and covered up their deaths because he was worried about his career and family.

On Tuesday, Ms Hill said she was “glad it’s over” and praised the efforts of the case’s lead detective Brett Florence, saying she had a “lot of respect” for the detective.

Lynn admitted to dumping the campers’ bodies in remote bushland. Picture: David Geraghty

“Now we’ve just got to wait for his sentence in July,” she said.

Asked how she had coped with the loss of her husband, she said she found ways to keep herself occupied.

“It was a bit hard at the start because I had to move on,” Ms Hill said.

It emerged during the trial Mr Hill and Ms Clay had at one point planned to leave each other’s respective spouses so they could be together, but Mr Hill backed out of the agreement after Ms Clay had already divorced her husband.

On Tuesday, Ms Hill said she had no hard feelings towards Ms Clay, calling her an “intelligent woman”.

Robyn Hill says she has no hard feelings toward Ms Clay. Picture: Jake Nowakowski

Lynn faces life behind bars for Ms Clay’s murder.

Wearing the same black suit and blue shirt he had worn for most of the trial, Lynn, who was seated in the dock for the verdict, showed little emotion as he learnt his fate.

His son, Geordie, and one of Mr Hill’s daughters, Colleen, were seated in the body of the court, alongside detectives from the missing persons squad and more than 20 members of the media.

Russell Hill along with Carol Clay vanished during a camping trip to the Wonnangatta Valley in 2020.

The upstairs public gallery was at capacity.

Justice Michael Croucher thanked the jury for their service, noting it was a “very difficult process”, before he discharged them.

As Lynn was led from the dock, he whispered to his son: “Don’t stress.”

The former pilot, who has been in custody since his ­November 2021 arrest, will ­return to the Supreme Court for a mention next month ­before a pre-sentence hearing later this year.

In a statement, the Hill and Clay families said they were both “relieved and devastated” by the verdict.

“We thank the jury for their verdict of guilty in the murder of Carol Clay. It was an extremely difficult task given that the accused destroyed so much evidence,” they said.

“The verdict of not guilty in relation to the murder of Russell Hill is devastating. There was not enough evidence to be sure of how he died.”

They thanked Crown prosecutors Daniel Porceddu and Kathryn Hamill, while ­acknowledging the difficult task they had been given since there were no eyewitnesses to their loved ones’ deaths.

“The accused was the only person who saw and experienced what happened. He was also the only person who emerged alive,” they said.

“We are heartbroken at the loss of our loved ones. It will take time to absorb the verdicts, put this behind us and set about healing and getting on with our lives.”

Victoria Police Assistant Commissioner Martin O’Brien paid tribute to the families and also praised the “determination and perseverance” of the detectives on the case.

“Our thoughts are with the Hill and Clay families at this time and we acknowledge how difficult these past four years have been for them,” he said.

“Their courage and resilience in the face of their grief, amidst enormous public attention, has been nothing short of extraordinary. We will continue to support them in every way possible following this ­decision.”

Lynn maintained his innocence throughout the five-week trial, claiming the couple were accidentally killed in separate struggles involving a shotgun and a kitchen knife after a dispute with Mr Hill over his drone.

The trial heard from 49 witnesses including campers, hunters, family and friends of the missing pair, forensic experts, police and Lynn himself.

There were no eyewitnesses to the couple’s deaths and prosecutor Mr Porceddu conceded the precise circumstances, such as a motive, were unknown other than that Ms Clay was “shot to the head”.

He said Lynn probably murdered Mr Hill after a dispute over the elderly camper’s drone before shooting Ms Clay because she was a witness.

In his police interview and testimony, Lynn claimed the deadly confrontation was sparked when Mr Hill took the ex-pilot’s shotgun from his car and threatened to take it to police because he had filmed him on his drone hunting close to the campsite.

Lynn said he tried to grab the gun back before Ms Clay was accidentally shot in the head as the men struggled with the weapon.

Enraged by Ms Clay’s death, Lynn claimed, Mr Hill then charged at him with a kitchen knife before he, too, was accidentally killed when he fell on the blade in the scuffle.

In his closing address, Mr Porceddu labelled Lynn’s story “complete fiction” as he took the jury through inconsistencies in his account.

“The accused story is indeed a series of very unfortunate events,” he said.

“Like the book series of that name, it is a complete fiction.”

In his closing address, defence barrister Dermot Dann KC accused the prosecution of “increasingly desperate and ill-fated” manoeuvres.

A day after asking the judge if they were allowed to reach different verdicts for Mr Hill and Ms Clay, the jury reached its decision. One police source told the Herald Sun yesterday: “There are indications juries are willing to battle through the bulls--t.”

Lynn will return to court on July 19.