‘Relieved and devastated’: Hill and Clay families’ joint statement

The families of Russell Hill and Carol Clay released a joint statement on Tuesday after the verdict in Gregory Lynn’s trial for murder. It is here in full.

Russell Hill and Carol Clay’s families are both relieved and devastated at the verdicts in the trial of Gregory Lynn for the murder of Russell Hill and Carol Clay, delivered today.

The jury have only decided murder in one case, that of Carol Clay.

Russell Hill and Carol Clay.

The verdict of guilty was the only charge. The possibility of a verdict of manslaughter was ruled out. 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.

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.

Our families were always aware that the prosecutor had an enormous burden of proof as there were no eyewitnesses. The accused was the only person who saw and experienced what happened. He was also the only person who emerged alive.

Gregory Lynn being taken away from court after Tuesday’s verdict.Credit: Jason South

We thank the Crown prosecutors wholeheartedly for their diligent effort in presenting the pretrial and the trial. They had an enormous job putting a case together with limited evidence. They fought hard to keep all their evidence allowed in court, so the jury could make an informed decision, but this was not the case.

We also thank the Victoria Police Missing Persons Squad, particularly Detective Inspector Andrew Stamper and Sergeant Brett Florence for their tireless investigative work over 4½ years. They have gone above and beyond in their duties to solve this case and we sincerely thank them for their time, effort, persistence, care and professionalism to bring us answers.

For the wider Victoria Police involvement, thank you, we appreciated the efforts of you all and are extremely grateful for your expertise, your hard work and support. Plus, we thank all the wonderful volunteers who spent weeks searching for our loved ones.

Finally, Carol Clay and Russell Hill’s families would like to thank all our friends and family who have given their support throughout this harrowing experience over the last four years.

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.

Right now, we ask you to respect our privacy while we do this.

Our Breaking News Alert will notify you of significant breaking news when it happens. Get it here.