Camper killer Gregory Lynn’s plan to win freedom

High country killer Gregory Lynn will appeal his murder conviction on the grounds he has been the victim of a substantial miscarriage of justice.

The former airline pilot’s legal team say they will fight the jury’s guilty verdict against the 58-year-old for murdering camper Carol Clay, 73, in the Wonnangatta Valley in March 2020 on five grounds.

Gregory Lynn arrives at the Supreme Court.Credit: Joe Armao

Appeal documents lodged with the Supreme Court show Lynn will appeal both his conviction and the 32-year jail term handed down by Justice Michael Croucher.

Of the five grounds, four relate to Lynn’s conviction and one to his sentence.

“I, Gregory Stuart Lynn am convicted of the offence of murder and I am a prisoner at Melbourne Assessment Prison,” the documents read. “I wish to appeal to the Court of Appeal.”

Gregory Lynn’s sketch of the Bucks Camp site for police; Gregory Lynn (top right); Carol Clay and Russell Hill.

Lynn’s defence team say Crown prosecutor Daniel Porceddu launched a “sustained attack” on Lynn’s version of events during the prosecutor’s closing address which included statements never put to their client during his time in the witness box.

The second appeal ground relates to the evidence of ballistics expert Paul Griffiths, employed by Victoria Police, who brought the murder weapon into court and talked the jury through its operation.

During his evidence, Lynn’s legal team claim Griffiths made a serious departure from the rules that govern fair conduct of criminal trials, one that may have led the jury down an “impermissible pathway” in arriving at a guilty verdict.

This included what Dermot Dann, KC, told the court was “botched” trajectory testing of whether a bullet fired from the gun could have struck Clay in the head in the way Lynn told police it did.

The jury rejected Lynn’s version of events that the gun had accidentally discharged during a fight with fellow camper Russell Hill, travelled through the side mirror of a car and hit Clay. Lynn was found not guilty of murdering Hill.

Lynn’s lawyers claim the jury’s guilty verdict was “unsafe” and “unsatisfactory”.

In the documents filed with the Court of Appeal, Dann also says Lynn’s sentence, which has a non-parole period of 24 years, is manifestly excessive and must be re-examined.

If the appeal is successful, Lynn’s jail term could be reduced or a new trial over Clay’s murder could be ordered.

Dann has previously argued, however, that the “well of justice” has been poisoned against his client and the Court of Appeal could grant a permanent stay, which would mean Lynn never faces a retrial.

Croucher labelled Clay’s murder “a violent, brutal, horrific death”, while sentencing Lynn on October 18.

If Lynn’s appeal fails, he will be 79 before becoming eligible to apply for parole.

During his record of interview, Lynn maintained both Clay and Hill died in separate accidents and he burnt their campsite and disposed of their remains when he panicked.

“I am disappointed and perplexed by the jury verdict, as I have not killed anyone,” he wrote in a letter to the court.

A podcast from 9News, The Age and 9Podcasts followed the court case as it unfolded. The Missing Campers Trial is the first podcast to follow a jury trial in real time in Victoria. It’s presented by Nine reporter Penelope Liersch and Age reporter Erin Pearson.

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