Ex-pilot Greg Lynn sentenced over Carol Clay’s murder in Wonnangatta Valley
The former Jetstar pilot is handed a huge sentence by a Victorian judge for the ‘violent, brutal and horrific’ murder of 73-year-old Carol Clay.
Former Jetstar pilot Greg Lynn will be 87 years old at the expiry of his sentence for the “violent, brutal, horrific” murder of camper Carol Clay, as an apology letter written by Lynn after his guilty verdict was read to the court.
Lynn, 58, returned before the Victorian Supreme Court shortly before 11.30am on Friday, flanked by two custody officers as he walked through the packed courtroom.
Neither the rain pounding outside or the weight of sentencing appeared to affect Lynn’s mood, with the ex-pilot displaying a calm demeanour as he was jailed for 32 years, with a non parole period of 24.
Over an hour and a half, Justice Michael Croucher set out his findings as to the facts of what occurred at the remote Bucks Camp in March 2020 before announcing Lynn’s sentence for the murder of Carol Clay, 73.
Ms Clay vanished alongside her childhood sweetheart Russell Hill, 74, shortly after the pair travelled to the remote Wonnangatta Valley, in Victoria’s High Country, for a camping trip.
As 11.30am approached, Lynn pulled out a notepad and with his head lowered began to write.
Members of the two families packed the courtroom, while the public gallery on the second floor was crowded with faces.
A notable absence however, was Lynn’s wife Melanie and his three children.
As Justice Croucher entered the courtroom he said at the outset it will take up to an hour and three quarters to pass sentence.
“It is my responsibility now to pass sentence,” he said.
“That task is complicated somewhat by the contrasting verdicts and we shall soon see.”
Details of Lynn’s apology letter
In a letter to Justice Croucher and read to the court Lynn maintained he was innocent but apologised for the “selfish and callous in the extreme” treatment of the campers’ bodies.
“Your Honour I am disappointed and perplexed by the jury’s verdict as I have not killed anyone and will be appealing,” he said.
“Due to current community sentiment I understand my apology will likely be rejected by most. I don’t ask for forgiveness I’m simply sorry for what I have done.”
Lynn said he was sorry for his efforts to destroy Ms Clay’s and Mr Hill’s remains, saying he had reasons at the time but now accepted they were selfish.
He apologised to Jetstar, his shooting clubs and family for the “pain, shame and suffering” he had caused.
“I understand that due to current community sentiment, my apology will likely be rejected by most. With heartfelt regret for my own behaviour, I humbly apologise regardless,” he wrote.
Treatment of bodies ‘appalling’
Justice Croucher told the court Lynn’s conduct was aggravated by the appalling treatment of the remains of Ms Clay and Mr Hill as he sought to hide his involvement.
“Even though I’m not satisfied the motive was to eliminate Ms Clay as a witness … On what is known it is still a very grave example of murder,” he said.
Justice Croucher’s voice began to falter and he dabbed at his eyes as he said Mr Hill’s family had been left in “excruciating legal limbo” following the jury’s verdict.
He described Ms Clay’s death as “violent, brutal and horrific”, noting she was a woman of 73 blasted in the head with a shotgun by Lynn.
Justice Croucher said Lynn’s efforts to avoid being identified by hiding and later burning the bodies, was “agonising” for Ms Clay’s family.
No motive in Ms Clay’s death
Justice Croucher found he was unable to determine the events leading up to Ms Clay’s murder in accordance with the jury’s verdicts.
“The prosecution theory that it was likely (Lynn and Mr Hill) argued first … may well be right but I’m just not satisfied to the requisite standard that that's what happened,” he said.
Justice Croucher said he could not accept the prosecution submission Lynn killed Ms Clay to cover up the death of Mr Hill or even the order of the camper’s deaths.
“Given the verdict and forensic evidence I am satisfied Ms Clay was killed instantly when she was shot to the head with Mr Lynn’s shotgun,” he said.
“I can’t simply say on the evidence I heard what motivated Ms Clay’s murder.”
The couple, who dated in their youth before drifting apart, had reunited in their 60s and kept the relationship secret from Mr Hill’s wife Robyn Hill.
After a five-week trial earlier this year, the jury acquitted Lynn on a separate allegation of murdering Mr Hill. Lynn has flagged his intention to appeal the guilty verdict.
Victoria’s emergency services kicked off a massive search and rescue operation after the discovery of Mr Hill and Ms Clay’s torched campsite before missing persons investigators were called in to take over the following month.
It would be 20 months before Lynn was arrested as heavily armed special operations group members arrived at a remote campsite by helicopter and three more days before Lynn told detectives where they could find the couple’s remains.
How camper deaths unfolded
An avid bushman, Lynn was staying at Bucks Camp on a hunting trip to stalk deer when the couple arrived.
He had been under police surveillance for more than a year after his car was inadvertently photographed leaving the valley on an automatic number plate recognition camera on March 21 as police drip fed details to the media to observe his reaction.
A week before his arrest, 60 Minutes aired a police sketch of a vehicle during a segment about the missing couple.
“It looks like your car … it really does,” his wife Melanie Lynn said.
“It’s not funny, sweet pea,” Lynn replied.
Just days later he was captured on CCTV removing a distinctive awning from the side of his vehicle as shown in the sketch.
Earlier this year. only Lynn’s account of what happened to the elderly lovers was put to the jury as prosecutors argued that while they did not know exactly what happened, his actions afterwards could only be explained by murder.
Taking the stand, Lynn said Hill had stolen his shotgun from his unlocked car after an earlier confrontation over hunting and drones.
Lynn said Ms Clay was shot in the head as the two men wrestled for the gun, while Mr Hill later fell on his own knife after attacking Lynn in grief.
He accepted his actions in burning the camp, hiding the two bodies and later returning to incinerate them were “despicable” but remained adamant he was not guilty of murder.
“My plan was to disappear and for a long time I thought I had,” he said.
Prosecutors said if Lynn’s version was to be believed he would be not guilty but argued it was a carefully constructed “complete fiction” to explain the deaths as accidental and should be rejected.
During a plea hearing last month, Crown prosecutor Daniel Porceddu called for Lynn to receive a life sentence, describing the murder as “cold-blooded and callous”.
He argued it was consistent with the jury’s verdict that there was an “interaction of some description” between Lynn and Mr Hill, leading to his death.
“The offender was motivated by a desire to eliminate the deceased as a witness,” Mr Porceddu said.
Lynn’s barrister, Dermot Dann KC, argued if the jury had found his client’s motivation was to eliminate a witness they would have been in contravention of a jury direction.
“The jury were told and directed that if they found Mr Lynn not guilty of the murder of Mr Hill, the prosecution accepted there would be no motive for the murder of Ms Clay,” he said.
“Your Honour has to sentence this man on the basis that there is no motive that’s been established.”
Mr Dann has previously flagged plans to appeal, claiming he had “grave concerns” with the path the jury took to reach their verdict.
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