Ex-pilot Greg Lynn sentenced over Carol Clay’s murder in Wonnangatta Valley
Greg Lynn will be 87 years old at the expiry of his sentence for the ‘violent, brutal, horrific’ murder of camper Carol Clay.
Former Jetstar pilot Greg Lynn will be 87 when his sentence for the “violent, brutal, horrific” murder of camper Carol Clay expires, 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 nor 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.
At trial, Lynn was found guilty of shooting Ms Clay in the head with his shotgun but was acquitted of murdering her childhood sweetheart Russell Hill, 74.
Members of the two families packed the courtroom, while the public gallery on the second floor was left to standing room only.
A notable absence however, was Lynn’s wife Melanie and his three children.
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.
He will be eligible for parole from the age of 79 and will be 87 when his sentence expires.
But Lynn has already flagged plans to appeal, with his high-profile barrister Dermott Dann KC previously saying he had “grave concerns” about the path the jury took to a guilty verdict.
As Lynn was led from the courtroom, he did not meet the gaze of members of Ms Clay’s and Mr Hill’s families.
Outside of court, the two families declined to speak to media. Detective Sergeant Brett Florence, who investigated and charged Lynn, gave a thumbs up.
Life sentence would be quite wrong: Judge
Justice Croucher told the court that in his assessment, Ms Clay’s murder did not call for the maximum sentence available – a life sentence.
He said as grave as the details of the murder were, and despite Lynn’s post-offence conduct in hiding and burning the two bodies, it would be “quite wrong” to impose a life sentence.
“This sentence must be heavier than many others imposed for murder under the standard sentencing regime,” he said, referencing Victoria’s 25-year standard sentence for murder introduced in 2018.
“My conclusion is this is a very grave murder.”
The judge said the seriousness of Lynn’s offending was aggravated significantly by concealing the two bodies and burning them into “nothingness”, leaving their loved ones in agony for 20 months.
Justice Croucher took into account Lynn’s lack of priors, community contributions, age and that he admitted what he did with the bodies and told police where to find them.
Details of Lynn’s apology letter
In a letter to Justice Croucher read to the court on Friday, 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 sporting clubs and his 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.
Justice Croucher accepted that Lynn was genuinely apologising for his treatment of Ms Clay’s and Mr Hill’s remains in death.
But, he said, given the “dreadful nature” of what Lynn had done, the impact of Lynn’s remorse on his sentence could only be modest.
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.
“As a matter of common human decency, I acknowledge their plight and suffering,” the judge said through tears.
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.
But Justice Croucher said he was not satisfied the murder was spontaneous or motiveless, just that he simply cannot say what motivated Ms Clay’s murder.
He said he was convinced Lynn deliberately shot to kill the 73-year-old and that her killing was “cold or callous”.
How missing campers case unfolded
Ms Clay vanished alongside Mr Hill shortly after the pair travelled to the remote Wonnangatta Valley, in Victoria’s High Country, for a camping trip.
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.
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.
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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