Ex-Jetstar pilot Gregory Lynn has been found guilty of the murder of Carol Clay, but not guilty of the murder of Russell Hill.
The mixed verdict was handed down in the Supreme Court of Victoria on Tuesday afternoon.
The jury has been deliberating over the murder charges against Lynn since June 14.
Greg Lynn has been found guilty of murdering Carol Clay
Jury found Lynn murdered Carol Clay, nut not Russell Hill
The verdict came a day after the jury returned to the court to ask Justice Michael Croucher if both of their verdicts needed to be the same.
The jury had heard the prosecution could deliver no motive or evidence as to how they alleged Lynn had allegedly murdered Mr Hill.
The former Jetstar pilot had pleaded not guilty to the murders of Mr Hill, 74, and Ms Clay, 73, in the Wonnangatta Valley, in Victoria’s Alpine region, on March 20, 2020.
Sobs could be heard across the courtroom as the verdicts were delivered.
The jury of 12 unanimously found Lynn murdered Ms Clay in cold blood before attempting to cover his tracks by burning and destroying the evidence.
The verdict brings to an end one of Australia’s most intriguing murder mysteries in recent times.
The disgraced pilot had banked on convincing the jury both campers had died as a result of a tragic accident.
He was aided in his task by a series of police blunders, which saw the entirety of Lynn’s epic four-plus day record of interview thrown out before the trial.
It joined the scrap heap with a load of other evidence deemed inadmissible, including a search of Lynn’s house that turned-up a treasure trove of guns and knives.
Greg Lynn and his wife Melanie, who attended court every day of his trial
Lynn had entered the witness box to tell the jury in his own words how the campers died.
While Lynn always denied murdering the couple, the jury heard he freely admitted to cleaning up the alleged crime scene and destroying the evidence.
‘It was despicable,’ Lynn conceded.
‘All I can say to the families is that I am very sorry for all of your suffering that I’ve caused … yes I should be punished for it. For what I did.’
The jury heard Lynn had offered to plead guilty to the destruction of evidence before going on trial, but it had been rejected by the prosecution.
‘I am innocent of murder,’ he said. ‘I am innocent (of manslaughter too). I haven’t killed anyone.’
Dressed neatly in a suit and dark-rimmed spectacles, the former pilot spoke in a cool and calm manner as he took the jury through the bloody details of what police alleged was cold blooded murder.
The jury heard Lynn claimed the couple died after Mr Hill stole his shotgun and the pair engaged in a deadly struggle for control.
‘I don’t know if he intended to shoot me or not, probably not,’ Lynn told the jury. ‘I think he was just trying to keep the shotgun for himself and scare me off.’
The jury heard Lynn had been sitting near his campfire by the river when he saw Mr Hill take his shotgun and load the magazine.
The doors of Lynn’s Nissan Patrol had been left wide open to ‘liberate all the music’ from his car stereo, which in the pilot’s own words was done in a ‘childish effort’ to annoy Mr Hill after a previous run-in with him.
Lynn created a sketch of the scene to help jurors work out how he claimed Mr Hill gained access to his Nissan Patrol to steal his shotgun.
The image showed a depiction of Lynn’s 4WD with all of its doors open, allowing Mr Hill to take Lynn’s shotgun from the rear and ammunition clip from the front.
Lynn claimed Mr Hill accidentally shot Ms Clay through the head as he attempted to wrestle the shotgun away from him.
Pressed upon the bullbar of Mr Hill’s Landcruiser, Lynn claimed Mr Hill pulled the trigger, blasting off the side mirror and hitting Ms Clay directly in the head.
MORE TO FOLLOW
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