Ex-pilot to face re-trial after successful appeal
Emily Woods |
A former pilot will face a fresh trial for the murder of a missing camper who died alongside her secret lover.
Greg Lynn, 59, faced a full Court of Appeal in Melbourne where three judges decided his fate on Thursday.
He appealed his murder conviction and sentence for the death of camper Carol Clay, 73, who went missing with Russell Hill, 74, from a remote campsite in March 2020.
The pair had been camping at the same site as Lynn, Buck’s Camp in the Wonnangatta Valley in Victoria’s high country.
Lynn was charged with two murders and took the case to trial, admitting he burned their bodies but maintaining the deaths were accidental.
The jury returned a split verdict in June 2024 and Lynn was sentenced in October of that year to 32 years’ imprisonment with a minimum of 24.
He was found guilty of Ms Clay’s murder but acquitted over Mr Hill’s death.
He appealed the verdict with his lawyers arguing it was unsafe as prosecutors put forward an unfair case and had failed to properly cross-examine Lynn.
However prosecutors rejected all claims the trial was unfair, despite admitting cross-examination could have been better.
The appeal judges asked prosecutors if they will pursue Lynn on manslaughter charges for both deaths if he faces a new trial.
Prosecutor Kathryn Hamill asked to be given time to discuss this with Victoria’s Director of Public Prosecutions and would pass a note to the court.
On Thursday three appeal judges returned to the court and allowed his appeal, ordering that he face a fresh trial over Ms Clay’s murder conviction.
The judges found there were a number of “serious irregularities” that gave rise to a “substantial miscarriage of justice” as they set aside the murder conviction.
Mr Hill’s daughters, Deborah and Colleen, sat in court and appeared emotional as the decision was handed down.
Lynn was remanded in custody and will return to the Supreme Court for a directions hearing on January 28.
AAP
