The jury tasked with deciding the fate of former Jetstar pilot Greg Lynn has been urged to dismiss his claims of self-defence.
Lynn, 57, has pleaded not guilty in the Supreme Court of Victoria to the murders of Russell Hill, 74, and Carol Clay, 73, in the Wonnanangatta Valley in the state’s Alpine region on 20 March 2020.
On Monday, Crown prosecutor Daniel Porceddu gave his closing speech to jurors, telling them to reject any notion that the campers died by accident.
Former Jetstar pilot Greg Lynn claimed he is only guilty of covering up the death. He denies murdering the campers.
Carol Clay was shot and killed. Police cannot say how they believe Russell Hill was allegedly murdered
“You may have heard that the defendant gave a version of events in his interview and on the witness stand last week. For reasons I will explain later, the prosecution says that this story is completely fanciful,” he stated.
“It can be comfortably dismissed as an elaborate fiction.”
Mr Porceddu’s closing speech follows Lynn’s appearance on the witness stand last week.
Dressed neatly in a suit and dark-rimmed glasses, the former pilot spoke coolly and calmly as he explained to the jury the details of what police allege was a cold-blooded murder.
The jury heard Lynn claim the couple died after Hill stole his shotgun and the pair became involved 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 and scare me.”
The jury heard that Lynn was sitting near his campfire by the river when he saw Mr Hill pick up his shotgun and load the magazine.
The doors of Lynn’s Nissan Patrol had been left wide open to “release all the music” from her car stereo, which, in the driver’s own words, was done in a “childish effort” to annoy Mr. Hill after a previous confrontation with him.
Greg Lynn denies murdering elderly couple
Lynn claims he was involved in a deadly struggle over his shotgun in the front of Mr Hill’s Landcruiser (pictured).
The 12 gauge shotgun that Lynn claims was fired by Russell Hill into Carol Clay’s head.
While Lynn has always denied murdering the couple, the jury heard he freely admitted to cleaning up the alleged crime scene and destroying evidence.
“It was despicable,” Lynn admitted.
‘All I can say to the families is that I am very sorry for all the suffering I have caused them… yes, I should be punished for it. For what I did.’
The jury heard that Lynn had offered to plead guilty to destruction of evidence before going to trial, but the prosecution had rejected her.
“I am innocent of murder,” he said. ‘I am innocent (also of homicide). I haven’t killed anyone.
Lynn claimed that Mr. Hill accidentally shot Ms. Clay in the head while trying to grab the shotgun from her.
Pressed on the bar of Mr Hill’s Landcruiser, Lynn claimed Mr Hill pulled the trigger, exploding the side mirror and hitting Mrs Clay directly in the head.
Hill died moments later after falling on his own knife during another fight, Lynn claimed.
Greg Lynn leaves the wild after deadly March 2020 incident
Carol Clay’s purse was left in Mr. Hill’s car.
The picturesque place where the deadly incident occurred.
In closing the case, Mr. Porceddu examined for the jury all the evidence that was presented over the past month.
“He tells you that Mr. Hill and Ms. Clay died accidentally in separate, instantaneous or near-instantaneous fatal incidents, both caused by Mr. Hill’s conduct,” Mr. Porceddu said.
‘The defendant’s story is, indeed, a series of very unfortunate events. Like the book series of the same name, it is also a complete fiction.’
Porceddu claimed Lynn had made further errors in her account to police about the alleged confrontation with Hill.
“There are several reasons why the story is completely implausible,” he said.
Porceddu said Lynn had made a mistake in her account of the alleged fight with Hill by failing to take into account the rope tied from the bar of her Landcruiser to the toilet.
The jury heard that the fighting men would have become hopelessly entangled in the rope if Lynn’s version of events had been true.
“He knows he’s sunk because he knows he and Mr. Hill would have gotten tangled in the guy line,” Porceddu said.
Lynn’s sketch of how he claims the deadly fight arose
Porceddu claimed that Lynn came up with his story during the 18 months it took police to arrest him.
‘The so-called fight for the weapon is the central axis of the accused’s story. “Once that falls like a house of cards, everything else falls with it,” he stated.
You don’t believe a word. We urge you to see the defendant’s account for what it is: a fiction carefully constructed and developed over a year and eight months. During that time, the accused was able to understand the evidence that emerged through the media.
“It was a story that was clearly carefully rehearsed so that I could repeat it almost word for word over two separate days of a police interview. “It’s a story crafted in such a way that they put the blame on Mr. Hill.
The jury heard that Lynn’s story about Mr Hill stealing his gun from his car did not make sense.
“If you are a person concerned about firearm safety, you have sneaked into the defendant’s camp to confiscate his gun and you are trying to do it without him knowing, why carry it when all you are looking for is What to do is take him back to his camp? said the prosecutor.
Porceddu said it was also unreasonable to think Hill would have taken the shotgun and left Lynn’s rifle in the car.
“If you’re going to confiscate the gun of a person you haven’t been on the best of terms with, who you’ve supposedly been provocative with, and you’re doing it to eventually report it to the police, don’t do it.” Do you think you would stop them from giving him another weapon? he said.
The Crown’s closing speech is expected to take up much of Monday.
Then, attorney Dermot Dann, KC, will guide the jury through Lynn’s final defense.