The jury charged with deciding the fate of former Jetstar pilot Greg Lynn was warned they had no evidence to convict him and asked: “Does that suit you?”
Lynn, 57, 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 March 20 of 2020.
On Wednesday, Lynn’s attorney, Dermot Dann KC, sharply criticized the prosecution’s case.
Dann told jurors they had been left with no evidence to work with to convince themselves beyond a reasonable doubt that Lynn was guilty of the murders.
Greg Lynn is charged with both murders.
‘There is no factual basis in the prosecution’s case. “They have nothing, nothing, totally blank,” said Mr. Dann.
‘There is no evidence… you are asked to find a man guilty of murder.
‘In the case of the accusation there is no factual basis, no motive, just a complete void.
Do you think it’s OK? I mean, how is that possible?
Dann said that while his client admitted the crime of disposing of evidence, he could not be found guilty of murder based on the evidence presented at his trial.
‘In the case of the accusation there is no factual basis, no motive, just a complete void.
Do you think it’s OK? I mean, how is that possible?
We are in a murder trial. You are trying to do your jury duty and you are asked to convict a man. Well, you can’t just say “well, look, we don’t have any evidence, but let’s convict him anyway.” It doesn’t work like that,” said Mr. Dann.
The jury heard claims that the prosecution did not adequately challenge Mr Lynn’s account when given the opportunity to cross-examine him last week.
“What challenge did Mr. Lynn’s account of Mr. Hill’s accidental death pose? Zero,” Mr. Dann said.
The prosecutor also did not ask questions about the knife with which Lynn claimed Hill tried to stab him after accidentally shooting Clay.
Are you challenged by that evidence? No. Are you asked a single question about that evidence? No,” Mr. Dann told the jury.
‘There’s just no challenge. Mr Lynn’s evidence remains undisputed. How Mr Hill died has not been questioned.
Lynn’s attorney, Dermot Dann, KC (left), attacked the prosecution’s case Wednesday.
L:ynn claims that Carol Clay was shot and killed by Russell Hill during a fight over his gun. Hill died moments later at the point of his own knife, Lynn said.
Dann said Lynn had no motive to murder the elderly campers.
‘(The Prosecutor) Mr. Porceddu, in his cross-examination of Mr. Lynn, kept asking these questions about him being a pilot, trained to stay calm and deal with stressful situations… every time he asked that question alone “The murder of Mr. Hill is increasingly unlikely,” he said.
“Why would this man you saw on the witness stand, this calm and collected man, kill Mr. Hill when there is no apparent reason to do so?”
Dann said the prosecution’s theory that Lynn killed the couple over a dispute over his piloting of a drone had no evidence to support it.
‘That’s not a reason. This is not presented as a reason. “The prosecution accepts that it knows nothing about motive as far as Mr Hill is concerned,” Mr Dann said.
‘That’s why we tell you, ladies and gentlemen, you have no case. There is no meat on the bones. There is nothing.’
Dann described the prosecution’s case as hopeless.
‘We have the rule of law that we try to observe in this court. In truth, as we said yesterday, it is a lost cause. This is an important case, without a doubt, an important trial. There seem to be a lot of people interested, for sure,” said Mr Dann.
“But the simple reality is, and if this ruffles feathers, it ruffles feathers, it’s a lost cause.”
‘They have no case regarding murder in relation to count 1. How can someone be found guilty in a complete factual vacuum?’
Greg Lynn faces life in prison if convicted of murders
Lynn claims a deadly struggle took place in the front of this Landcruiser
Dann claimed that the prosecution had also failed to prove that Lynn murdered Clay.
“We will say there are the same fundamental problems with the prosecution’s case,” Mr Dann said.
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.
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.
The dispute had allegedly been sparked by Mr Hill’s alleged dislike of deer hunting.
Dann claimed the prosecution knew they would have come in “second best” if they had faced Lynn on the witness stand.
‘They had their chance and what happened? If all this is so far-fetched and fanciful, this skilled operator here, Mr. Porceddu, would have cut (Lynn) into pieces. “You would have gotten to the heart of the matter very quickly,” Mr Dann told the jury.
“He didn’t ask him a single question. Why do you think it could have been…? She knew she wasn’t going to get anywhere. She threw in the towel. Everything was too difficult. She should accept that those were the reasons why she did not confront Mr Lynn in the witness box.
‘I should accept that he knew that process was not going to help the prosecution. You should accept that he knew that the prosecution’s case was going to come second in that meeting.
Carol Clay was shot in the head. Lynn claims her secret lover Russell Hill
The shotgun Lynn claims Russell Hill stole from his 4×4
Dann said Porceddu’s failure to engage Lynn on the witness stand about her reasons for what she did after the alleged murders left Lynn’s evidence unchallenged.
—Because your evidence is indisputable. His evidence as to why he did those terrible things remains indisputable. There is no challenge to it. What are you meant to do? “He is presumed innocent, he has given his reasons and he is not questioned,” said Mr. Dann.
“Unless you’re operating under a presumption of guilt or something, it’s all over in terms of that reasoning process… if you’re asked to convict for this so-called incriminating conduct, you have to accept that the whole exercise with Mr. .Lynn because they were going to come in second place.
Dann dealt a new blow to the prosecution, questioning their “human decency” in the way they presented information to the jury that was not conveyed directly to Lynn.
‘It can’t be that they have simply forgotten. They can’t be so chaotic. It was unfair to Mr. Lynn because that’s what the rule is about. It’s about justice. “It’s based on human decency: if you’re going to allege something against someone, you give them a chance to deal with the allegations,” Mr Dann said.
‘Human decency. Justice. What happened to that when Mr. Lynn testified?
Mr. Dann’s closing speech is expected to conclude Wednesday afternoon, and then the judge will direct the jury on the questions of law they must consider before retiring to consider their verdict.