The grieving widow of murdered camper Russell Hill has broken her silence after Greg Lynn was found guilty of killing her husband’s secret lover.
Robyn Hill, who supported Mr Hill, 74, for 50 years, watched Tuesday’s Supreme Court verdict via audio-visual link, initially fearing that Greg Lynn, 57, would walk free after the jury found her innocent of her husband’s murder.
However, she breathed a sigh of relief after Lynn was found guilty of murdering Hill’s secret lover, 73-year-old Carol Clay.
“An innocent person doesn’t dispose of bodies… that’s how I saw it,” an emotional Mrs. Hill told the Herald of the sun.
The widow admitted the decision “could have been a better verdict” but was “glad it’s over.”
“It’s been a very long (process) and I was very worried about what the verdict was going to be,” Hill told the publication.
“When I first heard Russell’s (verdict), I was very concerned that Carol was not guilty either.”
Widow Robyn Hill (pictured at trial last month) initially feared Greg Lynn would walk free after the jury found him not guilty of the murder of her husband Russell.
However, she breathed a sigh of relief after Lynn was found guilty of murdering Hill’s secret lover Carol Clay, 73 (pictured, left).
Hill also paid tribute to the tireless efforts of Detective Sergeant Brett Florence, who was the lead detective on the case.
He now anxiously awaits hearing Lynn’s sentence, which will be handed down on July 19.
Lynn faces life behind bars for the murder of Mrs. Clay.
Hill and Clay, childhood sweethearts who rekindled their relationship later in life, went missing after camping in the Wonnangatta Valley in Victoria’s alpine region in March 2020.
Lynn had pleaded not guilty to their murders, but after seven days of deliberations, the 12-member jury found him guilty of killing Clay, but not guilty of murdering Hill.
Hill said she had no hard feelings toward Clay, her husband’s mistress, and instead described her as an “intelligent woman.”
His comments came after the Hill and Clay families issued a joint statement regarding the split verdict.
‘The not guilty verdict in relation to the murder of Russell Hill is devastating. “There was not enough evidence to be sure how he died,” the statement read.
‘Our families were always aware that the prosecutor had a huge burden of proof, as there were no eyewitnesses. The defendant was the only person who saw and experienced what happened. He was also the only person who came out alive.
‘We are heartbroken by the loss of our loved ones. It will take time to digest the verdicts, put this behind us and begin to heal and move on with our lives.’
Robyn Hill had no hard feelings towards her husband’s secret lover Carol Clay (pictured)
Lynn (pictured) had pleaded not guilty to their murders, but after seven days of deliberations the jury found him guilty of killing Ms Clay, but not guilty of Mr Hill’s murder.
The jury heard that Hill was Clay’s first boyfriend, but they got back together in 2006, while they were both married to other people.
During the mammoth trial, Ms Hill was questioned about her long-suffering relationship with her husband, whom she married in 1969.
Hill told the court she and her husband were going on holiday to Phillip Island with Clay and her then-husband, oblivious to their secret relationship.
She told the court she had known Clay since her husband, who had told her Clay was his first cousin.
It was a lie that Hill only discovered after observing her husband and Clay acting in “strange ways,” such as going for walks together on those trips.
The secret relationship finally came to a head when a neighbor threatened to expose Mr Hill’s behavior to his wife.
The court heard Hill confessed to the relationship but assured his wife he would end the affair immediately – a lie he maintained until his alleged murder.
Widow Robyn Hill (left) and daughter Debbie (right) testified during the trial.
The burned remains of Russell Hill and Carol Clay’s camp
Earlier, Hill broke down in tears when Lynn’s lawyer, Dermot Dann KC, explained how Hill continued to lie about her secret camping trips with Clay.
The widow said she believed her husband was alone when he set out on his last camping trip to the bush.
The court heard Hill had bought her husband a new box of antidepressants along with cans of bourbon and coke and a bottle of Bundaberg rum for the trip.
A bottle of wine was also later found in the burned camp.
Lynn, dressed in a suit and blue sweater, remained silent as the two verdicts were read aloud, raising his eyebrows after learning his fate.
He greeted his son Geordie, who was sitting opposite him inside the courtroom, after the jury left the court.
He spoke to his lawyers before being escorted out of court flanked by custody officers and will be sentenced at a later date.
The maximum penalty for murder is life imprisonment.
Lynn will return to court on July 19 for a mention, when dates will be set.
