Former Jetstar pilot Greg Lynn is hoping to walk free from jail before being sentenced for the murder of elderly camper Carol Clay.
The 57-year-old appeared in the Victorian Supreme Court on Friday, where Judge Michael Croucher heard the convicted killer had been the victim of attacks in prison during his six-week trial.
Last month, Lynn was found guilty of murdering Ms Clay but not guilty of killing her secret lover Russell Hill.
The court heard from Lynn’s lawyer, Dermot Dann, KC, who is in the process of compiling submissions asking Judge Croucher to cancel his client’s sentence until the Court of Appeal can hear an appeal over his conviction.
The unusual Section 309 of the Criminal Procedure Act has only been successfully defended once before: before Mr Justice Croucher himself seven years ago, during the infamous Brett Whiteley art fraud case.
Mr Dann told the court he believed sentencing his client would be difficult because of what he described as the “unsafe guilty verdict” returned by the Lynn jury at the trial.
The court heard that Lynn had been placed in solitary confinement inside the Metropolitan Remand Prison for his own safety, but now fears he will be targeted by inmates in whatever prison he eventually ends up in.
Greg Lynn has been targeted by inmates inside the jail
Mr Dann said the problem had been exacerbated after the verdict by the number of media reports revealing all the evidence that had not been shown to the jury.
“It’s an extremely rare application to do,” Dann said.
If granted, the “suspension” of the sentence could open the door for Lynn to apply for bail while his appeal is heard in court.
Mr Dann said a successful appeal could result in Lynn being freed altogether, without a retrial because of concerns he may never get a fair trial due to adverse publicity from his murder conviction.
“The chances of a fair retrial are non-existent,” Dann said.
The veteran lawyer said any jury pool would have been “tainted or poisoned” by the mountain of “inadmissible evidence” that has “flooded” news sites in the weeks since the jury’s verdict was delivered.
The court heard Mr Dann believed his client had multiple reasons for pursuing an appeal over his verdict, including the “unfair” way he said the trial was conducted by the Office of the Public Prosecutor.
Greg Lynn allegedly received human feces thrown by another inmate
KC attorney Dermot Dann still hopes to see Lynn released from jail.
Mr Dann said prosecutor Daniel Porceddu had made between 20 and 25 errors during the trial that violated well-established laws on how criminal trials should be conducted.
Mr Dann said prosecutor Daniel Porceddu had made between 20 and 25 errors during the trial that violated well-established laws on how criminal trials should be conducted.
Despite the accepted breaches of the rules, Mr Dann criticised Judge Croucher for failing to dismiss the jury during the trial.
“No casualties were ordered,” he said.
Mr Dann further said the jury’s verdict was in “serious doubt” because of its verdict of not guilty for Mr Hill.
The jury had heard that Lynn had no motive to kill Mr. Hill, but that he was motivated to kill Ms. Clay because she had witnessed Mr. Hill’s murder.
“We are not convinced beyond a reasonable doubt of the verdict,” Dann said.
‘What path did the jury follow to reach that verdict?’
Carol Clay and Russell Hill died after a confrontation with Greg Lynn
Mr Dann said the jury had probably made at least two decisions that led to what he described as an “unsafe verdict”.
“Given Your Honour’s instructions and the different verdicts… one cannot sentence on the basis that Mr Lynn intended to kill Ms Clay because she had witnessed some form of unlawful killing,” he said.
‘Similarly, one could not convict on the basis that Mr Lynn intended to kill Ms Clay because she witnessed Mr Hill’s accidental death, because that has never been put to Mr Lynn and has never been disputed by the Crown.’
Judge Croucher said he understood Mr Dann’s view that the verdict was confusing.
“You say that because the jury’s verdict of not guilty in relation to Mr. Hill, that (guilty verdict) goes away. I understand the point, but it’s going to require a little bit more discussion,” he said.
While the matter is scheduled to return to court again for a pre-sentencing hearing in September, it is likely to return before then as Dann works to secure an appeal date.