The jury who will decide their verdict on former Jetstar pilot Greg Lynn returned to court for the second time to ask a series of questions.
The former Jetstar pilot pleaded not guilty in the Victorian Supreme Court to the murders of secret lovers Russell Hill, 74, and Carol Clay, 73, in the Wonnanangatta Valley in Victoria’s alpine region on 20 March 2020.
As the 12-person jury entered its second week of deliberations, the group returned to ask Judge Michael Croucher for clarification on how they might render a possible verdict.
Greg Lynn accused of murdering elderly campers in the desert
The first question related to Judge Croucher’s final address to the jury at the conclusion of the trial, in which he provided the members with a series of points of law that they must comply with in order to reach their verdict.
The first related to the prosecution’s failure to provide a motive as to why Lynn allegedly murdered Mr. Hill.
The jury had heard police believe Mr Hill was murdered first and Mrs Clay was murdered because she was allegedly a witness to her lover’s death.
The court heard the jury ask for clarification on whether they had to reach the same verdict for each murder charge.
“The prosecution does not have to prove motive to prove the crime of murder,” Judge Croucher reminded them.
“To prove murder, the prosecution has to prove beyond a reasonable doubt the four elements of murder that I have already told you about.”
Judge Croucher said the absence of any motive for Hill’s alleged murder was one of many circumstances they could take into account in determining his verdict.
“The absence of evidence of motive may well be the factor that causes you to conclude that you are not satisfied beyond a reasonable doubt that Mr. Lynn murdered Mr. Hill in the first place,” he said.
“If not convinced beyond a reasonable doubt that Mr. Lynn did not murder Mr. Hill, the prosecution rightly accepts that there would be no motive for him to murder Ms. Clay.”
Carol Clay and Russell Hill were secret lovers camping in a remote desert when they died.
‘These are instructions of the law… it is not correct to say that the instruction is to say “you must find Mr Lynn guilty on both counts or not guilty on both counts.”
‘Rather… you must consider each charge separately according to the evidence to which it applies.’
The jury also asked Judge Croucher to remind them of their instructions for reaching a unanimous verdict and what would happen if they were unable to do so.
While the judge was happy to provide the reminder, he told the jury he would only respond to the second part when the time came.
“Well, you’re not there yet,” he said.
“However, if, of course, you get to a point where you can’t come to unanimous agreement on your verdicts, then you would send me a note and I would discuss it with my attorney and then we would answer that question at that time.”
Judge Croucher asked the jury to return to their deliberations once more, urging them to ask whatever questions they wanted to reach a unanimous verdict.
Last week, the jury asked to see recordings of Lynn and senior ballistics expert Constable Paul Griffiths giving evidence in court.
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.
Dressed neatly in a suit and dark-rimmed glasses, the former pilot spoke coolly and calmly as he explained to the jury the gory details of what police allege was a cold-blooded murder.
