A former cop and private investigator has said there is still ‘quite a way to go’ following the outcome of the murder trial over the deaths of Carol Clay and Russell Hill.
Ex-Jetstar pilot Gregory Lynn was on Tuesday found guilty of the murder of Ms Clay, 73, but not guilty of the murder of Mr Hill, 74, at Victoria’s Supreme Court.
The 57-year-old had pleaded not guilty to the murders of the two campers in the Wonnangatta Valley, in Victoria’s Alpine region, on March 20, 2020.
The jury has been deliberating over the murder charges against Lynn since June 14.
Speaking after the verdict on Tuesday afternoon, Duncan McNab, a former police detective, said the case wasn’t over yet and the prospect of appeal ‘is very real’.
‘What I think about in these cases is the poor bloody family and the investigators and those around them, this is not over by a long chalk,’ he told Seven News.
‘But this entire case has been very strange from the outset, so many different components, all bloody unusual.
‘It’s not over yet, there’s quite a way to go.’
Former homicide detective Charlie Bezzina added there was the exception to the double jeopardy rule which could come into play.
Double jeopardy means a person cannot be tried for the same crime twice, however an exception can be made if fresh and compelling evidence appears.
‘If any new or compelling evidence comes out any time in the future, unlikely, but if it does he can certainly face being charged again for the alleged murder of Mr Hill,’ Mr Bezzina said.
‘Let’s just see what progresses from this day forward.’
Lynn claimed the two deaths were accidental, but admitted burning the crime scene and destroying their bodies.
Forty-nine witnesses were called during the trial, including national park rangers, weed sprayers, campers, deer hunters, police forensic and ballistics experts and the families of Mr Hill and Ms Clay.
Mr Hill was married and the pair were having a secret affair together when they disappeared.
Lynn, Mr Hill and Ms Clay were the only people who stayed at Bucks Camp that evening, on March 20, 2020.
Lynn said he had been out deer hunting when he returned to threats from Mr Hill that he had drone footage of Lynn hunting too close to the campsite that he would turn into police.
Later that evening, he said Mr Hill took a shotgun and ammunition from Lynn’s car.
Lynn claimed he went to get his gun off Mr Hill, who shot off a few warning shots before turning the gun on Lynn.
Lynn and Mr Hill struggled over the gun, Lynn claimed, when another shot went off and hit the side of Mr Hill’s ute mirror, which ricocheted off and went into Ms Clay’s head.
Shot fragments were later found, proving that Ms Clay died in a shooting.
Mr Hill then charged at Lynn with a knife, the pilot claimed, with a second struggle ensuing.
Lynn said he was trying to defend himself when the knife went into Mr Hill’s chest and there was no evidence shown to the jury about how Mr Hill died.
Lynn admitted to burning the couple’s campsite, putting their bodies in a trailer and driving to the Union Spur Track where he unloaded their bodies and covered them with sticks.
He returned twice, including in November 2020 when he set fire to Mr Hill and Ms Clay’s remains.
He was arrested a year later, where he told his story to police and led investigators to the couple’s bodies, which were discovered to be broken down into 2,100 bone fragments.
Lynn maintained he was innocent of murder and admitted to the jury his actions in covering up the crime, including repainting his 4WD used to dispose of the bodies, were ‘despicable’.
He had offered to plead guilty to destruction of evidence charges before the trial began, his defence team said.
But the prosecution said Lynn’s story was a work of fiction and his conduct after the killings proved beyond a reasonable doubt that he intended to murder the couple.
Lynn, wearing a suit and blue jumper, remained silent as the two verdicts were read aloud, raising his eyebrows after learning his fate.
He waved to his son Geordie, who was seated in front of him inside the court room, after the jury left the court.
He spoke to his lawyers before he was escorted from the court flanked by custody officers and will be sentenced at a later date.
The maximum penalty for murder is life in prison.
Lynn will return to court on July 19 for a mention where dates will be set.