Current Trial Wonnangatta - Murders of Russell Hill & Carol Clay *Pilot Greg Lynn Pleads Not Guilty

[Kurve]

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Israel Keyes

On the Greg Lynn committal proceedings Crown Prosecutor Mr Dickie said 'It is clear hopefully from the document, and if it's not clear from the document it's clear hopefully from the charges put before the court, that it is alleged of course that the accused acted with murderous intent when he allegedly killed the two victims.'

 

[BomberManU]

That is one hell of a story Greg.

 

[Kurve]

Killer old Russ in a struggle for knife..
compete bulldust imo.

So there's two crime scenes, according to Lynn. Which is why the cops went back imo looking for evidence, or lack of it.

 

[faible]

Killer old Russ in a struggle for knife..
compete bulldust imo.

Was very predictable, up to the prosecution to disprove it.

If he says 'I went over to talk to Russell about his drone disturbing my day and Russell became agitated and attacked me' then the prosecution has to find evidence to contradict that. If he says 'Carol got shot whilst Russell and I were fighting over the shotgun' then the prosecution has to find evidence to contradict that too.

 

[Kurve]

Greg Lynn trial: pilot covered up deaths of campers Russell Hill and Carol Clay after tragic accident, lawyer tells court

Lawyers open their case after Lynn, 57, pleaded not guilty to murdering the pair in Victoria’s Wonnangatta Valley

www.theguardian.com

The prosecution appears to be suggesting that Lynn essentially shot Carol in the head for the purpose of leaving no witnesses.

The prosecution will allege Hill was most likely killed first, in part because it was unlikely Clay “would have posed any threat to the accused, other than being aware of Mr Hill’s violent death”, Porceddu said.

He said it was not known how Hill was killed.

 

[Dogs_R_Us]

Killer old Russ in a struggle for knife..
compete bulldust imo.

So a couple of accidents? Followed by accidentally robbing the car, accidentally setting fires, accidentally taking the bodies to a remote location, accidentally going back to check on them...

As if you'd stroll back to your campsite after shooting someone dead, even accidentally

 

[Terrafirma]

The drone is a possible motive and could have captured a dispute between Hill and Lynn. It is also alleged Hill was killed 1st by method unknown and Clay shot in the head after Hill. Read on.

"It is alleged that during the evening of Friday, 20 March 2020, at Bucks Camp the accused murdered Mr Hill and Mrs Clay," Mr Porceddu told the jury.
"The precise circumstance of the killings are not known, nor is the motivation."
He alleged one possible motive was Mr Hill's drone had captured a dispute between Lynn and Mr Hill, which he claimed was later removed and destroyed.
"There might have been an argument or confrontation between the two men," Mr Porceddu said.
He said it was not known how Mr Hill was killed, but evidence allegedly showed Mrs Clay was shot in the head.
"The prosecution alleges Mr Hill was most likely killed first because Mrs Clay is very unlikely to have provoked a violent confrontation involving a firearm other than having witnessed or been aware of Mr Hill's violent death," the prosecutor said.
He said Mr Hill, who was a radio enthusiast, would have been able to readily call for assistance if Mrs Clay had been shot first.
She is alleged to have been shot in the head by the accused, in the vicinity of the canopy of the passenger side of Mr Hill's white LandCruiser.
"It is alleged the accused made considerable efforts to contaminate the scene, conceal evidence and try to distance himself from what happened.
"This commenced very soon after Mr Hill and Mrs Clay were killed."
Mr Porceddu alleged Lynn moved Mr Hill and Mrs Clay's bodies into his car trailer and set fire to their tent, camping items and an area next to Mr Hill's LandCruiser to cover what is likely to have been Mrs Clay's blood.
Lynn removed cash from their wallets, took their phones and Mr Hill's drone, packed up his campsite and drove off with their bodies, the prosecutor said.
Lynn then drove for "many hours" along four-wheel-drive tracks until he reached the Union Spur Track near Dargo, unloaded their bodies and hid them in bushland, he alleged.
"It was a location where the accused would return," he said.
The moment COVID-19 lockdown ended, about midnight on May 12, 2020, it's alleged Lynn returned to the burial site "to ensure that they were still well-hidden".
Mr Porceddu claimed, in the months after this, Lynn tried to sell his trailer on Gumtree, painted his Nissan Patrol a different colour to ensure it did not match the one he used during the alleged killings, and removed the awning.
"The prosecution says that he did so to avoid detection," he said.
Lynn's barrister, Dermot Dann KC, will deliver his response to the allegations later on Tuesday.

 

[Kurve]

We'll have to wait until this afternoon in the hope we might get some idea of what Lynn proposes the hostilities started over.

 

[Zidane98]

I'm not sure about anyone else but the prosecution not having any ideas on how Hill was killed first or the motivation for it followed by killing off Clay as a witness seems particularly convincing.

We'll have to wait until this afternoon in the hope we might get some idea of what Lynn proposes the hostilities started over.

Maybe Hill suggested Shitstar was a rubbish airline and he preferred flying on Virgin.

 

[Pamcake1]

Out of all of this the only thing new to me, is that he burnt two separate places at the campsite with deliberation.
In which case one would presume that R was killed in or near the tent and that C who may have been cooking dinner at the time (Sorry sexist I know but it's that generation) had no time in which to flee.

 

[Zidane98]

This seems a pretty good article

Greg Lynn trial: pilot covered up deaths of campers Russell Hill and Carol Clay after tragic accident, lawyer tells court

Lawyers open their case after Lynn, 57, pleaded not guilty to murdering the pair in Victoria’s Wonnangatta Valley

www.theguardian.com

Seems the defence & prosecution are in full agreement about what GL did after the deaths (transporting the couple up to Dargo, burying them off Union Spur track then attempting to destroy their remains by burning them). Seems GL has admitted to all of this as he claims his life would be over if his links to the deaths was discovered.


Seems there was another case of RH having an altercation with a fellow camper in the high country for setting up camp too close to them, was surprised as that's the first I had heard that.

 

[Zidane98]

Excerpt from article


Hill had his finger on the trigger during the struggle, according to the account Lynn gave police, and the shotgun then discharged, with the shot going through the side mirror of Hill’s car and ricocheting into Clay’s head.


Did the coppers test this theory with forensics on the remains of the side mirror? Surely the ricochet of the bullet theory should have bene provable with the remains of the mirror on RH's car.

 

[justlookingaround]

This is exactly what I said he claimed last year and I got called a liar

 

[Kurve]

I'm not sure about anyone else but the prosecution not having any ideas on how Hill was killed first or the motivation for it followed by killing off Clay as a witness seems particularly convincing.

They're being cautious is all, they don't have to prosecute an exact scenario of what happened when and what it was all over because it's risky if they can't prove it.

Two people are dead, it's a fact Lynn was involved in their demise. It's a matter of murder of manslaughter.

 

[FrankGrimes]

Was very predictable, up to the prosecution to disprove it.

They don’t really need to disprove his theory, they can put their theory forward and ask which is more likely, 2 accidents is so unlikely it can’t be true..

 

[faible]

They don’t really need to disprove his theory, they can put their theory forward and ask which is more likely, 2 accidents is so unlikely it can’t be true..

It's 'beyond reasonable doubt' so yes they kind of do need to disprove it. Not the whole thing, but enough of it that the jury can throw his version of events out as a whole. It's not a balance of probabilities thing where you think one story is more likely than the other, you have to convince the entire jury that there's simply no way possible his version of events could have occurred.

So from the below 'story' the prosecution would have to be able to find something(s) that could say the entire version of events can be disregarded as being possible. So if for example there was some kind of way of disproving the shot hitting the side mirror and a ricochet killing Clay then it would make it pretty hard to find it plausible that the rest of the timeline has unfolded the way he said.

Getting murder over the line is going to be pretty tough if they don't have any significant additional evidence we aren't aware of IMO. Seems manslaughter would be relatively easy given they've conceded a fair bit of ground on his actions afterwards from the outset.

Greg Lynn trial: pilot covered up deaths of campers Russell Hill and Carol Clay after tragic accident, lawyer tells court

Lawyers open their case after Lynn, 57, pleaded not guilty to murdering the pair in Victoria’s Wonnangatta Valley

www.theguardian.com

Lynn told police he and Hill had conversed, including about deer hunting the latter’s drone, Dann said. Hill also told Lynn that someone close to him had been accidentally killed by a deer hunter.

Hill then accused Lynn of hunting too close to camp, and said that he planned to take drone footage proving this to police, the court heard.

Lynn told him he was “talking nonsense”, returned to his own camp for dinner, and decided to turn his car’s stereo up to annoy Hill.

Lynn told police that he then became aware of noise coming from his car, and saw Hill walking away with one of his guns and magazines, Dann said.

He asked for the gun back, to which Hill responded “**** off”, Dann said. Lynn told police that Hill lost his temper and said he was going to take the gun to police too.

According to the account given to police, Hill fired a shot into the air when Lynn attempted to retrieve the gun. Lynn said he retreated for cover, and told police he was “scared shitless”, but decided he had to get his gun back.

He said a “chaotic scene” then unfolded, with the pair struggling for the gun and Clay shouting: “Russell stop it.”

Hill had his finger on the trigger during the struggle, according to the account Lynn gave police, and the shotgun then discharged, with the shot going through the side mirror of Hill’s car and ricocheting into Clay’s head.

The court heard that Hill then let go of the gun to go to Clay. Lynn told police he fired the gun in the air to “make it safe”. He then went back to his car to return it and to turn the music off.

Lynn told police that Hill then came at him with a knife, screaming “she’s dead”.

There was another struggle that saw the knife go through the chest of Hill while they were on the ground, Lynn told police.

Dann said Lynn then “disentangled himself” from Hill, went to Clay, and found that she was dead. Lynn returned to Hill, and found he was also dead.

 

[Zidane98]

They don’t really need to disprove his theory, they can put their theory forward and ask which is more likely, 2 accidents is so unlikely it can’t be true..

Is that how justice works? I thought the prosecution will have to prove their version of events beyond reasonable doubt to secure a conviction.

 

[Pamcake1]

Ex Jetstar pilot Greg Lynn's side of the story heard for first time

Former Jetstar captain Greg Lynn has claimed elderly camper Russell Hill knifed himself in a struggle after he accidentally shot his childhood sweetheart Carol Clay, a jury has heard.

www.dailymail.co.uk

A bit of L's defense reported here;

"
ALLEGED ARGUMENT OVER HUNTING

The court heard Mr Hill and Lynn had argued earlier in the day about Lynn hunting for deer so close to other campers.

Mr Hill told Lynn someone close to him had been killed in a deer hunting accident and that he had drone footage of Lynn that he would take to police.

'Mr Lynn told him he was speaking nonsense and went back to his campsite,' Mr Dann said.

Later that night, Lynn decided to turn the volume in his car stereo up loud in an effort to annoy Mr Hill, the jury heard.

'He decided to annoy Mr Hill just as he thought Mr Hill was trying to annoy him,' Mr Dann said.

It was about 10pm when Lynn noticed Mr Hill had got into his car and stolen his 12-gauge shotgun.

When he approached Mr Hill, Lynn claimed he was told to 'f**k off'.

'Mr Hill said he was going to take the gun to the police as well,' Mr Dann said.

The court heard Mr Hill fired the gun into the air in an effort to scare Lynn off.

'What then happened was a struggle for control of the gun,' Mr Dann said.

The court heard Ms Clay screamed in terror as Lynn fought to disarm Mr Hill.

'Russell stop it,' she allegedly yelled to Mr Hill.

Upon his arrest, Mr Dann claimed Lynn co-operated with detectives, telling them where to find the bodies of the campers.

 

[FrankGrimes]

Is that how justice works? I thought the prosecution will have to prove their version of events beyond reasonable doubt to secure a conviction.

Sorry I worded that poorly, I’m sure they have evidence which can disprove the way Lynn said it went down.

 

[Zidane98]

There you go, he did tell the coppers where the remains were. Always thought that was pretty obvious considering they knew exactly where to look just days after interviewing him.

 

[Paul Kersey]

Scumbag. Dermott Dann does alright out of acting for these types eh.

 

[Zidane98]

What happened to RH's vehicle afterwards? Can GL's defence request forensics on the mirror and/or remains of it? If the ricochet off the mirror into CC's head can be proven that changes things significantly.

 

[Pamcake1]

"Later that night, Lynn decided to turn the volume in his car stereo up loud in an effort to annoy Mr Hill, the jury heard.
For someone so noise averse he pitched a tent in his own backyard to escape family noise...that's interesting. He has suddenly become immune to it.
'He decided to annoy Mr Hill just as he thought Mr Hill was trying to annoy him,' Mr Dann said.

It was about 10pm when Lynn noticed Mr Hill had got into his car and stolen his 12-gauge shotgun.

When he approached Mr Hill, Lynn claimed he was told to 'f**k off'.
So Hill had the gun when Lynn discovered it missing in his hands at the time of Lynns approach...that's interesting, wasn't going to eat dinner like he told the Cb radio blokes...went to get the gun...and no word to the radio blokes of any prior argument....hmmm....
Hasn't hidden the gun or locked it in his car no it's in his hands waiting for Lynn to come and get it once it's discovered missing. Unlikely.
'Mr Hill said he was going to take the gun to the police as well,' Mr Dann said.

The court heard Mr Hill fired the gun into the air in an effort to scare Lynn off.
How many shots do we have so far in Lyns story at least 5 I count. one from Hill fired in the air, one that kills Carol, then several again into the air emptying the gun...yet no one heard a thing that night.

'What then happened was a struggle for control of the gun,' Mr Dann said.

Also saying it all happened at 10pm....when it is dark but it sounds as though he is seeing it all so clearly and also he was heard turning around at the gate around midnight...that is very fast work to then do all the rest. Timing doesn't sound right to me.

 

[Zidane98]

That places the deaths around 10pm. GL was heard creating a ruckus up near the closed gate near midnight. That means he got out of dodge quickly.

It is strange why he chose to go all the way to near Dargo to hide the bodies and then go home via the much longer route via Mt Hotham instead of south via Dargo / princes hwy.

 

[Terrafirma]

Mr Lynn's account of what happened sounds far fetched to me. He conveniently had a loaded shotgun in the back of his car which was unlocked so Mr Hill could grab it for himself? Mr Hill helped himself to the loaded shotgun and fired it to scare him off? Mr Lynn was then able to approach Mr Hill with the loaded shotgun to initiate a struggle in which Mr Hill had his finger on the trigger so when it went off accidentally he was the killer of Carol. How handy it is for Mr Lynn to have his word over 2 dead people. How handy it is for Miss Clay to be killed accidentally so there could be no witness.

If this event were true Mr Lynn could have left their bodies and alerted Police to a tragic accident. The fact he went to all this trouble to hide the bodies and the evidence was clearly a sign of 100% guilt IMO.

 

[Dogs_R_Us]

They're being cautious is all, they don't have to prosecute an exact scenario of what happened when and what it was all over because it's risky if they can't prove it.

Two people are dead, it's a fact Lynn was involved in their demise. It's a matter of murder of manslaughter.

Yes, it’s impossible to prove a sequence of events and actions without witnesses, but it’s inescapable that two people died as a result of an interaction with Lynn. Accidentally or not. But he’s apparently followed up with very guilty and deplorable actions that he’s admitted to.