High Country murder trial

"NOT guilty, your honour," pleaded Gregory Lynn at his committal hearing last week, before magistrate Brett Sonnet committed the former pilot to stand trial for the murders of Russell Hill and Carol Clay. Mr Lynn wore a suit with a check shirt and glasses and appeared attentive throughout proceedings, making notes and carrying a pile of yellow folders with him. Following his arrest in November last year, My Lynn has been on remand awaiting the committal hearing, which took place over the past two weeks and included evidence of covert recordings, blood spatter analysis, and phone data. Details of Mr Lynn's "explosive" police interviews following his arrest were supressed upon application by defence barrister Dermot Dann, KC, who said the publication of such information would pose "substantial risk of prejudice to the administration of justice." The details will remain unknown until trial. Crown Prosecutor John Dickie convinced the court that the case should go to trial while noting that his summary did not include all the evidence police would hang their hats on. But it did give the first insights into what police believe occurred in the Wonnangatta Valley on March 20, 2020. After Russell Hill and Carol Clay vanished from their campsite at Dry River Creek Track, the area was later discovered burnt out, alongside Mr Hill's abandoned Toyota Landcruiser. After many months of searching for evidence and appealing to the public for information, police located Mr Hill and Ms Clay's remains in bushland near Dargo shortly after Mr Lynn's arrest. Police allege Mr Lynn murdered both campers at their campsite and used a trailer to move their bodies to the area, later returning more than once to burn their bodies and destroy evidence. However, Mr Lynn's version of events says that Ms Clay was accidentally shot while he and Mr Hill fought about the use of the older man's drone. Mr Hill was then fatally stabbed in the altercation. The court heard from investigating police, forensic officers, and witnesses in the area around the time couple disappeared, with one referring to Mr Hill as a "grumpy old bugger" who buzzed him with this drone. Mr Dann also expressed concerns around the validity of the police interviews in the time after Mr Lynn's arrest, in particular around his mental state access to legal representation. Mr Lynn had been under police surveillance with listening devices, GPS trackers and telephone intercepts at both his Caroline Springs home and in his Nissan Patrol since December 2020, after he'd first been interviewed as a witness turned person of interest. Police explained the timing of his arrest. "Lynn made comments of his time coming to an end, that his wife had three boys to look after her, a good rum, whiskey or cocktail would be good," Leading Senior Constable Daniel Passingham told the court. "I had a feeling he was going to commit suicide." The police summary given to the court alleges, "The accused made immediate and overt efforts to contaminate the crime scene and conceal the offences, including destroying evidence and setting fire to the scene." "The accused is also likely to have discarded the drone, car keys for the Landcruiser and Hill and Clay's mobile phones. "To date, none of these items have been recovered." Police are set to conduct a further search of the Mt Hotham area, where they allege Mr Lynn's vehicle was first detected performing a convoluted u–turn on the night of the murders – a vehicle they say he later spray painted to avoid detection. Members of the Hill and Clay families were present at the committal hearing, while Mr Lynn's wife and eldest son joined proceedings remotely in his support. A directions hearing is set for February 9, with a jury trial in the Supreme Court likely to take place later this year.