A jury tasked with deciding the destiny of former Jetstar pilot Greg Lynn has retired to contemplate its verdict after listening to 5 weeks of proof.
Lynn, 57, pleaded not responsible within the Supreme Courtroom of Victoria to the murders of Russell Hill, 74, and Carol Clay, 73, within the Wonnangatta Valley, within the state’s alpine area on March 20, 2020.
On Friday, Justice Michael Croucher completed his last deal with to the jury, ending the epic trial that noticed Lynn himself enter the witness field to handle jurors in particular person.
Greg Lynn is accused of the 2 murders
Lynn’s barrister Dermot Dann KC had been scathing of the prosecution case in his last deal with to the jury on Wednesday.
Mr Dann advised the jury that they had been left with no proof to work with to persuade themselves past affordable doubt Lynn was responsible of the murders.
‘There is no such thing as a factual foundation on the prosecution case. They’ve none, nought, complete clean,’ Mr Dann mentioned.
‘There is not any proof … you are being requested to discover a man responsible of homicide.
‘On the prosecution case there’s zero factual basis, zero motive – only a full clean.
‘Does that sit properly with you? I imply how can it?’
On Friday, Justice Croucher too took a swipe at Crown prosecutor Daniel Porceddu for breaking the properly established guidelines of ‘equity’ in its closing deal with.
‘The rule of equity was breached by Mr Porceddu when making arguments to you,’ he advised the jury.
‘Had Mr Porceddu Mr Lynn these questions, put these propositions to him, Mr Lynn could properly have been capable of reply in a robust and convincing means.’
The jury heard Mr Porceddu made the error of creating submissions in his closing deal with that he didn’t give Lynn a chance to reply whereas he was within the witness field final week.
‘In assessing the prosecution case on these issues you have to consider Mr Lynn … was not given the chance by the prosecutor to straight reply these factors,’ he mentioned.
‘Due to this breach in fundamental guidelines of equity and due to these penalties of the breach, chances are you’ll extra readily reject the prosecution argument and will extra readily reject the inferences the prosecution needs you to attract.’
Mr Dann mentioned whereas his shopper admitted to the crime of disposing of proof, he couldn’t be discovered responsible of homicide primarily based on the proof offered at his trial.
‘On the prosecution case there’s zero factual basis, zero motive – only a full clean.
‘Does that sit properly with you? I imply how can it?’
‘We’re in a homicide trial. You are attempting to do your obligation as jurors and being requested to convict a person. Nicely you simply cannot say “properly look we haven’t any proof however let’s simply convict him anyway”. That is not the way it works,’ Mr Dann mentioned.
Lynn’s barrister Dermot Dann, KC (left) attacked the prosecution case on Wednesday
L:ynn claims Carol Clay was shot useless by Russell Hill throughout a battle over his gun. Mr Hill died moments later on the finish of his personal knife, Lynn mentioned
Whereas Lynn has at all times denied murdering the couple, the jury heard he freely admitted to cleansing up the alleged crime scene and destroying the proof.
‘It was despicable,’ Lynn conceded.
‘All I can say to the households is that I’m very sorry for your whole struggling that I’ve brought about … sure I must be punished for it. For what I did.’
The jury heard Lynn had supplied to plead responsible to the destruction of proof earlier than happening trial, but it surely had been rejected by the prosecution.
‘I’m harmless of homicide,’ he mentioned. ‘I’m harmless (of manslaughter too). I have never killed anybody.’
Dressed neatly in a swimsuit and dark-rimmed spectacles, the previous pilot spoke in a cool and calm method as he took the jury by means of the bloody particulars of what police allege was chilly blooded homicide.
The jury heard Lynn claimed the couple died after Mr Hill stole his shotgun and the pair engaged in a lethal battle for management.
‘I do not know if he supposed to shoot me or not, in all probability not,’ Lynn advised the jury. ‘I feel he was simply attempting to maintain the shotgun for himself and scare me off.’
The jury heard Lynn had been sitting close to his campfire by the river when he noticed Mr Hill take his shotgun and cargo the journal.
The doorways of Lynn’s Nissan Patrol had been left huge open to ‘liberate all of the music’ from his automobile stereo, which within the pilot’s personal phrases was completed in a ‘infantile effort’ to harass Mr Hill after a earlier run-in with him.
Greg Lynn faces life in jail if convicted of the murders
Lynn claims a lethal battle passed off on the entrance of this Landcruiser
Lynn created a sketch of the scene to assist jurors work out how he claimed Mr Hill gained entry to his Nissan Patrol to steal his shotgun.
The picture confirmed an outline of Lynn’s 4WD with all of its doorways open, permitting Mr Hill to take Lynn’s shotgun from the rear and ammunition clip from the entrance.
Lynn claimed Mr Hill by chance shot Ms Clay by means of the pinnacle as he tried to wrestle the shotgun away from him.
Pressed upon the bullbar of Mr Hill’s Landcruiser, Lynn claimed Mr Hill pulled the set off, blasting off the facet mirror and hitting Ms Clay straight within the head.
Mr Hill died moments later after falling on his personal knife throughout one other battle, Lynn claimed.
The jury heard Lynn had positioned a laser sight on the shotgun which killed Carol Clay to make sure he might concentrate on the center and lungs of the deer he loved stalking.
Lynn urged had he needed to kill Ms Clay, he wouldn’t have blasted off the facet mirror of Mr Hill’s Landcruiser within the course of.
‘Nicely the entire level of getting a laser sighting on the shotgun … is in an effort to put the dot of the laser on the goal and you’re sure that the spherical will hit that focus on,’ Lynn mentioned.
‘So the slug went by means of the mirror, if I had completed what the police have mentioned I’ve completed … if somebody had shot Carol Clay with the laser sight on, the laser would have illuminated on the mirror not on Carol Clay.’
Lynn described in ugly element the bloody aftermath of the alleged crime scene, which he has admitted to going to nice lengths to destroy and clear.
‘The scene was horrendous,’ Lynn mentioned.
Carol Clay was shot within the head. Lynn claims by her secret lover Russell Hill
The shotgun Lynn claims Russell Hill stole from his 4WD
‘There was blood splatter on the hitching rails and the tray base of the Toyota Landcruiser. There was some on the within of the cover.
‘I wiped all of that off … the photo voltaic panels … that they had blood and different materials on them and over the camp furnishings.
‘A few of these items have been lined in a number of tissue and blood. There was a really giant pool of blood on the bottom in between the Landcruiser and the tent the place Carol Clay was.’
Lynn was cross-examined by Crown prosecutor Daniel Porceddu, who closed the prosecution case on Wednesday, earlier than Lynn started giving his model of occasions.
‘You have heard the accused gave a model of occasions in his interview and within the witness field final week. For causes I will go into in the end, the prosecution says that that account in fully fanciful,’ he advised the jury in his closing deal with.
‘You may comfortably reject it as being an elaborate fiction.’
Mr Porceddu ran the jury by means of all the proof they’ve been offered over the previous month.
‘He tells you Mr Hill and Ms Clay each died by chance in individually instantaneous, or close to instantaneous, deadly incidents each caused by the conduct of Mr Hill,’ Mr Porceddu mentioned.
‘The accused’s story is certainly a collection of very unlucky occasions. Just like the e-book collection of that title, it’s also a whole fiction.’
Mr Porceddu claimed Lynn had made additional errors in his account to police concerning the alleged confrontation with Mr Hill.
‘There are a selection of causes the story that the story is totally implausible,’ he mentioned.
Mr Porceddu mentioned Lynn had made a mistake in his account of the supposed battle with Mr Hill by not making an allowance for the rope tied from the bullbar of his Landcruiser to the bathroom.
The jury heard the struggling males would have turn out to be hopelessly entangled within the rope had Lynn’s model of occasions been true.
‘He is aware of he is sunk as a result of he is aware of that he and Mr Hill would have turn out to be twisted up within the man rope,’ Mr Porceddu mentioned.
Crown prosecutor Daniel Porceddu (left) claimed Lynn was a assassin
Mr Porceddu claimed Lynn got here up together with his story within the 18-months it took police to arrest him.
‘The so-called battle for the gun is the entire linchpin within the accused’s story. As soon as that falls like a home of playing cards every part else tumbles with it,’ he mentioned.
‘You do not consider a phrase of it. We urge you to see the accused’s account for what it’s – a rigorously constructed fiction developed over one 12 months, eight months. Throughout that point the accused was capable of acquire by means of the media an understanding of the proof rising.
‘It was an account that was clearly rigorously rehearsed a lot in order that he can repeat it virtually word-for-word over two separate days of a police interview. It’s an account crafted in such a option to shift the blame to Mr Hill.’
The jury heard Lynn’s story about Mr Hill stealing his gun from his automobile made no sense.
‘In case you’re an individual involved about firearm security, you have snuck as much as the accused’s campsite to confiscate his gun, and also you’re attempting to try this with out him understanding, why are you loading it when all you are seeking to do is take it again to your campsite?’ the prosecutor mentioned.
Mr Porceddu mentioned it was additionally unreasonable to assume Mr Hill would have taken the shotgun and left Lynn’s rifle within the automobile.
‘If you are going to confiscate the gun of an individual you have not been on the most effective of phrases with, who you have allegedly been provocative in the direction of and also you’re doing it to ultimately report him to the police, do not you assume you’d make he wasn’t left with one other gun?’ he mentioned.
The jury heard police allege Lynn doubtless murdered Mr Hill after some form of dispute earlier than eliminating Ms Clay as a result of she was the one witness.
‘Had she been allowed to stay, Ms Clay would have been able to determine the accused,’ Mr Porceddu mentioned.
‘Whereas it’s not kown how Mr Hill was killed as a result of the accused intentionally burnt the physique of Mr Hill and obliterated any forensic proof … the proof establishes Ms Clay was killed by a gunshot to the pinnacle.’
