Why former pilot Greg Lynn is appealing conviction for the 2020 murder of Carol Clay

Facing the prospect of remaining behind bars until after his 80th birthday, former pilot Greg Lynn has outlined how he hopes to overturn a murder conviction. Lynn, 58, was jailed for up to 32 years last month after a jury unanimously found he murdered Carol Clay, 73, while camping in Victoria’s High Country. But the former Jetstar pilot, who maintains he did not murder anyone, lodged paperwork in the Victorian Court of Appeal late on November 18. The move came just three days after the standard 28-day window to file the appeal after sentence, requiring the convicted killer to also file an extension of time application. There’s little downside for Lynn and an irresistible upside; that the Court of Appeal will set aside his conviction for Ms Clay’s murder. If the conviction is not overturned, Lynn will be hopeful the court will set aside his sentence and impose a new one as his legal team argues the jail term is excessive. As a general rule, prosecutors are unable to appeal a jury’s verdict — meaning Lynn’s acquittal over Russell Hill, 74, death will not be revisited. According to Melbourne Law School Professor Heather Douglas AM, it’s not out of the ordinary for a case to end up at appeal, as most, estimated at about 90 per cent, are resolved with a guilty plea and do not go to trial. She said a decision by the Court of Appeal to take up a case falls under the discretion of the court and is largely based on the merits of the appeal. “There are plenty of successful appeals,” she said. “With big long-running trials things can go wrong. It’s certainly not unusual to win on appeal.” The jury in the trial of High Country killer Greg Lynn has been shown aerial footage of the Wonnangatta Valley. Professor Douglas said appeal cases are generally fought on three grounds; that the verdict was unreasonable and cannot be supported by the evidence, there’s been errors of law or, for any other reason, there was a substantial miscarriage of justice. The appellant judges will generally find the verdict stands or will set aside the conviction and order a new trial for Ms Clay’s murder. But Professor Douglas said if a conviction is overturned, it doesn’t mean a new trial will occur — instead the Office of Public Prosecutions will have make that call. Their decision will take into account considerations such as cost of a trial, time and whether there is a reasonable prospect of success. Professor Douglas said most cases in the Court of Appeal are focused on trial transcripts and what occurred at trial. “They’re really going to be focused on errors … It’s going to be a lot of law argued at the appeal courts,” she said. Professor Douglas said small errors pop up in many long-running trials but the question for the appellant judges would be; do these add up to a substantial miscarriage of justice? RMIT Associate Professor in Criminology and Justice Dr Brianna Chesser said the paperwork filed for Lynn contained the grounds he wished to appeal on and a maximum 10-page written case. She said the court will only grant leave to appeal if one or more of the grounds has a “prospect of success”. Dr Chesser said Court of Appeal judges would determine whether the verdict was “reasonably open” to be made on the facts as presented at trial. “There are very strict rules about when and how new evidence can be introduced so it is likely that the arguments will stem from the defence view that the verdict was unsafe and unsatisfactory on the facts,” she said. Dr Chesser said she believed, if the appeal is granted, the case could stretch on for “some time” into the next year or even 2026. “The Court of Appeal has been taking a strict view of late with regard to appeals filed out of time and the court would need to be satisfied that any delay was justified,” she said. If the outcome isn’t one Lynn likes, the case could continue into the High Court. This week, the Supreme Court released documents filed by his lawyers outlining the five grounds they will rely on in his upcoming appeal against both the conviction and sentence. “I, Gregory Stuart Lynn am convicted of the offence of murder and I am a prisoner at Melbourne Assessment Prison,” the documents state. “I wish to appeal to the Court of Appeal.” Lynn will argue Crown Prosecutor Daniel Porceddu launched a “sustained attack” on his account of two accidental deaths which included statements never put to Lynn when he was in the witness box — breaching fairness rules. He will also argue the way prosecutors approached the evidence of ballistics expert Senior Constable Paul Griffiths was a “serious departure” from the rules that govern fair trials. The last two grounds of appeal against Lynn’s conviction relate to how the jury reached their verdict, arguing they travelled down an “impermissible pathway” in their deliberations and that the verdict is “unsafe and satisfactory”. Lynn will further argue his 32-year sentence — seven years above the standard sentence of 25 — is “manifestly excessive”. Since July, Lynn’s legal team has repeatedly stressed they intended to appeal the conviction, citing “grave concerns”. “The long-term future of that guilty verdict must be seen as being in great doubt,” barrister Dermot Dann KC said at Lynn’s first court appearance following the split verdict. Gregory Lynn's barrister Dermot Dann speaks about whether his client will appeal. Earlier this month, Mr Dann shed more light on Lynn’s appeal during a related hearing in the Melbourne Magistrates Court. He claimed media reports of unrelated matters involving Lynn may have “poisoned the well of justice”, saying the prospect of his client receiving a fair trial the second time around was remote. The defence barrister flagged that if the appeal was successful, there may be a “stay application” filed in the future — which, if granted, could place the proceedings on hold indefinitely or to a specified date. By law, stays are only to be granted in extreme or exceptional cases. Since his arrest Lynn has argued the deaths of Ms Clay and Mr Hill were accidental, set in motion after Mr Hill stole the shotgun following a hunting dispute. He admitted he took steps to hide his involvement, including torching the campsite and later incinerating the campers’ remains, acknowledging his actions were “despicable”. Following four days of questioning and as police laid charges in November 2021, Lynn was asked if he had anything left to say. “I’m innocent of murder. I haven’t behaved well, I’ve made some poor decisions, but murder, as I understand it, I am innocent,” he said. Ms Clay and Mr Hill vanished at the remote campground in March 2020, with their fragmented remains only found almost two years later after Lynn’s arrest. Last month, a letter written by Lynn was read to the Victorian Supreme Court as Justice Michael Croucher sentenced him to a minimum of 24 years behind bars. “Your Honour I am disappointed and perplexed by the jury verdict, as I have not killed anyone and will be respectfully appealing their decision,” he wrote. “However, I accept that my decision to flee the scene and attempt to disappear, and all of my actions from that effect were selfish and callous in the extreme, causing family and friends of both Carol Clay and Russell Hill much grief and stress for 20 long months. “For those actions, I’m very sorry. “At the time, I had reasons, but I understand they are no excuse and of no interest to those who suffered, and to detail any of that now would be insulting to the memory of Carol and Russell.” Lynn will be eligible for parole at the age of 79 in 2045.