The long suffering family of dead camper Russell Hill has been forbidden from facing former Jetstar pilot Greg Lynn in court.
In a tragic, final snub, Mr Hill’s wife Robyn and three daughters were forced to sit silently within the Supreme Court of Victoria after being denied a chance to provide victim impact statements.
Lynn was found not guilty of murdering Mr Hill, but guilty of killing his secret lover Carol Clay.
On Thursday Ms Clay’s sister Jillian, her daughter Emma Davies and best friend Allison Abbott were the only people to read aloud victim impact statements.
It is understood Lynn had fought to exclude the Hill family from providing impact statements despite arguments they remained victims despite the not guilty verdict.
Lynn had claimed during his trial that Mr Hill died when he fell on a knife as the pair fought over the weapon.
Lynn spent much of the hearing with his head down reading until it came time to listen to the victim impact statements, which he appeared to listen to intently.
He faces life in prison when Justice Michael Croucher returns his verdict at a date yet to be fixed.
Former pilot Greg Lynn enters the Supreme Court of Victoria on Thursday in chains
Lynn was convicted of murdering Carol Clay (left) but not of Russell Hill (right). They had been camping in the Wonnangatta Valley in the Victorian Alps when they encountered Lynn
In opening the pre-sentence hearing, Crown prosecutor Daniel Porceddu described the murder of Ms Clay as ‘cold blooded and callous’.
‘Ms Clay suffered a very violent death,’ he said.
The court heard the elderly camper didn’t stand a chance against Lynn, who shot her in the head in an attempt to cover up what the prosecution had alleged was the murder of Mr Hill.
Lynn’s wife, who was pictured last month still wearing her wedding ring, was notably absent from Thursday’s hearing.
She had attended every day of the trial up until his guilty verdict in June.
Seated within the body of the court room, the Hill family were seen sobbing as the victim impact statements of Ms Clay’s loved ones were read.
Ms Clay’s daughter Emma Davies was the first to deliver her statement, refusing to utter Lynn’s name throughout her heartbreaking address.
Ms Davies said she would not allow her mother’s legacy to be that of a murder victim.
The court heard Ms Clay had been renowned for her wizardry in the kitchen, baking up sponges, Christmas cakes and puddings by the dozen.
With a love of all things tennis and a Christmas tune by beloved Melbourne identity Denis Walter, Ms Clay was described as the glue that kept her family together.
Ms Davies compared what happened to her mother at the hands of Lynn to that of a ‘horror movie’.
Melanie Lynn goes off on a rubbish collection walk with a self-help book
Melanie Lynn and her stepson Geordie arrive at court for closing arguments in the trial on June 12
‘I will not be saying the man who murdered my mother’s name, I will only be saying he or him,’ Ms Davies said.
‘He stole my mother from me, he stole my children’s grandmother. He took (mum’s) life, he took her dignity and he took her privacy.’
Ms Davies fought back tears as she described how Lynn cruelly shot her mother in the head and burnt her body beyond all recognition.
She described his behaviour as ‘depraved’ and condemned him for the life he destroyed and the lives of those left with the consequences of his actions.
Ms Clay’s sister was equally as scathing of the convicted killer, describing Lynn’s actions after the murder as nothing short of evil.
‘It was not just a bad decision, it was evil,’ she told Lynn.
The court heard prosecutors wanted Lynn to be sentenced to life in prison.
Russell Hill’s burnt out camp site after Lynn shot dead Carol Clay
Lynn paints over his ‘murder wagon’ outside his Caroline Springs home after murdering Carol Clay
Greg Lynn during his police record of interview following his arrest
It was a submission strongly rejected by Lynn’s barrister Dermot Dann, KC.
Mr Dann told Justice Croucher his client maintained his innocence and intended to appeal his conviction as soon as possible.
The court heard Mr Dann believed the jury had made a mistake in coming to its guilty verdict on Ms Clay.
The experienced barrister described their process in coming to that conclusion as a ‘forbidden pathway’ that had gone against Justice Croucher’s own directions to them toward the end of the trial.
Mr Dann said the jury had been directed that Lynn’s only motive for killing Ms Clay would have been to cover-up the murder of Mr Hill, which they found him not guilty of committing.
‘The prosecution says the jury went down that forbidden pathway to reach that verdict,’ he said.
The pre-sentence hearing continues.
FIRST WIFE’S MYSTERY DEATH
Lisa Lynn had been living in fear of Greg Lynn at the time of her suicide
Lisa Lynn was found dead in October 1999 after consuming a lethal cocktail of booze and sleeping tablets.
Detectives are now looking to have the Victorian coroner open a second inquest into the mother-of-two’s tragic death.
Lisa was found in the foetal position out the front of the family’s home, while the couple’s two children, aged one and three, were asleep inside.
Victorian Coroner Graeme Johnstone said Lisa was believed to have been deeply depressed at the time of her death.
However, the coroner was left with outstanding questions over whether she had intended to take her own life or not.
Lisa’s mother, who would travel from Tasmania to help her struggling daughter, provided a disturbing statement to the coroner about Greg Lynn, including accusations of animal cruelty, violence and ‘bizarre’ behaviour.
‘In addition to not gaining any support from Greg, he would subject her to physical and mental abuse on a regular basis,’ she told the coroner.
‘These events happened too frequently to remember, specifically but things like losing his temper for no reason and blaming Lisa for anything that went wrong.
‘He then would yell and throw things at her and push her around. I felt very uncomfortable when these events occurred because I was not inclined to interfere and Lisa would plead with me not to interfere.’
Lisa’s mum told the court Lynn verbally attacked a man in the bar after he made the mistake of speaking to Lisa.
He then flew into a ‘rage’ at his then wife after leaving the hotel, she told the coroner.
‘The only thing that I would like to add is that as far as I’m concerned, Greg is responsible for my daughter’s death by mental torture inflicted by him,’ Lisa’s mum told the court.
