A nasty bee sting reaction which required hospitalisation came to the rescue of detectives investigating Greg Lynn over the alleged murders of missing campers Carol Clay and Russell Hill.
On Tuesday afternoon, Lynn was found guilty of killing Ms Clay, 73, but not guilty of the murder of her secret lover Mr Hill, 74 after more than 10 days of jury deliberations.
It has since emerged that detectives faced an agonising decision during their investigation into Lynn.
The ex-Jetstar pilot had been grounded during the Covid-19 pandemic but in 2021 was scheduled to return to the skies.
Investigators faced the prospect of being forced to tell the airline why their pilot needed to be suspended from work, therefore exposing their ongoing probe into him.
This would have risked alerting him that something was wrong and potentially hindering their advantage if he sought legal advice.
But Lynn’s decision to take up beekeeping as a pandemic pastime solved the problem for them.
Greg Lynn (right) and his wife Melanie (left) took up beekeeping as a hobby to keep themselves occupied during the Covid pandemic
Greg Lynn was found guilty of killing Carol Clay, 73, (left) but not guilty of the murder of her secret lover Russell Hill, 74 (right)
Lynn suffered a nasty reaction to a bee sting that put him in hospital and delayed his return to work, the Herald Sun reported.
This gave detectives the required breathing space to continue to build their investigation into him.
Lynn documented his new hobby on social media, sharing a picture of himself and his wife Melanie smiling in their white beekeeping suits next to a beehive.
He appeared to proudly hold a glass of glass of honey while his wife clutched what looked like a beekeeping pamphlet.
He also shared a picture of himself from his hospital bed with a mask pulled down over his face.
The ex-Jetstar pilot was on Tuesday found guilty of the murder of Ms Clay, 73, but not guilty of the murder of Mr Hill, 74, at Victoria’s Supreme Court.
Lynn (pictured) also shared a picture of himself from his hospital bed with a mask pulled down over his face after he suffered a nasty reaction to a bee sting
The 57-year-old had pleaded not guilty to the murders of the two campers in the Wonnangatta Valley, in Victoria’s Alpine region, on March 20, 2020.
The jury had been deliberating over the murder charges against Lynn since June 14.
Lynn, wearing a suit and blue jumper, remained silent as the two verdicts were read aloud, raising his eyebrows after learning his fate.
He waved to his son Geordie, who was seated in front of him inside the court room, after the jury left the court.
He spoke to his lawyers before he was escorted from the court flanked by custody officers and will be sentenced at a later date.
The maximum penalty for murder is life in prison.
Lynn will return to court on July 19 for a mention, when the dates will be set.
