Emily Wood, AAP
Pilot Greg Lynn allegedly went to considerable efforts to contaminate the crime scene, conceal evidence and distance himself after killing two missing campers.
Prosecutors made these allegations to a jury, as the 57-year-old faced the first day of a double murder trial in Melbourne on Tuesday 14 May.
Lynn, who was a Jetstar pilot at the time, has been charged with two counts of murder over the deaths of campers Carol Clay and Russell Hill in March 2020.
He has pleaded not guilty to both charges.
Crown prosecutor Daniel Porceddu will spend two hours outlining his case against Lynn to a jury of 15 on Tuesday morning.
He alleged Lynn was camping in the Wonnangatta Valley at the same time as Mr Hill and Mrs Clay, who were childhood sweethearts.
“It is alleged that during the evening of Friday, 20 March 2020, at Bucks Camp the accused murdered Mr Hill and Mrs Clay,“ Mr Porceddu told the jury.
“The precise circumstance of the killings are not known, nor is the motivation.“
He alleged one possible motive was Mr Hill’s drone had captured a dispute between Lynn and Mr Hill, which he claimed was later removed and destroyed.
“There might have been an argument or confrontation between the two men,“ Mr Porceddu said.
He said it was not known how Mr Hill was killed, but evidence allegedly showed Mrs Clay was shot in the head.
“The prosecution alleges Mr Hill was most likely killed first because Mrs Clay is very unlikely to have provoked a violent confrontation involving a firearm other than having witnessed or been aware of Mr Hill’s violent death,“ the prosecutor said.
He said Mr Hill, who was a radio enthusiast, would have been able to readily call for assistance if Mrs Clay had been shot first.
“She is alleged to have been shot in the head by the accused, in the vicinity of the canopy of the passenger side of Mr Hill’s white LandCruiser.
“It is alleged the accused made considerable efforts to contaminate the scene, conceal evidence and try to distance himself from what happened.
“This commenced very soon after Mr Hill and Mrs Clay were killed.“
Mr Porceddu alleged Lynn moved Mr Hill and Mrs Clay’s bodies into his car trailer and set fire to their tent, camping items and an area next to Mr Hill’s LandCruiser to cover what is likely to have been Mrs Clay’s blood.
Lynn removed cash from their wallets, took their phones and Mr Hill’s drone, packed up his campsite and drove off with their bodies, the prosecutor said.
Lynn then drove for “many hours“ along four-wheel-drive tracks until he reached the Union Spur Track near Dargo, unloaded their bodies and hid them in bushland, he alleged.
“It was a location where the accused would return,“ he said.
The moment COVID-19 lockdown ended, about midnight on May 12, 2020, it’s alleged Lynn returned to the burial site “to ensure that they were still well-hidden“.
Mr Porceddu claimed, in the months after this, Lynn tried to sell his trailer on Gumtree, painted his Nissan Patrol a different colour to ensure it did not match the one he used during the alleged killings, and removed the awning.
“The prosecution says that he did so to avoid detection,“ he said.
Lynn’s barrister, Dermot Dann KC, will deliver his response to the allegations later on Tuesday.
