A former Jetstar pilot who was convicted of murdering an elderly camper in Victoria’s high country has formally lodged an appeal against his conviction and sentence.
Greg Lynn, 58, was last month sentenced to a minimum of 24 years in prison for the 2020 murder of 73-year-old camper Carol Clay in the Wonnangatta Valley.
A supreme court judge describing the killing and the subsequent attempted cover-up as “brutal” and “horrific”, after a jury in June found him guilty following a five-week trial. He was acquitted of murdering her fellow camper Russell Hill, 74.
Lynn had pleaded not guilty to both murder charges.
A spokesperson for the supreme court confirmed to Guardian Australia that Lynn filed an appeal against his conviction and sentence late on Monday. The spokesperson said Lynn had also applied for an extension of time application.
A hearing date in the supreme court’s court of appeal has not been listed yet, the spokesperson said.
Justice Michael Croucher sentenced Lynn to 32 years in prison, with a minimum of 24 years. Lynn would be 79 before he could become eligible for parole in 2045.
Delivering his sentence, Croucher said he was unable to determine the motive for the murder, while prosecutors had argued Lynn had killed Clay because she was a witness to Hill’s death.
He said he was satisfied that there was a “brusque interaction” between the men prior to Clay’s death, and that Lynn had intended to kill her by shooting her in the head.
He described Clay’s death as a “very grave example of murder”.
“It was a violent, brutal, horrific death, with a weapon designed to kill,” he said.
“There is no suggestion that Mrs Clay posed any threat to Mr Lynn.”
Croucher said Lynn’s crime was “aggravated significantly” by the fact Lynn concealed Clay’s body in a remote location, later returning to burn it to “almost nothingness, just fragments”.
“This was an appalling thing for her loved ones to learn. Mr Lynn must have known that these actions, once revealed, would cause Mrs Clay’s loved ones no end of grief and distress,” he said.
In a letter of contrition to Croucher that was read to the court during his sentencing, Lynn said he was “disappointed and perplexed” about the verdict, maintained his innocence and flagged his intention to appeal.
But he apologised for his conduct after the couple’s death.
“I accept that my decision to flee the scene and attempt to disappear … was 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,” Lynn wrote.
He also apologised to his former employer and his family for the “pain, shame and suffering they have endured”. Lynn’s wife and son, who were present in court during the trial, did not attend Friday’s sentencing.
“I don’t ask for forgiveness, I am simply sorry for what I have done,” Lynn wrote.
Lynn’s defence team argued the deaths were the result of a tragic accident and that his client had “made a series of terrible choices” to cover them up.
