Footage of Greg Lynn’s interview with police has been released by the Victorian supreme court, days after the former airline pilot was convicted of one count of murder.
The footage shows a segment of the four-day interview Lynn, now aged 57, had with police after his arrest in November 2021.
On Tuesday, a jury found Lynn guilty of murdering 73-year-old Carol Clay, but not guilty of murdering Russell Hill, 74, in March 2020.
The jury was shown the interview footage during Lynn’s five-week trial.
During the interview, he gave police his account of how the couple died accidentally, and about his actions after the deaths.
In it, Lynn described trying to seize back his gun from Hill, telling police Hill had taken it from his camp. That resulted in a struggle, he said, which resulted in a shot being fired that killed Clay.
“I grabbed the shotgun barrel with my right arm pivoted around so I was facing him, him facing away from the bonnet of the car,” he said in the interview. “I had the left hand on the stop, right hand on the barrel, and we wrestle. The shotgun was pointed over this way and it was discharged.”
He told police that Hill had come at him with a knife soon after, and that the blade subsequently plunged into the older man’s chest as they struggled.
Prosecutors had alleged Lynn killed Hill and Clay with murderous intent, possibly over a dispute related to Hill’s drone, but did not know the exact circumstances or motive behind the alleged murder, the jury was told. It was alleged Hill was killed first by an unknown means and Clay was later shot in the head.
The police interview included Lynn repeatedly referencing maps of the remote Wonnangatta Valley, where the deaths occurred, and making diagrams of the crime scene.
It also included him acting out portions of the altercation he said he had with Hill.
After Lynn’s interview with police was shown to the jury, he also gave evidence in court about his account of the deaths.
What the jury was not told was that Lynn only made the admissions to police in the interview after what a judge found was “oppressive conduct” on behalf of investigating detectives, including repeatedly challenging his decision to give a “no comment” interview.
The section of police interview which includes this conduct has not been released.
Lynn will return to court for a pre-sentence hearing on 17 July.
