Greg Lynn begins giving evidence in murder trial over deaths of Russell Hill and Carol Clay

A former Jetstar pilot accused of murdering two elderly campers in the Victorian high country has told a supreme court trial that he was struggling for control of his shotgun when it accidentally discharged.

Gregory Stuart Lynn, 57, has taken the stand in the Victorian supreme court on Thursday, after pleading not guilty to murdering Russell Hill, 74, and Carol Clay, 73, at a remote camping site in the Wonnangatta Valley in March 2020.

The prosecution alleges he killed the pair with murderous intent but does not know the circumstances or motive behind the alleged murders. Lynn’s lawyer, Dermot Dann KC, previously told the court that the deaths were the result of a tragic accident, and that his client, a former Jetstar pilot, had “made a series of terrible choices” to cover them up.

On Thursday morning, under questioning by Dann, Lynn said he told the truth at all times during a 2021 police interview, which has been previously played to the jury. In that interview, Lynn said Clay was shot in the head by accident after a struggle with Hill.

Lynn began his evidence by talking about a diagram of the Wonnangatta Valley campsite that he drew and marked up for police. He then described the struggle over the shotgun that he says led to Clay being shot.

The former pilot told the court that, at the time his shotgun discharged, he was “struggling with Russell Hill” for control of the weapon.

“Russell Hill had his back towards the bull bar, and I was pushing him against the bull bar,” he told the court.

The court previously heard that Lynn also told police that Hill came at him with a knife soon after Clay was shot, screaming “she’s dead”, before another struggle in which the knife went through the chest of Hill while they were on the ground.

Lynn will be the only witness called by the defence after the prosecution closed their case on Wednesday afternoon.

The trial continues.