Prosecutors asked if manslaughter charge will be considered if Greg Lynn overturns high country murder conviction | Victoria

A Victorian appeals court has asked the prosecution if it would “change its mind” if Greg Lynn was retried for the murder of an elderly camper, including whether to bring manslaughter charges.

Lynn, 59, was convicted of murdering her grandmother Carol Clay in June last year, but was acquitted of murdering fellow camper and lover Russell Hill.

The former Jetstar pilot was sentenced to at least 24 years in prison for the murder of the 73-year-old. He is trying to overturn the conviction and sentence.

Lynn’s case returned to the appeals court on Thursday; A brief hearing was devoted mostly to hearing submissions on a proposed shorter sentence should his appeal against his conviction fail.

But the appeals court judge also told the OPP to clarify whether Lynn would be charged with manslaughter rather than murder if the appeal is successful and a retrial is ordered.

They also sought clarity on whether the OPP would use Lynn’s motive for killing Clay or Hill to kill another who would have witnessed the death.

Judges Karin Emerton, Phillip Priest and Peter Kidd are hearing the appeal and have asked the OPP to advise on their intention to order a retrial before the end of Thursday. Dermot Dann KC, on behalf of Lynn, was given until the end of Friday to respond.

Their decisions are reserved.

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Asked if Priest wanted to comment on the advice he sought on whether the OPP should “change hands,” Dann replied: “It’s probably more appropriate and safer to wait to hear what the director has to say.”

But he accepted that this was the correct course of action, given that if a retrial was ordered it would be “under circumstances where it was the conduct of the prosecution that led to the overturning of the conviction”.

The judges agreed that a retrial could be granted if any or more of the first two grounds of Lynn’s appeal were successful, and possibly the third ground.

Lynn argued that a serious miscarriage of justice had occurred on several grounds, including that “the prosecutor launched a sustained attack on the credibility of the investigation.” [Lynn’s] Without taking into account the many issues that make up this attack [Lynn] When he testified at the hearing”. His lawyers also stated that “the prosecution’s approach to the evidence [firearms expert] “Mr Paul Griffiths has committed a further serious departure from the rules governing the fair conduct of criminal proceedings.”

It was also argued that “there was an unacceptable risk that the jury would take an impermissible route in reaching a guilty verdict on the murder charge involving Ms Clay”. This reasoning is based on the fact that the prosecution’s case is that Lynn killed both campers.

Lynn’s explanation was that he shot Clay as he wrestled with Hill for control of the shotgun when the gun discharged. He said Hill died after a struggle that resulted in a knife being lodged in his torso.

At Thursday’s hearing, Priest did not argue that the sentencing judge made a mistake in assessing how Lynn handled the bodies after the deaths of Hill and Clay, but said it was important to consider.

The court heard Lynn moved both bodies several times and set them on fire in an attempt to hide his crime.

“It’s hard not to have a strong visceral reaction to what Mr. Lynn did to the bodies,” Priest said.

“I find what they did to the bodies absolutely despicable.

“One should still try to approach this very serious aggravating factor objectively and not be motivated by one’s subjective response to it.”

Kathryn Hamill, DPP, said the majority of Lynn’s submissions regarding his sentence were about his age and there was nothing to suggest this was not taken into account when he was sentenced.

He said the sentence was within the normal range for murder.