Alleged High Country killer Greg Lynn applies for bail ahead of retrial over Carol Clay’s death

Accused High Country killer Greg Lynn has revealed plans to seek a rare stay of proceedings as he launches a bid to be released on bail.

The 59-year-old former Jetstar pilot appeared in the Victorian Supreme Court on Thursday, seeking to be released to live with his son Geordie Lynn, who has offered up his “life savings” as a bail guarantee.

As the hearing began, Justice David Beech announced that the court would be “ready” to hear Mr Lynn’s retrial as early as mid-2026.

Justice Beech said a judge had been allocated to hear the trial, which was expected to occur in July or August.

Mr Lynn is accused of killing Country Women’s Association stalwart Carol Clay, 73, while camping in the remote Wonnangatta Valley, in Victoria’s High Country, in March 2020.

His application for bail comes two months after a panel of three Court of Appeal judges overturned his murder conviction in December, finding a substantial miscarriage of justice had occurred.

The judges found the trial prosecutor had repeatedly breached fairness rules by unfairly attacking Mr Lynn’s credibility and when dealing with the evidence of police ballistics specialist Paul Griffiths.

“Unhappily, we have concluded that the conduct of prosecuting counsel so compromised the fairness of the applicant’s trial that a substantial miscarriage of justice resulted,” they wrote.

“In those circumstances, the applicant’s conviction for murdering Mrs Clay cannot be permitted to stand.”

The judges ordered that Mr Lynn be subject to a new trial and the case was sent back to the Victorian Supreme Court.

During the first trial, Mr Lynn was accused of murdering Ms Clay and her partner Russell Hill, 74, after the pair vanished while camping at the remote Bucks Camp campground. He has pleaded not guilty and was acquitted of criminal responsibility for Mr Hill’s death by a jury.

Mr Lynn was supported in court on Thursday by his wife Melanie Lynn and son, Geordie, as defence barrister Dermot Dann KC argued his client was in a “unique position” that made out why he should be freed.

Under Victorian law, Mr Lynn must prove there are exceptional circumstances justifying a grant of bail.

These included that he’d spent more than four years behind bars, the existence of stable accommodation and a supportive family, prior good character, vulnerability in prison and “sensational” and “explosive” media reporting of highly prejudicial material.

Much of Mr Dann’s submission to the court focused on this latter point, which he argued meant the “prospects of this man receiving a fair trial in the future was non-existent”.

“So what we say here is Mr Lynn finds himself, as a result of much of that publicity, in a terrible situation,” he said.

“The prospects of a fair trial in the near future have been totally obliterated.”

Mr Dann argued that “damaging publicity” about Mr Lynn since the verdict in his first trial meant it was unrealistic for a trial to be held in 2026 or 2027.

He told the court Mr Lynn’s defence would apply for stay in the proceedings, a rare legal move that would place his criminal matters on hold temporarily or permanently, due to the impact of media reporting.

“If there’s a retrial it has to be a long time away from all this damaging publicity,” he argued.

Mr Dann also attacked the strength of the prosecution case against Mr Lynn, noting the Crown was now left in an “awkward position” to explain Russell Hill’s death after Mr Lynn was acquitted of his murder.

In response, Crown prosecutor Raymond Gibson KC accepted there had been “disparaging” media reports about Mr Lynn, but argued there was “safety mechanisms” in the court process to avoid prejudice against the accused man.

The prosecutor argued Mr Lynn’s prospect of a retrial in six or seven months time was not an “inordinate delay” for someone facing the serious charge of murder.

Mr Gibson submitted that the legal threshold for Mr Lynn getting bail was a “high bar” and argued he did not meet this test.

“In our case the applicant doesn’t get to that point and bail should be refused,” he said.

Justice Beech reserved his decision and will deliver a judgment on Mr Lynn’s bail on March 5.