In a recorded police interview, Greg Lynn said his life resembled The Truman Show.
Truman Burbank, played by Jim Carrey in the 1998 Hollywood blockbuster, was the unwitting star of his own reality television show and took years to realise everything around him was part of a script.
Much like Truman, Mr Lynn developed a growing suspicion that his world was not exactly how it seemed.
After he covered up the deaths of two people, Mr Lynn felt like he was being watched. Strangers seemed overly friendly and appeared to have ulterior motives. The paranoia had set in, Mr Lynn told detectives, because “everyone knows what’s going on and you don’t”.
This week, Mr Lynn did something even The Truman Show’s creators hadn’t dreamt up for their protagonist — he got to testify in his own double-murder trial.
Greg Lynn takes the stand
During three-and-a-half hours in the Supreme Court witness box, Mr Lynn said he was introduced to guns by his father as a 16-year-old; he’d spent time working as an asparagus picker and Tasmanian river guide; and during his piloting career he used Jetstar-issued gloves to clean up his planes.
“Most of the pilots just take off and leave the cabin crew to do that,” Mr Lynn said, “but I always grab some gloves, go through, help them clean up”.
When his testimony returned to the central topic of the trial, Mr Lynn declared: “I am innocent. I haven’t killed anyone.”
Mr Lynn was the final witness of 18 days of court hearings, focusing on the deaths of Carol Clay and Russell Hill at a remote campsite.
The 57-year-old, dressed in a black suit, blue shirt and silver tie, gestured and marked points on a map as he described how an argument with Mr Hill, 74, got out of hand on the night of March 20, 2020.
He accused Mr Hill of stealing his hunting gun, and said as he tried to snatch it back, the firearm went off, shooting a projectile through the side mirror of a four-wheel-drive and into Ms Clay’s head.
Mr Lynn said he then grabbed the gun off Mr Hill, fired the remaining round into the air and retreated to his vehicle. Moments later he saw Mr Hill “striding purposefully” towards him with a kitchen knife.
Another confrontation took place and the knife went into Mr Hill’s chest as the men tumbled to the ground, Mr Lynn said.
After questions from his own lawyer were completed, Mr Lynn was cross-examined by Crown prosecutor Daniel Porceddu, who rubbished the story that the campers died by tragic accident.
Every seat in the courtroom was filled as Mr Porceddu rose to his feet and levelled a series of accusations at Mr Lynn.
Porceddu: You murdered Mr Hill. What do you say?
Lynn: That’s not true.
Porceddu: You took aim at Mrs Clay, that’s what I’m putting to you.
Lynn: That’s not true.
Porceddu: You shot at her multiple times. What do you say in response to that?
Lynn: That’s not true.
The exchange was halted by Mr Lynn’s lawyer Dermot Dann KC, who objected on the grounds that the prosecutor was “making things up”, an assessment the trial judge agreed with.
“You’re not entitled to just pull things out of the air,” Justice Michael Croucher said.
Mr Lynn admits actions were anything but rational
Later, Mr Lynn gripped the side of the witness box with his left hand and appeared to be maintaining his composure as the prosecutor’s probe continued.
“I’m very stressed right now,” he said calmly, while explaining that his pilot training enabled him to deal with challenging situations in a methodical and rational manner.
But he admitted his actions were anything but methodical and rational on the night of March 20, 2020.
“I was panicked,” he said, describing his conduct after the campers’ deaths as “despicable”.
Instead of calling for help, he put on his Jetstar gloves and began cleaning the crime scene, before setting items on fire and putting the campers’ bodies into his trailer.
He drove through the night and dumped them on the side of a remote track, covering the bodies with leaves and sticks.
“I didn’t hide the bodies. I placed them there. I expected them to be found,” Mr Lynn said.
But that didn’t happen, and the only person who was found was Mr Lynn himself. He was snapped by a traffic camera leaving the area.
‘Ill-conceived’ cover-up
As months passed and police began to suspect him of being involved in the campers’ disappearance, Mr Lynn returned to the burial site to destroy the critical evidence.
He poured kerosene on the decomposed remains, set them on fire, and waited until the job was done.
“Almost everything was gone. It was just mostly ash left,” he said.
The “ill-conceived” cover-up was to protect his career, his family, and membership of a shooting club.
Mr Lynn said his current predicament was “a disaster” and that he had caused immeasurable pain to those who loved Mr Hill and Ms Clay.
“All I can say to the families is that I am very sorry for your suffering,” he said.
It was a rare moment where Mr Lynn abandoned his direct and no-nonsense way of answering questions. At another point, he took a deep breath and admitted he concealed the truth from his wife, Melanie, who was watching from the court gallery.
In The Truman Show’s final scene, Jim Carrey’s character leaves his manufactured reality and is set free into the real world.
Whether Greg Lynn’s story ends the same way will be up to the jury.
The panel will hear closing arguments from lawyers next week, before being sent out to decide whether he is guilty of murder.