Defence lawyers for the man accused of murdering two campers in Victoria's High Country have argued the charges are baseless, in a final bid to tear apart the prosecution's case.
Dermot Dann KC has finished delivering a closing address in Greg Lynn's double murder trial by detailing a series of more than a dozen purported "lowlights" in the prosecution's case against the former Jetstar pilot.
"Shambolic", "desperate" and "hopeless" were among the scathing adjectives Mr Dann attached to the prosecution case as his closing address ran into a second day.
When the Supreme Court trial resumed on Wednesday, Mr Dann told jurors they would find no factual basis for convicting Mr Lynn of the first count of murder, relating to retiree Russell Hill.
"The simple reality is — and if this ruffles feathers, it ruffles feathers — it's a hopeless case," he said.
"They have no case for murder in respect of charge one.
"How can you find someone guilty in a complete factual vacuum?"
The barrister said the same problem applied to the alleged murder of Mr Hill's childhood sweetheart and romantic companion, Carol Clay.
The defence case is that the retirees' deaths at a High Country campsite in March 2020 were tragic accidents that followed separate struggles over a knife and Mr Lynn's 12-gauge shotgun.
The former Jetstar pilot's wife and son today sat behind Mr Dann as he delivered his address, clutching each other's hands and nodding as the defence barrister made his case to the jury.
'Where's the fantasy?'
From the outset of the trial, prosecutors told jurors they did not know the motive or precise circumstances of the alleged murders, other than that Ms Clay was shot in the head.
Instead, part of their case has relied on what they described as Mr Lynn's incriminating conduct in a bid to cover up the deaths afterwards.
Both sides agree Mr Lynn set fire to the retirees' campsite then moved their bodies to a remote area, where he later returned to set fire to their remains.
In his closing address yesterday, prosecutor Daniel Porceddu urged the jury to reject the account of the campers' accidental deaths as an "elaborate fiction".
He warned jurors to "be careful" when asked to consider the lack of forensic evidence in the case given its "wholesale destruction" by Mr Lynn.
Today, defence lawyers said that added up to a case of destruction of evidence rather than a case for murder.
Mr Dann singled out the prosecution's closing argument as the low point of its case, arguing some of the statements made by prosecutor Daniel Porceddu in his address on Tuesday were "completely wrong", while others still were "misinformation".
Mr Dann said he counted 20 propositions relayed to jurors that were not put to Mr Lynn during his time on the witness stand, breaching a rule of fairness.
"There are massive problems with the prosecution case," he said.
"It's just a recipe for injustice, chaos and tyranny."
The defence barrister then took jurors through Mr Lynn's account of the accidental killings to argue how it aligned with various pieces of witness evidence called by the prosecution.
"Where's the fiction? Where's the fantasy? It's just not there," Mr Dann said.
Mr Dann said it would have been easier for his client to remain in the dock than be questioned while giving evidence in his own trial, but that Mr Lynn had emerged from the process "totally unscathed".
He concluded that prosecutors had failed to demonstrate Mr Lynn was guilty of either murder charge.
Jurors will begin considering their verdict after receiving final instructions from Justice Michael Croucher.
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2024-06-12 07:18:45Z
CBMicWh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmFiYy5uZXQuYXUvbmV3cy8yMDI0LTA2LTEyL2dyZWctbHlubi1tdXJkZXItdHJpYWwtY2xvc2luZy1hcmd1bWVudHMtcnVzc2VsbC1oaWxsLWNhcm9sLWNsYXkvMTAzOTY5NzMy0gEoaHR0cHM6Ly9hbXAuYWJjLm5ldC5hdS9hcnRpY2xlLzEwMzk2OTczMg
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