SUPREME Court Justice Michael Croucher was brought to tears on Friday as he reflected on the "pain and suffering" of the families of killed Wonnangatta Valley camper Carol Clay and Russell Hill.

The families were made to wait 20 months to become aware of the fate the two retirees who were reported missing in March 2020.

Their disappearance received nationwide exposure, with the remains of a burnt out campsite the only thing left to trace their secret romance back to the world.

Former pilot Greg Lynn was arrested and charged with the pair's murders in November 2021, after becoming a suspect when a traffic camera snapped his vehicle and trailer leaving the valley the morning after the murder.

Justice Croucher cried as he acknowledged the “plight, agony and suffering” the families of the deceased had been through over the past four years, “from one person to another”.

“To the families of both deceased, I’m terribly sorry for your loss,” he said.

"The sentence imposed is not a measure of Mrs Clay's life, it can’t be.”

Lynn was jailed for 32 years for the 2020 killing of camper Mrs Clay as Justice Croucher laid down his findings at the Supreme Court of Victoria of the “grave example of murder”.

Lynn was found guilty of murdering Mrs Clay (73) but acquitted of murdering Mr Hill (74) by a 12-person jury panel in June this year.

Lynn pleaded not guilty to both charges of murder, arguing their deaths at Bucks Camp campsite on March 20, 2020 were an accident.

Following the pair’s deaths, the 58-year-old former pilot took action to hide the bodies in remote bushland and set them fire, while also taking multiple other measures to avoid detection until his arrest 20 months later.

Justice Croucher said while he could not disclose the motive behind the murder of Mrs Clay due to the evidence given during the five-week trial, he found the killing as “violent, brutal and horrific”.

“It is a very grave example of murder,” he said.

Throughout the trial Lynn claimed Ms Clay was shot in the head while he and Mr Hill struggled over control of Lynn’s shotgun after a dispute, most likely over Mr Hill’s drone.

He said Mr Hill died in a subsequent struggle, after a knife accidentally plunged into his chest.

Prosecutors had described Mr Lynn’s series of events as a lie and argued his actions to destroy evidence and cover up the deaths of the campers as ones made by a man who had committed murder.

Crown prosecutor Daniel Porceddu submitted the “grave nature” of the murder warranted a life sentence behind bars.

Justice Croucher said Lynn’s desecration of the bodies "appalling treatment" and "just a terrible thing to do".

“He thought his career as an airline captain would be over, and that he would never be allowed to pursue his interest as a sporting shooter… so, instead of alerting the authorities, he set about doing a number of things designed to cover up these events, and to conceal his involvement in them,” he said.

Justice Croucher said a number of the elements of the deadly fight at Bucks Camp still remained unclear, including the exact order of deaths and whether Mrs Clay’s killing was planned or premeditated.

“I am not satisfied, whether on the criminal or the civil standard of proof, either that this interaction resulted in Mr Hill’s death or of the order in which the deaths occurred,” he said.

“There are several other things that I cannot say about the circumstances surrounding Mrs Clay’s murder.”

Justice Croucher said he believed Lynn intended to kill Mrs Clay and believes the jury came to the same conclusion.

Justice Croucher said Mr Hill’s family gave evidence “with dignity” despite their feelings of “hurt and humiliation” of discovering his death and affair with Mrs Clay.

He said the loved ones of Mr Hill were left in “excruciating” legal limbo, due to the acquittal of his murder.

In a letter submitted to the court Lynn said he was “disappointed and perplexed” by the jury’s verdict and maintained his innocence, announcing he would appeal their finding.

Lynn showed his sympathy for the deceased’s families and apologised for the “pain and suffering” he had caused his family, his associates and emergency service workers who worked the case for 20 months before he admitted his crimes.

“I don't ask for forgiveness, I am simply sorry for what I have done,” the letter read.

The 58-year-old former pilot was given a non-parole period of 24 years.

This sentence means Lynn will not be released from prison until he is at least 79 years old and he will be 87 if he serves his full sentence.