High Country camper Carol Clay shot after men fought over shotgun, court told

In a big day of revelations, more details about missing campers Russell Hill and Carol Clay’s final days have been revealed, as well as the case against their alleged killer.

More explosive details about missing campers Russell Hill and Carol Clay’s final days have been revealed in court.

These are the five biggest revelations from court on Tuesday;

— Accused killer Greg Lynn returned twice to the Wonnangatta Valley following the alleged murders of Russell Hill and Carol Clay in what police say was an attempt to destroy evidence.

A police summary of the case alleged he moved their bodies from the original March 20, 2020 campsite crime scene in his trailer - which still hasn’t been found - into the bush.

Police claim he later travelled back to the area in May and November 2020 to return to “where he hid the bodies of Hill and Clay and burnt and attempted to hide their remains in further attempts to hide his offending and avoid apprehension”.

— Police identified Mr Lynn as a person of interest because his car travelled through a camera site at 9.48am on March 21, 2020, at the same time Mr Hill’s phone was travelling in the same direction.

Officers believe this was the morning of or the morning after the alleged murders.

Mr Lynn’s blue Nissan Patrol was one of 12 that travelled through the Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) cameras on the Great Alpine Road at Buckland’s Gap within a 20-minute window that day.

An artist’s impression of Greg Lynn in court. Picture: Mollie McPherson

— Russell Hill went camping alone on March 11, 2020, nine days before police believe he was murdered alongside his “childhood sweetheart” Carol Clay.

On his solo camping trip in the Great Alpine National Park, Mr Hill asked hunters if they minded that he flew his drone, even though he acknowledged it was illegal to do so in a national park.

The hunter group had no issue, and he flew his drone.

On about March 20, police believe Mr Lynn discarded the drone, along with Mr Hill’s car keys and the couple’s phones, after he allegedly murdered them.

— A piece of Ms Clay’s skull was found at the original campsite in March, 2022 - more than two years after the alleged murders.

Her blood spatter was also found on the canopy of Mr Hill’s Land Cruiser.

A piece of lead, believed to be a spent bullet, along with four bone fragments believed to be from the skull and human hair were also found.

Mr Lynn’s defence lawyer proposed a theory in court that a struggle over a shotgun between Mr Hill and Mr Lynn resulted in Ms Clay being accidentally shot in the head.

Dermot Dann KC asked Victoria Police forensic expert Mark Gellatly about the possible theory in court.

“The two were wrestling over the gun causing an accidental discharge … which struck Ms Clay in the head while positioned on the near side of Hill’s vehicle,” Mr Dann said.

— Police got secret warrants to surveil Mr Lynn’s car and home in December, 2020 and used listening devices, GPS trackers and telephone intercepts.

They began monitoring all incoming and outgoing calls, messages, location information and data.

Investigators alleged that Mr Lynn was captured having “conversations with himself whilst at various locations at his home address and while camping on his own”.

“It is alleged the accused at times referred to the deaths” of Mr Hill and Ms Clay, documents before the court state.

Carol shot after men fought over shotgun, court told

Secret listening devices recorded accused High Country killer Greg Lynn talking to himself about Russell Hill and Carol Clay nearly a year after their murders, according to police.

It comes as the first possible theory on what happened to the missing campers was revealed in court, when Mr Lynn’s lawyer raising the possibility that Ms Clay was accidentally shot while the other men struggled over a shotgun.

The former Jetstar pilot, 56, denies he murdered Mr Hill, 75, and Ms Clay, 73, while they were camping in the Wonnangatta Valley in March 2020.

In a statement provided to the court by forensic expert Mark Gellatly, he claims police informed him they believed Mr Lynn was annoyed by Mr Hill’s drone and confronted the pair.

He said crime scene investigators believe Mr Hill then allegedly grabbed a shotgun from Mr Lynn’s vehicle, before a physical fight broke out.

Mr Gellatly was asked about the scenario while being questioned by Mr Lynn’s barrister Dermot Dann, KC, in the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday.

Russell Hill and Carol Clay's burnout campsite photographed by a camper in Wonnangatta Valley. Picture: ABC

“The two were wrestling over the gun causing an accidental discharge … which struck Ms Clay in the head while positioned on the near side of Hill’s vehicle,” Mr Dann said.

Mr Gellatly said it was a “possible explanation”.

Neither police nor prosecutors allege Ms Clay was killed by an accidental shot.

Mr Gellatly said suspected blood stains on the armrest of Mr Hill’s white LandCruiser underwent forensic testing but they tested negative due to possible damage caused by a campsite fire.

Details of the police case against Mr Lynn were made public for the first time on Tuesday after magistrate Brett Sonnet approved the release of a summary of alleged facts to the media.

Investigators allege a confrontation between the trio at the campsite where they were all staying led to Mr Lynn killing the older couple on the evening of March 20.

“The accused contaminated and staged the crime scene, intentionally destroyed the evidence within the crime scene, and removed evidence from the crime scene before transporting and disposing of the bodies,” the summary states.

Detectives covertly placed listening devices in Mr Lynn’s car and home in December 2020, which allegedly recorded him speaking to himself about the deaths of Mr Hill and Ms Clay.

The cause of death is outstanding but bone fragments and a discharged bullet containing Ms Clay’s DNA were later found, police say.

The dense bushland where the remains of Ms Clay and Mr Hill were found. Picture: Jason Edwards

Mr Lynn allegedly placed a gas bottle in the pair’s tent before setting fire to their camp and fleeing with their bodies in his trailer.

It is alleged Mr Lynn tried to leave the valley via Wonnangatta Track on the Myrtleford side but was forced to make a U-turn due to a closed river crossing.

He allegedly left the area via the track’s eastern side towards Dargo before dumping their bodies in bushland near Union Spur Track.

Mr Lynn allegedly returned to where the bodies were left twice in May and November 2020 where he tampered with their remains.

“This involved burning, dispersing, and partially interring them,” the summary states.

Mr Hill’s remains were later identified through biological testing while Ms Clay was identified by jewellery and items left at the scene, according to investigators.

Police also allege a piece of Ms Clay’s skull was found at the campsite and her blood was detected on the canopy of Mr Hill’s LandCruiser.

The court heard Mr Lynn’s blue Nissan Patrol was captured by a number plate recognition camera near Mount Hotham the morning after the murders.

Phone records revealed Mr Hill’s phone was detected in the area between 9.40am and 10am on March 21.

Carol Clay was allegedly shot as Russell Hill and Greg Lynn men wrestled over a gun, a court has heard. Picture: Supplied

Russell Hill and Ms Clay were childhood sweethearts. Picture: Victoria Police

Police visited Mr Lynn at his Caroline Springs home in July 2020 to ask about his movements four months earlier. Detectives had by that time eliminated 11 of the 12 vehicles captured on the plate recognition camera from their investigation.

Detective Senior Constable Abbey Justin told Tuesday’s hearing she noticed Mr Lynn’s vehicle had been painted beige when she arrived at his home.

“I was under the belief it was the same vehicle at the time,” she said. “We needed to confirm who was driving.”

The Homicide Squad detective said she spoke to Mr Lynn for about an hour in a conversation that was secretly recorded. She said he was not given a caution because he was considered a witness.

Police searched Mr Lynn’s home on the same day he was arrested in remote bushland in Gippsland in November 2021, allegedly finding many firearms including rifles, pistols and shotguns.

“The accused was a keen amateur sporting shooter and firearm enthusiast,” the summary states.

Police allege Mr Lynn discarded the pair’s belongings. including Mr Hill’s drone, the keys for his LandCruiser and their mobile phones – none of which have been found.

According to police, Mr Hill had been on a separate camping trip in the Great Alpine National Park in the weeks before his death, where he had spoken to a group of hunters about the importance of gun safety.

“He told them about a tragic accident where a relative was accidentally killed when mistaken for a deer,” the summary states.

The hearing continues.