Russell Hill’s widow Robyn Hill only became aware of his affair after a neighbour gave Mr Hill an ultimatum
Before finally admitting to his affair, missing camper Russell Hill had for years claimed to his wife that Carol Clay was his first cousin, a jury has heard.
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The wife of Russell Hill says her husband confessed he was having an affair with Carol Clay but promised it ended more than a decade before the pair vanished in Victoria’s High Country.
Former Jetstar captain Greg Lynn, 57, is standing trial in the Supreme Court for the murders of retirees Mr Hill, 74, and Mrs Clay, 73, who disappeared during a camping trip to the Wonnangatta Valley in March 2020.
Robyn Hill, the widow of Mr Hill, was on Tuesday called to give evidence, where she revealed she had known Mrs Clay for about as long as her husband and they used to holiday on Phillip Island with her and her ex-husband in the early 2000s.
Mrs Hill’s voice cracked during her testimony but she remained composed as she told the jury her husband had for years maintained Mrs Clay was his first cousin.
But she became aware of their affair in the mid-2000s after a neighbour gave Mr Hill an ultimatum that he come clean to his wife of 50 years otherwise they would tell her themselves.
He then promised her he would stop seeing Mrs Clay, which Mrs Hill said she believed.
Mrs Hill, who was seated due to her frailty, said she thought it was strange that her husband and Mrs Clay went on walks together when they holidayed together.
She recalled how her husband seemed happy when he left their Drouin home bound for a camping trip to the Wonnangatta Valley on the morning of March 19, 2020.
“He liked going up there,” she said.
“It was a lovely place.”
Mrs Hill said she last heard from her husband the following evening through the high-frequency radio he used to communicate with friends.
But she became alarmed when he failed to tune in the following nights.
Mrs Hill was offered tissues as she told the jury how she rang police on March 25, before attending Warragul Police Station the following day to report him missing.
She described her husband as a fit and active man but said he began to slow up in his later years.
Mrs Hill also spoke about a fatal deer hunting accident involving one of his family members in the Wonnangatta Valley in 1994.
“I don’t think he liked (hunting), he never did it,” she said.
The court heard there was a plaque at Hilly’s Camp, where the man was killed, that read: “Not every stag under a rub tree is a deer.”
Mrs Hill said she had visited the plaque with her husband, which is close to where he was allegedly murdered.
The jury also heard about the life she had built with her husband, with the couple having three daughters and living in Lilydale and Nayook before they settled in Drouin in 2001.
Mrs Hill said their family used to camp in the Wonnangatta Valley, an area which Mr Hill was familiar with as he had helped build the surrounding roads.
Debra Hill, one of their daughters, also gave evidence on Tuesday, telling the court she became aware of her father’s affair with Mrs Clay at a similar time to her mother but was also assured he had ended it.
In a statement to police, she said she believed Mr Hill inherited a shotgun from his father but he handed it in during the firearm amnesty after the Port Arthur massacre.
Juror excused as grisly new campsite pictures revealed
A jury has been shown photographs and footage of Russell Hill and Carol Clay’s destroyed campsite in the days after they vanished in Victoria’s High Country.
Jurors were on Tuesday shown dozens of photographs and walk-through footage taken by police of the pair’s campsite, as Sergeant Matthew Tanner — a crime scene services officer based in Gippsland — identified what each image depicted.
Close-up images of Mr Hill and Mrs Clay’s wallets in the driver and passenger side foot wells of Mr Hill’s Toyota LandCruiser scattered among cards were shown to the court.
The wallets contained driver's licences but were missing bank cards and cash.
Images of a burnt-out tent were also shown, as Sergeant Tanner pointed out destroyed items in the debris, including a solar panel cell, camping stove, gas cylinder and buckets.
He said an electronic tablet was also found under the ash.
The jury was shown images of a melted battery next to Mr Hill’s LandCruiser and a close-up of its damaged passenger side mirror.
Sergeant Tanner said investigators opened up the canopy on the back of Mr Hill’s LandCruiser to film inside but he did not see any blood stains or human tissue.
The police officer told the court he was tasked with examining the campsite on March 28 — eight days after the alleged murders.
He left Bairnsdale and met up with a colleague before they drove in convoy to Bucks Camp, where they arrived late that afternoon and met with two other officers already at the scene.
After examining the campsite, Sergeant Tanner said police took Mr Hill and Mrs Clay’s wallets and put police tape up but left the LandCruiser’s spare key in case the missing campers returned.
Former Senior Constable Madeline Rachford — who has since left Victoria Police — earlier told the court she drove to the campsite earlier that day with another officer after they were provided coordinates from other campers.
She said perimeter searches of the surrounding areas failed to find anything of note.
Earlier on Tuesday, a juror was discharged after falling ill.
Justice Michael Croucher told the remaining 14 jurors he did not know how long the woman would be ill for but it was his preference to carry on rather than wait for her to recover.
A dozen jurors are required to return a verdict and two will be randomly balloted off if all remain at the end of the trial.
The trial continues.
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