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Jetstar pilot Greg Lynn was allegedly caught on tape talking to himself about the deaths of elderly campers Russell Hill and Carol Clay – before he was accused of their murders.
In court documents released on Tuesday afternoon, prosecutors revealed homicide detectives had been investigating Lynn for about a year before finally arresting him in November 2021.
‘Investigators identified the accused to have conversations with himself whilst at various locations, at his home address and while camping on his own,’ court documents state.
‘It is alleged the accused at times referred to the deaths of Hill and Clay.’
Russell Hill (pictured, right) and Carol Clay (left) are alleged by police to have been murdered during a camping trip in March 2020
Lynn took notes from behind protective glass within the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday
Lynn, 56, appeared in the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday charged with the murders of Mr Hill, 74, and Ms Clay, 73.
Elderly camper Ms Clay was allegedly shot through the head and killed when her secret lover Mr Hill attempted to grab a gun away from Lynn, the court heard.
At the time of his arrest, Lynn was employed as a senior check captain pilot with Jetstar and had been employed in the airline industry for more than 30 years, documents said.
The court heard Lynn had been a gun enthusiast when he ventured into the wilderness in March 2020.
‘The accused was a keen amateur sporting shooter and firearm enthusiast, licenced to possess nine different firearms including pistols, longarm centre fire rifles and a shotgun,’ a prosecution summary stated.
Police allege Lynn went through the dead campers’ wallets, which were partially open and strewn through the foot wells of Mr Hill’s vehicle.
‘A closer examination noted that credit / debit type cards were missing. It was also confirmed that the mobile phones of Hill and Clay were not within the vehicle,’ the court heard.
Police believe Lynn then took Mr Hill’s beloved DJI drone and the keys to his Landcruiser before leaving the scene. The drone has never been recovered.
Lynn continues to deny murdering the couple while they were camping in the Wonnangatta Valley in March 2020.
According to the summary, investigators allege Lynn had got into an argument with the campers before killing them both.
‘The circumstances of their deaths, and the accused’s behaviour afterwards are consistent with the accused having intended to cause death or at least cause each of them really serious injury,’ the summary read.
Russell Hill (pictured with his missing drone) is believed to have filmed campers in and about the area where he was allegedly murdered
Gregory Lynn, 55, (pictured) was charged with the murder of secret lovers Russell Hill, 74, and Carol Clay, 73
It is the first time any details have been revealed of how police allege the murders took place.
The badly burnt remains of the elderly couple were found by Victoria Police Missing Persons Squad detectives on November 30, 2021 – just days after the arrest of Lynn.
It remains unclear how police allege Mr Hill was murdered by Lynn.
The court heard Lynn worked to cover up his alleged crimes, placing camping items, including a BBQ gas bottle belonging to the couple inside their tent before setting it alight.
‘This is alleged to have been done to conceal his crimes. He packed up his own camp and fled with the bodies of Hill and Clay,’ the court heard.
Police claim Lynn dumped the couple’s bodies in the bush but returned again in May and November ‘to implement measures to try to destroy the remains … including setting fire to the remains of their bodies’.
Police allege Lynn repainted his own vehicle beige from blue just two months after the alleged killings.
Months later police released a roadside camera image of a dark blue Nissan Patrol towing a modified trailer in the Wonnangatta Valley on March 20, 2020.
In December that year – seven months after the couple went missing – police obtained warrants to commence covert surveillance of Lynn’s vehicle.
Lynn would not be arrested until near on a year later.
Lynn’s barrister Dermot Dann, QC put it to forensic officer Mark Mr Gellatly that Mr Hill had grabbed his client’s shotgun.
‘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.
‘Yes,’ Mr Gellatly responded. ‘It’s a possible explanation at this point.’
The daughters of slain camper Russell Hill, Colleen and Debbie, eye balled his alleged killer in court on Monday
Greg Lynn’s barrister Dermot Dann, QC attends court in Melbourne on Monday. Mr Dann is regarded as one of Australia’s top legal minds
Flash: Detective Inspector Andrew Stamper leaves the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on Monday
The court heard traces of Ms Clay’s blood, confirmed via DNA analysis, had been found on Mr Hill’s Toyota Landcruiser, however many suspected traces had been destroyed by fire.
On Monday, the court heard the elderly lovers had visited a graveyard in the remote wilderness and buzzed other campers with a drone.
The court heard Mr Hill had spoken to three hunters at length on March 12 – some eight days before he would die – about his drone.
Documents state Mr Hill discussed his life and family before asking the hunter if he minded him flying his drone.
‘Hill told him that he was aware that it is illegal to use drones in a National Park. The hunter told Hill that they had no issue with the drone,’ documents state.
‘Throughout the day, Hill and the hunters spoke further about the drone, his retirement and work in the area logging as well as about hunting.’
The court heard Mr Hill told the hunters he wasn’t a hunter but had a friend that was.
‘The hunters stated that Hill spoke of the importance of firearm safety with them. He told them about a tragic accident where a relative was accidently killed when mistaken for a deer,’ the court heard.
On March 13, 2020, Mr Hill packed up his camp and headed home to Drouin.
The hunters later describe Mr Hill to police as being an ‘old gentleman’ and ‘polite’.
On Monday, Weed sprayer Robert Williams told the court he saw a drone hovering over other people’s campsites, which he believed were being filmed.
He didn’t see who was operating it, but thought it was intrusive.
‘You’re going down there to have a peaceful camp and somebody’s flying a drone over top of you,’ he told the court on Monday.
The following morning he smelled burning plastic in the air.
The case continues.
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