Former Jetstar pilot Greg Lynn woke a camper in the middle of the night while trying to flee the area with the bodies of two elderly campers he had murdered, a jury was told.
Lynn, 57, pleaded not guilty in the Supreme Court of Victoria to the murders of secret camper lovers Russell Hill, 74, and Carol Clay, 73, in the Wonnanangatta Valley in the alpine region of Victoria, in March 2020.
On Monday, the court heard that Matthews had set up camp around 5pm on March 20 near a river crossing in a remote region, about 5 kilometers from Bucks Camp, where Lynn allegedly murdered the couple. seniors.
Tom Matthews told the court he was tucked into his sleeping bag in a tent on the roof of his vehicle when he heard someone, who detectives believe was Lynn, arrive at their campsite around midnight.
‘I heard a car coming down the track pulling a trailer. “They passed by our camp and stopped at the river crossing,” he said.
“The river crossing was closed, on the other side of the road there was a road closed sign due to bushfires.”
Greg Lynn enters Victorian Supreme Court in his ongoing murder trial
Geordie, Melanie and Elliott Lynn leave the Supreme Court of Victoria in Melbourne
Detectives say Lynn killed the elderly campers before placing their bodies in his trailer and dumping them elsewhere in the bush.
However, his initial attempts to leave the area were thwarted by the blocked road, which Matthews said forced Lynn to make a complicated U-turn in pitch-black conditions, right next to where he was sleeping.
Matthews said that while he didn’t stick his head out to watch the complicated maneuver, he could hear and see the brake lights on Lynn’s car as he repeatedly tried to back the trailer into place to return the way he came.
The court heard it took Lynn several attempts to achieve the three-point turn.
On Wednesday, the court heard Lynn claimed Hill and Clay died in a “tragic accident.”
His lawyer Dermot Dann, KC, told the jury that Mr Hill stole Lynn’s shotgun after becoming enraged that Lynn was playing loud music on the night he was murdered.
“He headed toward Mr. Hill to try to get the gun back, to take control of the gun,” Dann said.
The jury heard that when Lynn tried to grab the firearm from Mr Hill, the gun went off and Ms Clay was hit in the head.
A fight developed over the knife. Mr. Lynn tries to defend himself (they are engaged in this fight) and as part of that fight the two men fall to the ground and the knife passes through Mr. Hill’s chest.
The court heard that Hill and Lynn had argued earlier that day about Lynn hunting deer so close to other campers.
On Monday, the fallout from that fight and Lynn’s attempts to destroy the crime scene were resolved in court.
Civil engineer Andrew Marquardt told the court he came across Mr Hill’s burnt out camp at around 1pm the next day.
While the fire appeared to be well extinguished, Marquardt said he felt compelled to investigate the scene in an attempt to determine if the vehicle’s owner might still be out there.
Marquardt said he lifted the lid of Hill’s Esky and discovered the food inside appeared to be fresh.
There was a pink bag on the passenger side seat of Mr Hill’s 4WD and he observed empty cans near the rear wheels of the vehicle and a battery damaged by the fire.
Campers described fire scene as ‘unusual’
Carol Clay and Russell Hill had been in a long-term secret relationship.
Marquardt told the court he was so intrigued by the scene that he returned the next day to take photographs of it.
After leaving the desert that day, he reported to police what he had seen and provided the photographs.
Farmer and agricultural scientist Nicholas Linden was equally intrigued by the damaged remains of Mr Hill’s camp.
Accompanied by his 11-year-old son, Mr. Linden arrived at the scene days later.
He described Hill’s vehicle as having a 10 meter long cable attached to the rear with an antenna hanging high from a tree.
The jury heard that Mr Hill was a amateur radio enthusiast who had regularly contacted friends during the doomed trip.
Linden told the court he feared the campsite owner had accidentally set it on fire by placing his tent too close to a campfire.
There was no one at the camp and his calls went unanswered, he said.
‘I had shouted, “Is anyone here? Is anyone here?” but there was certainly no response. “There was no one around, no one in the vicinity,” Mr Linden said.
Like Marquardt, he also went to the police after leaving the desert.
‘We were comfortable enough to spend the night next to the camp, but it was probably a little alarming for a small child. It was definitely something a little different,” she said.
“It was unusual enough to justify (going to the police) and I reported it because there was nothing in the media at the time.”
The court heard that the campers were not officially reported missing until March 27, and Senior Constable Christopher Skiba was tasked with making the initial trip to what would eventually become the crime scene.
A camper saw a yellow Esky and some cans and came across Mr. Hill and Mrs. Clay’s burned-out campsite.
A camper heard Lynn perform a complex U-turn around midnight on the night police say he murdered two campers.
The officer told the court he could find “nothing out of the ordinary” at Mr Hill’s camp, other than it being burnt.
“I think we checked the car to see if there was any clue or indication of what had happened. After determining that there was nothing significant that we could resolve, we proceeded to search the surrounding area,” he said.
The court heard that while Mr Hill’s car was closed, the rear canopy was not.
A check of a refrigerator inside revealed that the food inside had gone bad.
When the officer finally entered the front of Mr. Hill’s vehicle with a hidden spare key, he discovered that his wallet appeared to have been tampered with.
“There was no cash in the wallet, which surprised me a little bit,” he said.
“I was hoping to see some kind of credit or debit card, but I don’t think I found one.”
A foot search of the nearby area revealed no further signs of life, he said.
The court heard Constable Skiba arranged for specialist crime scene officers to attend the scene.
Forensic chemists examined the scene days later and when they were finished, they removed Mr. Hill’s car from the woods.
Opening the case Tuesday, Crown prosecutor Daniel Porceddu dismissed Lynn’s version of events.
“It is likely that there was a dispute regarding Mr. Hill’s drone or the vision captured on his drone,” Porceddu said.
The trial continues.
