The daughter of murdered camper Carol Clay has expressed concern over revealing that her mother had been in a long-term relationship with her married lover Russell Hill.
Clay, 73, and Hill, 74, were allegedly murdered by former Jetstar pilot Greg Lynn in the remote Wonnangatta Valley in Victoria’s alpine region in March 2020.
On Wednesday, Clay’s daughter, Emma Davies, told a Victorian Supreme Court jury she was concerned when police asked her permission to publish a media release asking the public for help finding her missing mother.
“I indicated (to the officer) that Russell was married and that’s why I was concerned that the press release would come out and show them together,” she said.
Despite her concerns, Ms Davies approved the press release.
Camper Carol Clay’s daughter Emma Davies outside the Supreme Court of Victoria
Russell Hill did not mention who Carol Clay was.
Greg Lynn outside the Supreme Court of Victoria at the start of his Melbourne murder trial
She told the court she had known about her mother’s relationship with Hill for years.
“At the time of his death, about 14 years had passed,” he said.
The court heard Ms Clay had known Mr Hill for most of her life.
‘They knew each other since childhood. “Russell was mom’s first boyfriend,” she said.
“They lived in the same area.”
Mrs Davies said she would speak to her mother about Hill “from time to time”.
“He said it was a very caring and loving relationship,” she said.
Davies said that although his mother didn’t like camping, she liked going out into nature with Hill.
“They often went camping in and around the Licola and Dargo areas in the highlands,” Mrs Davies said.
“She wouldn’t describe herself as a camper…no, she’s not a camper, but she appreciated it, she appreciated the outdoors and it’s a beautiful place.”
Mrs Davies told the jury of the moment police contacted her to ask if she knew where her mother might be.
“I said I didn’t know,” he recalled.
Russell Hill told a camper he had been struggling with retirement
The Burned Camp by Russell Hill and Carol Clay
The court heard that Ms Davies had been trying to contact her mother but had been unable to contact her.
“I wasn’t sure at the time that I knew she was out with Russell, but she had been before,” she said.
Mrs Davies told the court that her mother had been president of the Pakenham branch of the Country Women’s Association at the time of her death.
“She had been Victoria state president in previous years and held various leadership positions within the association,” he said.
Davies said a police officer told him that his mother’s campsite had been found abandoned in the desert and that her tent had been burned.
The jury has heard from numerous witnesses that he did not reveal Mr Hill’s relationship with Ms Clay in the days and weeks before her alleged murder.
Michael Allan, a friend of Hill’s for 30 years, told jurors Wednesday that he had no idea his partner had been in an extramarital affair before her death.
Allan told the court he had spoken to Hill almost every day on amateur radio for the past 15 years.
“Prior to 2019, did you know that he was in a relationship with Ms. Clay?” asked Lynn’s attorney, Dermot Dann, KC.
“No, I didn’t,” Mr Allan replied.
The court heard Allan only found out about the relationship through another of Hill’s friends.
The remote Wonnanangatta Valley where Hill and Clay met their destiny
Allan said he was under the impression Hill had been camping alone in the weeks before his death.
He didn’t actually say that, but he didn’t say the opposite either. “He didn’t say she was there with anyone else,” she claimed.
The evidence came after another witness told the court that Hill had expressed concerns about life as a retiree.
Deer hunter Chris Benton told the jury he met Hill at a camping area known as King Billy about a week before he and Clay made the trip to nearby Wonnanangatta Valley.
Benton said he talked to Hill about his love of amateur radio and his life working in the woods before confiding in him about the struggles of his life as a retiree.
“I’m retired now and that really screwed me up,” Hill told the stranger.
While Benton claimed that Hill told her he was married, he did not mention Ms. Clay.
‘If I come home, my wife will only scold me. I might as well stay here,” Mr. Hill allegedly told the camper.
The court heard that Mr Hill had been seen using a large chainsaw to cut up chewing gum, even though it was prohibited to do so in the woods.
Greg Lynn has pleaded not guilty to the murder of the campers.
Benton said that when he mentioned that to Mr. Hill, and the fact that he could get a ticket if caught by a park ranger, the elderly camper didn’t seem concerned.
“I don’t give a damn,” Hill reportedly commented.
On Wednesday, the court heard Lynn claimed Hill and Clay died in a “tragic accident.”
Dann told the jury that Hill stole Lynn’s shotgun after becoming enraged that Lynn was playing loud music the night he was murdered.
“He approached Mr. Hill to attempt to retrieve the gun and take control of the weapon. “Mr. Hill fired the gun into the air and Mr. Lynn initially took cover in the back of his car,” Mr. Dann said. .
Lynn would later tell police that he was “very scared” by Mr. Hill’s actions.
“He decided the only way to make things safe was to get his gun back,” 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.
“The next thing Mr. Hill advances towards him with a knife and yells ‘she’s dead,'” Mr. Dann said.
‘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.
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.
‘There could have been an argument or confrontation between the men. It is not known how Mr Hill was murdered.
The trial continues.