Court told of slain camper Russell Hill’s frank admission before his alleged deadly struggle with former Jetstar pilot Greg Lynn

Slain camper Russell Hill confided to a fellow camper that his retirement had left him confused before he was reportedly killed in a struggle to kill ex-Jetstar pilot Greg Lynn.

Lynn, 57, from Caroline Springs is accused of murdering Mr Hill, 74, and his lover Carol Clay, 73, in the remote Wonnangatta Valley in Victoria’s Alpine region more than four years ago.

In the trial in the Supreme Court of Victoria on Tuesday, the jury heard that Lynn claimed Hill died during a struggle with him when he fell on his own knife after accidentally shooting Ms Clay dead.

On Wednesday, the trial’s first witness described Mr Hill as a good-natured man who was struggling with retirement after a life in forestry in the region where he died.

Deer hunter Chris Benton told the jury he met Mr Hill at a campsite known as King Billy shortly before he and Ms Clay made the trip to the nearby Wonnangatta Valley.

Mr Benton said he chatted with Mr Hill about his love of amateur radio and his life in the woods before confiding to him the problems of his life as a retiree.

“Now I’m retired and it’s really messed me up,” Mr. Hill told the stranger.

Although Mr. Benton claimed that Mr. Hill told him he was married, he made no mention of who Ms. Clay was or why he was camping with her.

‘When I go home, my wife will just nag me anyway. I might as well stay here,” Mr. Hill allegedly told the camper.

The court heard that Mr Hill was seen using a large chainsaw to cut down snow gum, despite this being prohibited in the forest.

When Mr. Benton mentioned that to Mr. Hill, and the fact that he could be fined if caught by a park ranger, the older camper didn’t seem concerned.

“I don’t care,” Mr. Hill is said to have remarked.

On Wednesday, the court heard Lynn claimed Hill and Mrs Clay had died in a ‘tragic accident’.

Lynn’s barrister Dermot Dann, QC told the jury that Mr Hill stole Lynn’s shotgun after he became enraged because Lynn was playing loud music on the night he was murdered.

“He went to Mr. Hill to try to get the gun back, to take control of the gun. 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 he was left ‘s***less’ 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 wrestle the firearm away from Mr Hill, the gun went off and Ms Clay was hit in the head.

“The next thing is Mr. Hill comes up to him with a knife and yells at him, ‘She’s dead,'” Mr. Dann said.

‘There was a struggle over the knife. Mr. Lynn tries to defend himself – they are engaged in this struggle – and as part of that struggle the two men fall to the ground and the knife goes through Mr. Hill’s chest.”

The court heard that Hill and Lynn had argued earlier in the day about Lynn hunting deer so close to other campers.

Mr Benton said Mr Hill had told him his retirement was “having an effect on him”.

“Russell has worked in the forestry production sector all his life and he explained that working in production had an effect on Russell until his retirement,” he said.

‘Obviously he’s a worker. He is working class, so that has had an effect on his mental outlook.’

Mr Benton’s partner, Rowan Stewart, told the court that Mr Hill had raised some concerns about the way they stored their firearms when they were not camping.

Mr Stewart told the jury that Mr Hill asked if they had unloaded their weapons and mentioned that a family member had previously died in a tragic hunting accident.

Like Mr Benton, Mr Stewart said Mr Hill made no mention of who Ms Clay was, and told the jury he was surprised when news broke that Mr Hill had gone missing with someone who was not his wife .

Opening the case on Tuesday, Crown prosecutor Daniel Porceddu rejected Lynn’s version of events.

“It is likely that there was a dispute over Mr. Hill’s drone or the vision captured by his drone,” Mr. Porceddu said.

‘There may have been an argument or confrontation between the men. It is not known how Mr. Hill was killed.”

The process continues.