The daughter of murdered camper Carol Clay expressed concern over the revelation that her mother had been in a long-term relationship with her married lover Russell Hill.
Ms Clay, 73, and Mr Hill, 74, were both believed to have been killed by former Jetstar pilot Greg Lynn in March 2020 in the remote Wonnangatta Valley in Victoria’s Alpine region.
On Wednesday, Clay’s daughter Emma Davies told a Victoria Supreme Court jury she became concerned when police asked her permission to issue a press release asking the public for help finding her then-missing mother.
“I indicated to (the officer) that Russell was married and so I was concerned about the press release going out and showing them together,” she said.
Despite her concerns, Ms Davies signed the press release.
Emma Davies, the daughter of camper Carol Clay, outside the Victorian Supreme Court
Russell Hill made no mention of who Carol Clay was to him
Greg Lynn outside the Supreme Court of Victoria at the start of his murder trial in Melbourne
She told the court she had known about her mother’s relationship with Mr Hill for years.
“At the time of her death it was about 14 years old,” she said.
The court heard that Ms Clay had known Mr Hill almost all 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 talk to her mother about Mr Hill ‘every now and then’.
“She said it was a very caring and loving relationship,” she said.
Ms Davies said that although her mother was not a keen camper, she enjoyed heading into the wilderness with Mr Hill.
“They often went camping in and around the Licola and Dargo areas of the high country,” Ms 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.”
Ms Davies told the jury about the moment police contacted her to ask if she knew where her mother might be.
“I said I didn’t know,” she recalled.
Russell Hill told a camper he was struggling with retirement
Russell Hill and Carol Clay’s burned-out campsite
The court heard that Mrs Davies had tried to contact her mother but was unable to reach her.
“I wasn’t sure at the time if I knew she was away with Russell, but she had been before,” she said.
Mrs Davies told the court that at the time of her death her mother was president of the Pakenham branch of the Country Women’s Association.
“She had been state president of Victoria in recent years and held various leadership positions within the association,” she said.
Ms Davies said a police officer told her her mother’s campsite had been found abandoned in the bush and their tent had burned down.
The jury heard from numerous witnesses that Mr Hill’s relationship with Ms Clay was not disclosed by him in the days and weeks before his alleged murder.
Hill’s 30-year-old boyfriend, Michael Allan, told the jury on Wednesday that he had no idea his partner had had an extramarital affair prior to his death.
Mr Allan told the court he had spoken to Mr Hill almost every day over amateur radio for the past 15 years.
“Were you aware prior to 2019 that he was in a relationship with Ms. Clay,” asked Lynn’s attorney Dermot Dann, QC.
“No, I didn’t,” Mr Allan replied.
The court heard Allan only learned of the relationship through another friend of Hill’s.
The remote Wonnangatta Valley where Mr Hill and Mrs Clay met their fate
Mr Allan said he was under the impression that Mr Hill had been camping alone in the weeks before his death.
‘He didn’t really say that, but he didn’t say otherwise either. “He didn’t say he was there with anyone else,” he said.
The evidence came after another witness told the court that Mr Hill had expressed concerns about life as a pensioner.
Deer hunter Chris Benton told the jury he met Mr Hill at a campsite known as King Billy about a week 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 Ms. Clay.
‘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.
Greg Lynn has pleaded not guilty to murdering the campers
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’.
Mr Dann told the jury that Mr Hill stole Lynn’s shotgun after he became enraged because Lynn was playing loud music 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.
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.