Russell Hill and Carol Clay: Secret details that could be kept from public

For four days after his arrest, airline pilot Greg Lynn was grilled by detectives about the disappearance of Melbourne campers Russell Hill and Carol Clay.

The couple vanished while camping in the Wonnangatta area of Victoria’s alpine region, and until November 2021 no one had any clue what had happened to them.

Carol Clay, 73, (pictured left) and Russel Hill went missing while on a camping trip in the Victorian Alps on March 20

Police have remained tight-lipped as to whether the investigation at the small regional town is linked to the campers’ disappearance

But what he told officers during that interview could be kept from the public until any future trial.

Lynn, 56, is charged with murdering the couple at their Bucks Camp campsite, sometime after 6pm on March 20, 2020. He denies the charges.

Police allege that after killing the pair he set fire to their campsite to destroy any potential evidence and dumped their bodies in remote bushland near Dargo.

They also claim Lynn returned in May and/or November that year to tamper with their remains by ‘burning, dispersing and partially interring them’.

The campsite of Russel Hill, 74, and Carol Clay, 73, was discovered by police on March 21 burned out (pictured) but there was no sign of the pair

Forensics teams pictured at Moondarra – 200km away from where the elderly pair went missing.

Their remains were only discovered on November 29, 2021 – days after Lynn was charged.

DNA evidence was used to identify Mr Hill’s remains while jewellery found with the bodies identified Ms Clay, according to evidence presented at a committal hearing in Melbourne Magistrates Court.

Prosecutors or police are yet to reveal how it’s alleged Lynn killed the couple, or what motivated the murders.

Lead investigator, Detective Senior Constable Brett Florence, is among the final witnesses expected to give evidence in the hearing, which will determine if there’s sufficient evidence to send Lynn to trial.

But on Friday Lynn’s legal team made a bid to prevent publication of significant pieces of prosecution evidence.

Release of Lynn’s police interview, a statement he made in July 2020 and a recorded interview the same day pose a real and substantial risk of prejudice to the administration of justice, barrister Dermot Dann KC argued.

‘The contents of these items of evidence are explosive, or may be seen as explosive in the eyes of readers or viewers,’ Mr Dann said during a hearing on Friday, referring to the potential for sensational reporting.

He highlighted concerns over the length of the interview, the approach to Lynn’s right to silence and the approach to his legal advice.

Mr Dann has previously described some aspects of the evidence as ‘highly inadmissible’, flagging a future challenge to have details cut from the prosecution case altogether.

Magistrate Brett Sonnet will hand down his ruling on Monday, when the final witnesses are expected to begin giving their evidence.