Karen Sweeney, AAP
Detectives investigating the disappearance of Melbourne campers Russell Hill and Carol Clay interviewed their suspected killer nearly 18 months before he was arrested.
Two Victoria Police officers spoke to airline pilot Greg Lynn for about an hour at his Caroline Springs kitchen bench in July 2020 about his movements when the campers disappeared three months earlier.
The couple disappeared while camping in the remote Wonnangatta Valley on March 20, 2020. It’s alleged Lynn, who has pleaded not guilty to two murder charges, killed them that day.
Mr Hill’s car was found beside their burnt-out campsite on March 27 and their bodies were discovered in remote bushland near Dargo, in the Victorian alpine region, days after Lynn’s arrest in November 2021.
Lynn is facing a committal hearing in Melbourne Magistrates Court, where the evidence against him is being tested.
Detective Senior Constable Abbey Justin was one of the officers who interviewed Lynn, then a witness, in July 2020.
She told the court Lynn’s car was one of a dozen picked up by automatic number plate recognition cameras at the Hotham Alpine Resort between 9.40am and 10am on March 21, 2020.
Phone data had placed Mr Hill’s phone in the area at the time, prompting officers to review footage.
Det Justin said the 11 other cars picked up by the camera had also been captured on two number plate recognition cameras on the other side of the alpine resort and eliminated as a result.
She said she and Detective Brett Florence had gone to Lynn’s house to find out movements of his vehicle that day.
“We had the car going through ANPR. We needed to confirm who was driving,” she said on Tuesday.
Det Justin also took a photo of Lynn’s car at the home. She believed it was the same vehicle although it was a different colour.
She said the pictures showed it had been a dark colour – navy or grey.
A beige Nissan Patrol was seized by police when Lyn n was arrested and charged with murder in November 20 21.
On Monday a witness described seeing a “grumpy” Russell Hill driving along a narrow track to a campsite, looking like a man with a place to be.
Weed sprayer Robert Williams had stepped off to the side of the track, ready to have a conversation with the driver of the white LandCruiser, as he had with others passing him on March 20.
But the “grumpy old bugger in his 70s put his foot down, (and) zoomed past” without even waving.
He recognised Mr Hill days later when news reports came out that he and Ms Clay were missing in the area he had seen them.
He described watching a drone for 35 or 40 minutes later that day as it circled over him and rudely hovered over campsites.
“You’re going down there to have a peaceful camp and somebody’s flying a drone over top of you,” he said.
The hearing is continuing.
