First pic of pilot after alleged camper killings

The pilot accused of murdering missing campers Russell Hill and Carol Clay more than four years ago was snapped by an automatic camera soon after dumping their bodies in bushland, a jury has been told.

Gregory Stuart Lynn, 57, is facing trial in Victoria’s Supreme Court after pleading not guilty to murdering the pair while on a camping trip in the Wonnangatta Valley.

On Wednesday, the jury were shown a series of four photographs of Mr Lynn’s car driving along the Great Alpine Rd near Mount Hotham at 9.48am on March 21, 2020.

Prosecutors allege he killed the pair with “murderous intent” the evening prior, while the former Jetstar captain argues both died “tragic, accidental deaths” between 9 and 10pm the same evening.

Last week the jury was told Mr Lynn did not dispute that he placed their bodies in his trailer, dumping them “hours away” in bushland off the Union Spur track.

His barrister, Dermot Dann KC, also said it was not disputed Mr Lynn’s car was photographed by automatic number plate recognition cameras on the Great Alpine Rd “a time” after he’d left the Union Spur track.

Mr Dann told the jury his client had made a “series of terrible choices” after the pair died, fearing he would be wrongly blamed for their deaths.

Mr Hill and Mrs Clay, childhood sweethearts who had rekindled a secret relationship later in life despite both being married, vanished while on a camping trip in the remote Wonnangatta Valley in March 2020.

Four witnesses were called to give evidence on Thursday, including a fire investigations scientist, a forensic officer and a molecular biologist.

Bone from Mrs Clay’s skull found at camp

Molecular biologist Dr Dadna Hartman told the jury her office had been provided with a number of bone fragments and a tooth found in bushland of the Union Spur track in November 2021.

She said DNA was unable to be extracted from most of the items, but one bone was found to be the same as Mr Hill.

“Depending on the condition we may or may not be able to extract DNA ... if burnt or exposed to chemicals DNA can break down and not be recoverable,” she explained.

Dr Hartman told the jury the following year she was asked to examine cranial bone fragments found at Bucks Camp — where the missing couple was last seen alive.

One of the fragments, she said, had a hundred billion to one likelihood of being a match to Mrs Clay’s DNA when compared to a random person.

Bullet found at Bucks Camp had Ms Clay’s DNA, jury told

The jury heard a metal fragment found at Bucks Camp was determined to be “highly likely” a bullet or shot fragment.

Forensic officer Tanith Condon said she was provided the fragment in March 2022, finding its composition was lead.

The court was told DNA found on the lead fragment was strongly linked to Mrs Clay’s DNA profile.

Heavily burnt” bones found during missing campers search

Forensic officer from the fire explosives unit of the Victoria Police Forensics Services Centre, George Xydias, told the jury he was among a team sent out to examine a site off the Union Spur track near Dargo in November 2021 as part of efforts to locate the missing couple.

Over three days, he said the team poured over a roughly 15m wide clearing, including sieving “six to 12 inches of topsoil”.

Under the rootball of a large felled tree, Mr Xydias said a “significant amount of intensely heat-affected biological material” was located, including bone, teeth and the partial remains of an older wrist watch.

“The items were burnt somewhere else and appeared to have been thrown into that location …. or somehow transferred to that location,” he told the jury.

Pictures shown to the jury, he said, depicted small chucks of bone scattered among leaves.

Mr Xydias said about 16m west of the tree he examined a second location with a slight depression.

“It was determined this area potentially was a campsite or something of that nature,” he said.

Here, he told the jury, he found burnt wood and matter deep within the soil but could not determine what caused the fire.

Under cross examination from Mr Lynn’s barrister, Dermot Dann KC, Mr Xydias confirmed the available evidence was “consistent” with his client’s account of using Kerosene to burn the bodies in November 2020, before using a dustpan to collect the remnants and dispose of them nearby.

No evidence of accidental fire: investigator

Earlier, Mr Xydias gave evidence he was asked by police to examine the charred remains of Mr Hill and Mrs Clay’s camp on April 1, 2020.

He said part of his job was to look for “things that could potentially cause ignition”.

In his opinion, the jury was told, a single fire began in the tent near where two gas bottles were located.

Mr Xydias said he concluded there was no accidental sources of ignition, suggesting the fire began with a portable gas stovetop or direct ignition from a lighter, match or cigarette.

He told the jury a third scenario of a “carelessly discarded cigarette, match or candle”, was considerably less likely.

Last week, the jury was told there was no dispute between the prosecution and defence that Mr Lynn set fire to the tent after the pair died and had dumped their remains near the Union Spur Track.

Mr Dann told the jury his client’s account was of placing camping items into the tent before using petrol to set it on fire.

Camp was ‘totally destroyed’: detective

Detective Senior Constable Greg Cogan told the jury he was tasked with examining and documenting the campground, making a short video on his phone of the site.

“What looked like a campsite was totally destroyed by fire,” he said.

Detective Cogan told the jury he recorded the video to “try to provide anything that could assist us in locating the two missing persons”.

Under cross examination from Mr Dann, the detective said he did not notice any blood or tissue within the canopy of Mr Hill’s LandCruiser.

Prosecutors allege Mr Hill was killed first, likely after a dispute with Mr Lynn over the former’s drone, and Ms Clay was shot dead second as a witness.

“It is alleged that during the evening of Friday, March 20, 2020 at Bucks Camp, the accused murdered Mr Hill and Mrs Clay,” Mr Porceddu told the jury last week.

“The precise circumstances of the killings are not known. Nor is the motivation.”

Mr Lynn, through his barrister Dermot Dann KC, has argued Ms Clay was shot in the head accidentally as the two men fought over Mr Lynn’s shotgun.

On his account, Mr Hill swiped the firearm after claiming Mr Lynn was deer hunting too close to camp, and later fell on his own knife after coming after the accused man following Ms Clay’s accidental death.

“There’s no dispute between the prosecution and defence that as a matter of fact and as a matter of law, on the account given by Mr Lynn in that record of interview, he is not guilty of murder and he is not guilty of manslaughter,” Mr Dann said in his opening remarks.

“The prosecution will have to disprove that beyond reasonable doubt.”

The trial continues.