307: Russell Hill & Carol Clay

The Wonnangatta Valley is as beautiful as it is remote, a vast expanse of wilderness nestled deep in Victoria’s High Country. It’s the kind of place where people go to disappear—sometimes by choice, sometimes not. When experienced campers Russell Hill and Carol Clay vanished without a trace in March 2020, their disappearance left behind more questions than answers.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:35):
As I turned around and coming back this way. In
the meantime he had been with miss miss play. He
advances towards me, a knife in his right hand and
a fist punched in his left.

Speaker 2 (01:07):
The one in Gata Valley, which is located deep in
the Victorian high Country, is an isolated and rugged expanse
of wilderness. Dense forests stretch on for miles, cutting off
much of the outside world. Phone reception is unreliable, and
some landmarks don't even appear on maps. It's a place
where nature dominates, where a wrong turn or a sudden

(01:28):
shift in weather can leave even the most experienced hikers
disoriented and lost. Over the year, several individuals have disappeared
in the valley. While some cases have been attributed to misadventure,
others remain unexplained. The region itself has a dark history.
Back in nineteen seventeen, the one on Gada murders took place,

(01:51):
one of Australia's most notorious unsolved crimes. A station manager
and his assistant were found dead in mysterious circumstances and
their killer was never identified. Despite its reputation, the Wan
and Gara Valley remains a popular destination for campers and hikers,
drawn by its natural beauty and isolation. In March of

(02:12):
twenty twenty, however, a discovery was made that would add
another chapter to the valley's history of mystery and intrigue.
A camper moving through the remote bushland came across an
unusual site. It was a campsite, burned almost entirely to
the ground. The remains of temples, chairs, and personal belongings

(02:33):
lay among the scorched earth. Nearby, a vehicle sat partially
damaged by the fire. The keys were still in the ignition.
There was no sign of a struggle, no tracks leading
away from the scene, no indication of where the occupants
had gone. Russell Hill was born in nineteen forty seven

(03:09):
and raised in the Lodrobe Valley in Victoria. From a
young age, Russell was drawn to the outdoors. The thick
eucalyptus forests, winding rivers, and untamed wilderness were his playground.
Russell spent his childhood exploring the dense bushland, developing skills
that would later define him resilient self sufficiency and an

(03:29):
innate understanding of the land. His love for the outdoor
shaped both his career and his lifestyle. As a timber contractor,
Russell worked deep in victorious forests, felling trees in areas
that few dared to venture. It was tough and isolating work,
but Russell thrived in it. The bush had always been

(03:50):
where he felt most at place. Russell was also an
avid radio enthusiast, mastering the intricacies of amateur radio. It
was more than just a hobby for Russell. It was
a way to reach out to others from remote locations,
to stay connected even when surrounded by miles of wilderness.
With his background in survival and communication, Russell was as

(04:11):
prepared as anybody could be for life off the beaten track.
Retirement did very little to slow Russell down. Even though
he was now seventy four years old, he continued his adventures,
setting out alone for days or weeks at a time,
immersing himself in the solitude of the mountains. Russell particularly

(04:32):
loved the one on Gada Valley, a remote and breathtakingly
beautiful region of the Alpine National Park. He knew the
valley intimately, he'd even built some of the tracks himself. Furthermore,
his uncle Gary Hill, had been accidentally shot and killed
by a nephew in the area. Back in nineteen ninety four,
there was a plaque erected at a place called Hilly's

(04:54):
Camp in his memory, which read, not every stag under
a tree is a deer. When he was not camping,
Russell was a family man. He and his wife, Robin,
had been married for over fifty years. They built a
live together, raising children and later welcoming grandchildren. But no
matter how much he loved home, the wilderness always called

(05:14):
him back. As he grew older, Russell had picked up
a new hobby. Flying his drone. He captured sweeping shots
of the landscapes. He loved, documenting his journeys in a
way that he never had before. He was a modern
twist to his lifelong passion for exploration. On the nineteenth
of March two thousand and twenty, Russell packed up his

(05:35):
Toyota land Cruiser, hitched his trailer and kissed Robin good bye.
She packed her husband as anti depressant medication and alcohol,
and gave him some cash to get lunch on the road.
He planned a week long trip, visiting campsites along the
Dargo River before making his way through the One and
Gara Valley. It wasn't an unusual trip. Russell had done

(05:59):
this countless times before. He knew the dangers of the
terran the unpredictable weather, the steep mountain passes, the wild animals,
but Russell was prepared as always. What no one knew
that morning as he drove off towards the mountains was
that Russell Hill would never return. It was a bright

(06:30):
morning in the wan and Gara Valley on the twenty
first of March. The air was crisp, the scent of
eucalyptus hanging heavy in the stillness of the Australian bush.
Andrew Marquart had been camping in the area with this
family along the Dry River Creek track. There were no
strangers to the high country, accustomed to its isolation and beauty,

(06:51):
But as they set out that morning, something caught their attention,
something that didn't belong at Bucks camp. They stumbled upon
a white Toyota land cruiser, a single cab ute parked
near what appeared to be a burnt out campsite. It
was a stark contrast to the serene wilderness that surrounded it.
At first glance, it was strange, but not necessarily alarming.

(07:15):
Campers came and went, and sometimes people abandoned sights in
a hurry, but there was an eerie stillness about this one.
Something felt off. Andrew didn't dwell on it, at least
not yet. But the next egg, curiosity got the better
of him. He returned to the side, expecting to find

(07:35):
somebody and maybe an explanation. Instead, he found silence. He
stepped closer, the charred remains of tempoles crunching beneath his boots.
The black and ground told the story of fire, one
that it burned hot and fast. The land Cruiser's metal
canopy bore the scars of the blaze. Its side was

(07:57):
marked with soot. The car battery was scorched, yet the
vehicle itself was still operational. The key sat untouched inside.
Andrew lifted the lid of an escae. Inside he found food,
including tins, packets, and every day sundrys. Nearby, another killer

(08:18):
was filled with rum soft drinks and milk. It looked
as though someone had just walked away, but why. The
most unsettling detail was what had been left behind. Thousands
of dollars worth of camping equipment, untouched and inside the vehicle.
On the passenger seat was a handbag. Andrew took some

(08:39):
photographs of the scene before packing up his own camp
and heading back home to Melbourne. A couple of days later,
Russell's wife, Robin, was growing anxious. It had been almost
a week since she had heard from her husband. The
last time she heard from Russell was on the twentieth
of March. He had radioed his voice crackling through the static,

(09:02):
mentioning that his transmission was weak. At the time, she
hadn't thought much of it. Robin knew how unpredictable reception
was in the valley. It was nothing unusual. But now
days had passed, no contact, no word. A feeling settled
deep in Robin's stomach, a feeling she couldn't shake. Something

(09:24):
wasn't right. She reported her husband missing. When detectives arrived
at the wan and Gara Valley, they stumbled upon the
same unsettling seeing that Andrew had discovered days earlier. It
was Russell's land cruiser, the barnt out remains of a
camp site, the scattered remnants of a trip that seemed
to have ended in chaos. It was Russell's vehicle, his

(09:48):
license plate, but Russell Hill was nowhere to be found,
and he wasn't the only one. As detectives examined the
contents of the vehicle, they made another discovery. Inside the
vehicle was a purse and it belonged to a woman
named Carol Clay, and Carol was missing as well. Carol

(10:18):
Clay was said to be a woman who exuded warmth, grace,
and an undeniable sense of purpose. She dedicated much of
her life to uplifting others, whether through advocacy, community service,
or simple acts of kindness. Born in nineteen forty seven,
Carol had spent her life in Victoria, building a reputation
as a compassionate and driven leader. While she was deeply

(10:41):
devoted to her family and friendships, she was best known
for her unwavering commitment to the Country Women's Association, a
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been a cornerstone of Carol's life. She didn't just participate

(13:14):
in it she led. Rising through the ranks. Carl became
the State President of the Victoria Branch. She was respected
admired a mentor to Memmy deputy State President Pam Moss
and once said of her, she is held in great
esteem by members and colleagues and is a great mentor.

(13:35):
Carl wasn't only a leader, she was a friend, an inspiration.
But Carol Clay was more than just her titles. Those
who knew her said that she was elegant, refined, a
woman with an effortless sense of style. Franz described her
as intelligent and warm hearted. She carried herself with grace,
but beneath the polished exterior was a woman with an

(13:58):
adventurous spirit. Carol had a love for the outdoors, a
deep appreciation for Australia's natural beauty, and a passion for travel.
When she wasn't serving her community or exploring new landscapes,
Carol found joy in simple pleasures. She loved to cook
him bake, her speciality being a light, fluffy sponge cake.

(14:20):
One friend, Dorothy Comb, affectually called her a glamour queen.
She recalled she always looked gorgeous and well dressed on
the nineteenth of March two thousand and twenty, Carol packed
up her things for a trip into the wan and
Ghada Valley. She told her friends that she would be
back on the twenty sixth. Like Russell Hill, she knew

(14:42):
the land, she knew its beauty and its risks. But
now days later, Carol was nowhere to be found, and
her belongings were in Russell's vehicle. On the surface, Russell

(15:04):
Hill and Carol Clay were simply two people who loved
the wilderness, two experienced campers who had ventured into the
wan and Gara Valley for a week long escape separately.
But there was something more to their relationship, something that
had remained hidden for years. Unbeknownst to their families, Russell
and Carol had been having an affair. Their story went

(15:27):
back decades as teenagers, they had been childhood sweethearts. Carol
had even considered Russell to be her first love. But
young love is often fleeting, and in time they both
went their separate ways. Each went on to marry and
build families of their own. Life took them down different paths,

(15:48):
but they never lost touch. In fact, they remained so
close that in the nineteen sixties. When Russell introduced Carol
to his wife, Robin, he told her that they were cousins.
For years, Carol was nothing more than a family friend
in Robin's eyes, But then when they were in their sixties,
something changed. They rekindled their relationship. At first, their time

(16:12):
together seemed innocent, hagging trips, catching up over shared memories.
Russell told his wife, Robin that he was simply reconnecting
with an old friend, and since Robin still believed that
Carol was his cousin, she had no reason to question it.
But others did. A neighbor, somebody had known Russell and
Robin for years, discovered the affair. They were close with

(16:35):
Robin and gave Russell an ultimatum tell her the truth
or they would Russell had no choice, so he came clean.
Robin was devastated. Their marriage had spanned decades, they built
a live together, raised children, welcomed grandchildren, and now it
all felt like a lie. Russell promised to end the affair,

(16:58):
but he didn't. Promised Carol he would leave his wife,
but he didn't. On the morning of the nineteenth of March,
when Russell kissed his wife goodbye and drove off towards
the mountains. He wasn't alone for long. Before heading into
the one in Garra Valley. He made a stop on
the outskirts of Melbourne. Carol was waiting from here. The

(17:21):
pair set off together, traveling through Hayfield, Lo Cola and
the Cola North, a route that would take them deeper
into Victoria's remote high country. Finally, they turned on to
the Zechi Spur Track, the gateway to one and Gara.
This was a place that Russell knew like the back
of his hand, a place where few people ventured, a

(17:44):
place where they could be alone. Back in wan and
Gada Valley, the search for Russell Hill and Carol Clay
had begun. The scene that the detectives encountered was puzzling.

(18:08):
A white Toyota land Cruiser seemingly abandoned, a burnt out
campsite and thousands of dollars worth of camping gear left behind,
but Russell and Carol were nowhere to be found. Inspector
Craig gaff, one of the officers leading the search, commented,
there's been a minor fire in relation to some of
their equipment, but mister Hill's car is certainly serviceable and

(18:29):
driveable and all their equipment is serviceable. Immediately, something stood out.
Certain key items were missing from the campsite, Russell's drone
and both of their cell phones. Detectives considered a possibility.
Had they wandered into the valley to retrieve with drone.
Maybe Russell had been flying it and it crashed somewhere

(18:50):
in the thick bushland. Had they gone searching for it
and lost their way. Russell had local knowledge, but even
the most experienced outdoorsmen could be disoriented in the dense wilderness,
especially at night, and in the Wan and Gada Valley,
the nights were unforgiving, as the sun dipped below the horizon,

(19:11):
temperatures plunged at night, the mercury dropped below freezing, and
the valley had its own dangers. Packs of wild dogs
roam the area, often hunting in groups of four or more,
and injured or weakened person would be vulnerable. And then
there was the fire. Was it simply an accident, perhaps

(19:32):
a gust of wind had caught an ember from their
smoldering campfire and ignited the tent, or was it something
more sinister? Another theory emerged. Had Russell and Carroll staged
their own disappearance. Had they run off to start a
new live together, leaving behind their former lives. It seemed
unlikely Russell's car was still there, along with this wallet.

(19:56):
Their belongings had been abandoned, but in those early days,
no theory could be ruled out. Search and rescue teams
were immediately deployed. Mountain cattleman and a wild dog trapper
scarred the dense woodland. A police helicopter flew overhead, scanning
for any signs of movement. The Mountain Cattleman's Association of

(20:17):
Victoria joined the search, using their knowledge of the terrain
to assist investigators. Inspector Gaff explained, it's pretty rugged, thick
bush with steep inclines and very remote and there's lots
of different tracks they've maybe taken. A staging post was
set up at Surveyor's hot along the one and Gata track.

(20:39):
The first step in the investigation was retracing their last
known movements. They knew that Russell was a radio enthusiast.
Since sell service in the valley was spotty at best,
Russell had a routine each evening he checked in with
his radio friends at the same time six thirty pm.
They all logged on, a small but tight group who

(21:00):
stayed connected despite the vast distances between them. Robin listened
in as she always did. She wasn't licensed to transmit,
she could only listen, but hearing Russell's voice each night
reassured her that he was safe. But on the twentieth
of March, something was different. Russell's final transmission was brief.

(21:23):
His friend Rob Ashlan recalled he was speaking like normal,
he never had a worry in the world, but Russell
mentioned that he was having issues with his radio signal,
and then silence. He never checked in again. When police
informed Robin that her husband hadn't been alone on his
camping trip, she was devastated. She thought that Russell was

(21:45):
camping by himself, just as he always did. Instead, he'd
been with Carol. Despite the heartbreak, she wanted nothing more
than the both of them to be found safe. When
asked if she had a message for her missing husband,
she gave a simple, painful response, you silly bugger. Days

(22:14):
turned into wakes and there was still no sign of
Russell Hill or Carol Clay. The longer they remained missing,
the grimmer the situation became. They simply got lost, had
they chosen to disappear, or had something far more sinister
happened in the Wan and Gada Valley. Time was slipping
away and within hope. Then the weather took a turn.

(22:37):
Torrential rain battered the valley, turning the dirt tracks into
rivers of mud. The search teams were forced to call
off their efforts. Inspector Gaff, acknowledging the growing urgency, said,
we know they're near water. We know they had food
in their car, but we don't know how much they
had with them. But we are certainly getting into the
point where survivability is something we need to assess. By

(23:02):
the sick of April, with snow blanketing the high country,
authorities made the difficult decision to suspend the search. It
was now highly unlikely that Russell and Carroll were still alive.
Inspector Gaff later admitted, I try to let the evidence
lead us to a conclusion, but unfortunately the evidence at
this stage leads me to believe they are still in

(23:23):
the wan and Gada Valley and it's just a matter
of time before we find them. At first, their abandoned
campsite had raised suspicions, but with time, detectives weren't so sure.
Arson chemists examined the scene but couldn't determine what had
started the fire. While foul play hadn't been ruled out,
investigators now believed that the fire wasn't deliberately lit. One

(23:47):
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Then on the twelfth of April, there was a new development.

(26:06):
Authorities announced that the search for Russell and Carol was resuming.
Two days later, detectives made a chilling statement. Russell and
Carroll were now presumed dead. The case had shifted. They
weren't searching for survivors anymore, they were searching for bodies,
especially as alpine officers combed through the rugged landscape. Police

(26:31):
turned to the amateur radio community, asking them to recall
any transmissions from late March. Detective Inspector Andrew Stamper urged
he may have made a distress call and someone may
have seen his call sign. But as the weeks passed,
the search yielded nothing, and then towards the end of May,

(26:52):
rumors began to spread. Rumors about a man, a loner
who roamed the mountains. In the weeks following Russell Hill
and Carl Clay's disappearance, rumors began to circulate. There had

(27:14):
been whispers about a man who lived deep in the wilderness,
a man who didn't belong to any town, who seemed
more at home in the bush than among people. To
those who had crossed paths with him, he was known
only as the button Man. Hunters and hikers spoke of
a strange, elusive figure who roamed the high country, setting

(27:34):
up camp in the most remote corners of the wilderness.
He was just over seventy years old, but strong, remarkably so, eccentric,
yet highly intelligent. Most of the time he lived alone
in the mountains, but every now and then he would
drive his four wheel drive into town for supplies and
stop at a pub in Mansfield for a beer. He

(27:57):
spent his days carving deer antlers, using the bone to
make buttons and large plugs for his stretched ears. He
was unsettling, but was he dangerous. Hunters passing through his
camp reported seeing hand made spears scattered around. Others spoke
of a night around a campfire when the button Man
appeared uninvited. He lingered on the edge of the firelight,

(28:20):
making awkward conversation before vanishing into the trees. And then
there was the wildlife photographer. He'd spent days taking shots
in the high country, unaware that he was being watched.
It wasn't until he returned home and downloaded his photographs
that he found something disturbing. Among his images was a
photo of himself asleep inside his tent. It was enough

(28:44):
to send a shiver down the spine of anybody who
had camped alone in the bush. Could the button Man
have been involved in rustling Carroll's disappearance? Had then countered
him that night in the wan and Gada Valley. The
rumors reached detectives, and soon the mysterious Bousseh shch Man
became a person of interest. Investigators tracked him to his
camp deep in the wilderness, and they questioned him, but

(29:07):
they left satisfied that the button Man had nothing to
do with the disappearances. The investigation hid a dead end
once more. Weeks turned into months, and then by the
end of June, detectives made a grim announcement. Russell and
Carrol had most likely met file play. Their disappearance was
no accident. They believed that somebody had killed them and

(29:31):
then removed their bodies from the area. In a desperate
attempt to generate leeds, detectives turned to the public. They
urged anybody who had been in the wan and Gara
Valley at the same time as Russell and Carroll to
come forward. Detective Inspector Andrews Stamper assured them that they
weren't in trouble, but they needed to know who was
out there and whether they saw anything at all. He

(29:54):
also asked people to score through any CCTV or dash
camp footage to check out anything suspicious had been captured,
maybe a strange car, a lone figure in the trees.
Months continued to pass, the search was practically over and

(30:17):
the headlines had long faded, But for the families of
Russell Hill and Carol Clay, the nightmare was far from over.
Russell's daughters, Colin and Debbie spoke publicly for the first
time in October twenty twenty one. When they first heard
about their father's burnt out campsite, they assumed he had
wandered off to find water, but as the day stretched

(30:40):
into weeks, it became clear that this wasn't any ordinary disappearance.
Debbie said, he wouldn't hide. It's really hard. It's not
getting any better, it's not knowing. You're just stuck. Colin
said that she missed the little things, the everyday moments.
She missed being able to call her father. Carol's sister Jill,

(31:03):
had no doubts about what had happened. She believed that
they had both been killed and did the person responsible.
She had a message, You've undertaken a hey in the sack.
You've got to live with that for the rest of
your lives. While the families mourned, detectives were closing in.
They'd come across a breakthrough in November of twenty twenty one.

(31:26):
On the twenty first of March, just two days after
Russell and Carol vanished, Russell's phone reconnected to the network,
but it wasn't near the one in Gada Valley. It
was in a place called Mount Hawtham, a different section
of the Mountain Rage. His vehicle was still at the
camp site, so how did his phone get to Mount Hawtham.

(31:48):
Somebody had driven it there, and detectives believed that same
person had killed Russell and Carol. There weren't many surveillance
cameras in the high Country, but there was one. Single
camera had been set up to catch drivers skipping the
entry fee at Mount Hoffam Resort. Investigators scarred the footage

(32:08):
cross referencing every single vehicle captured on the camera. One
by one, they tracked on the drivers and rolled them
mount except for one. It was a dark four wheel
drive towing a trailer. It was driven by a man.
Detectives believed that he was the killer, and in the
back of his vehicle were the bodies of Russell Hill

(32:29):
and Carol Clay. Desperate franciers, they released an image of
the vehicle and asked for the public's help. Missing persons.
Squad Chief Andrew Stamper had a theory. He said, everything
seems to point towards this being some sort of confrontation,
maybe an argument, but my belief is that the person
who did this is probably just an ordinary member of

(32:51):
the community. As it turned out, this same vehicle had
been spotted before. Witnesses recalled, saying it near Russell in
Carol's campsite. Some believed that the driver had been camping nearby,
just a stone throw away. Gorn Miljevic had been driving
behind Russell and Carrol when they parked and set up camp.

(33:14):
He recalled how they parked close to the blue four
wheel drive. He found it strange, considering there was plenty
of room for them to park in camp elsewhere. Then
at dawn, Goren heard a single gunshot. It wasn't unusual
to hear such soigns in the wilderness where camping and
hunting was rife. He thought nothing of it at the time,

(33:34):
but now it seemed significant. Detectors wondered if Russell and
Carroll could have gotten into an argument with this solo camper.
It certainly seemed plausible. They heard from a man named
Robert Williams who had seen Russell and Carol camping. He
described Russell as a grumpy old bugger who buzzed him
with his drone. He saw the drone being flown over

(33:57):
other people's campsites that Russell was recording them. Robert said,
you're going down there to have a peaceful camp, and
somebody's flying a drone over the top of you. On
the night that Russell and Carol vanished, the driver of
the blue vehicle had tried to leave the valley, but
the road was blocked. A gate had been closed due

(34:19):
to bushfires, so he had no choice. He had to
turn back, and whatever happened that night, whatever he had done,
he was forced to sit with it, waiting trapped in
the valley. It was a quiet morning in East Gippsland

(34:43):
on the twentieth of November twenty twenty two. That was
until the silence was shattered by two helicopters that roared
above a remote section of the bush. Down below, nestled
among the trees was a single campsite. A broadness and
patrol sat nearby. Its body had been spray painted recently,

(35:04):
as if somebody had tried to change its appearance. A
lead officers from Victoria Police's Special Operations Group moved in.
They were fast and quiet, and within moments a man
was on the ground, handcuffed. He was a middle aged
man camping deep in the wilderness alone. His name was
Greg Lynn, and in the eyes of detectives, he wasn't

(35:26):
just another camper. He was a killer. Greg Lynn was
no drifter, He was no lunar living off the grid.
He was a career pilot, a man whose life revolved
around discipline, precision and control. Born in nineteen sixty six,
Greg Lynn had grown up in Australia, where his childhood
fascination with flight turned into a full time career. He

(35:49):
was a commercial airline pilot, a captain for Jetstar, a
low cost airline under the Quantisk Group. His colleagues described
him as sharp and focused. Coworker said, I've flown with
him a number of times. He's the most amazing pilot.
Greg is one of the nicest people ever. Lynn's personal
life mirrored the Great Australian dream. He had a sprawling

(36:12):
two story home in Caroline Springs in Melbourne's West, a
well manicured garden, an Australian flag hanging in the front window.
Behind the fence, he kept bees. He shared his homegrown
vegetables with neighbors and brought them fish that he had caught.
By all accounts, Greg Lynn was a friendly family man.

(36:34):
He'd lived there for a decade with his wife, Melanie,
and their teenage son. It was the picture of suburban stability.
But beneath that for sad there was another side to
Greg Lynn. His first wife, Linda, had died suddenly outside
their home twenty years earlier. She had andy Depressan's, an
alcohol in her stomach. Her death was the subject of

(36:56):
a coroner's inquest. According to and she never drank. According
to others, her husband didn't attend her funeral. He'd been
abusive throughout their marriage. They had been estranged at the time,
but the coroner's inquest found no evidence that anybody else
had been involved in her death. It was ruled a

(37:17):
tragic suicide or even an accident. Greg Lynn was also
a dedicated member of the Melbourne International Shooting Club. He
was an avid gun collector. His home housed and arsenal rifle, shotguns,
precision weapons. He was a keen pig hunter that kept
a collection of knives, and when the pandemic hit grinding flights,

(37:40):
he found himself with a lot more free time, more
time to disappear into the wilderness, more time to indulge
in his true passions camping, hunting, and being alone. And
now detectives believe he had spent that time covering his tracks.

(38:06):
Greg Lynn had become a person of interest in the
disappearance long before his arrest. Detectives had been watching him
and they had their reasons. They had captured his vehicle
on camera. On the fourteenth of July twenty twenty two,
detectives arrived at his home. They told him that they
were just gathering statements that he wasn't a suspect. They

(38:28):
asked him about the one in Gada Valley. Lynn admitted
that he had been camping there at the same time
as Russell Hill and Carol Clay, but he insisted he
hadn't seen them. As detectives left his home, however, something
caught their attention. Parked on a side street near his
home was a Nissan Patrol. It was freshly painted braun

(38:51):
The license plate was a match to the vehicle captured
on camera. Detectives decided not to confront Lynn. Instead, they
watched him over the following months. He was placed under
covert surveillance. They installed them inside his home and car.
During one conversation with his wife, Melanie, while they watched
a sixty minutes feature on the disappearance, Lynn seemed annoyed.

(39:16):
Melanie told him that the four wheel drive shown in
the video looked like his vehicle. He told his wife
that there were only four hours in the day when
he was in the area when Russell and Carol went missing.
Then in November, detectives made their first move. They went
public with the suspect vehicle. They mentioned a small but

(39:37):
significant detail, retractable awning on the roof. Days later, a
covert camera outside Lynne's home captured him. He was standing
beside his vehicle, removing the awning. Detectives planned to keep watching,
but then something changed. Lynn had an argument with his wife.

(39:58):
A secret camera had captured him. Afterwards, muttering to himself,
he mentioned that she would have to take care of
the children alone. He then said that a snake bite
would be a good way to go. Detectives feared the worst.
They thought that he was heading into the wilderness to
take his life, so they couldn't wait any longer. On

(40:18):
the twentieth of November, they made their move. A special
operations group descended into the bushland where he was camping.
They surrounded his campsite and swooped in. Greg Lynn was
in custody, and now the truth was about to come out,
or at least his version of it. In the wake

(40:46):
of Greglyn's arrest, he sat across from Sergeant Florence and
Detective Daniel Passingcombe, and to their surprise, he didn't deny
that Russelyn Hill and Carol Clay were dead. He admitted it,
but what he described next was his version of events,
a version where he wasn't a cold blooded killer, but
instead a man caught up in a tragic misunderstanding. Lyne

(41:10):
told detectives he had been camping at Buck's camp when
Russell and Carol arrived on the nineteenth of March. At first,
they were friendly. The next evening, however, tensions flared. According
to Lynn, Russell had been flying a drone over his
campsite while he was hunting deer. He found it annoying,
but he thought little of it. That was until later

(41:32):
that night, when Russell allegedly showed up at its campsite.
Lynn claimed that Russell was agitated and accused him of
shooting too close to their camp. According to Lynn, Russell
threatened to make a false report to police, using his
drone footage as evidence. Lynn said that he let the
confrontation go, but later, as yet dinner, he stewed over it.

(41:57):
He decided to irritate Russell by blasting music for from
his car. He said he tried to find the most
annoying song possible. Lynn claimed that Russell snapped that he
stormed over to his vehicle, grabbed his shotgun an ammunition,
and then walked away. Lynn said that he followed him.

(42:17):
He demanded the weapon back, but Russell refused. According to Lynn,
he said he was going to take that to the
police with him, and.

Speaker 1 (42:26):
I can kind of run here on confront him, give
it back, you know, what are you doing? And he
said he's going to take that to the place with him.
And then when I advanced towards him, he had the
magazine in the shotgun. At this stage, he pulled the
action back and he let a couple of rounds go
into the air.

Speaker 2 (42:47):
He said that Russell then fired too warning shots into
the air and told him to fuck off. Lynn claimed
that at that moment he was terrified. He told detectives, I.

Speaker 1 (43:00):
Immediately ran around the back here, fearing that, you know,
I might be able, might be going to cop the
next one. And I waited. It was in shadow around here,
it was dark. I didn't want to run back towards
my car because if he was going to shoot me,
then he would have had a clear shot. Then hear it.

Speaker 2 (43:21):
Instead of barking down, he decided to fight for the gun.

Speaker 1 (43:24):
I moved in closer again, fearing that if I ran
this way, I'd top another one. I saw the barrel
of the shotgun appear over the bonnet, and to try
and disarm him, I jumped up. I grabbed the shotgun
barrel with my right arm pivoted around so I was
facing him him facing away from the bonnet of the car.

(43:48):
I had the left hand on the stop, right hand
on the barrel, and we wrestled.

Speaker 2 (43:54):
He sabby spawned Russell around, pressing him against the front
of the vecle. He glimed. He showed it Russell to
let go, but Russell didn't. It was a chaotic scene
and Carl yelled at Russell to stop, but the struggle continued.
Then a Lloyd bang emanated in the quiet night. According
to Lynn, the shotgun had discharged a projectile, tore through

(44:17):
the mirror of the land Cruiser and struck Carol Clay
in the head. It killed her instantly. She was dressed
in her pajamas.

Speaker 1 (44:30):
She was shot through there. To him, I saw her
in the peripheral. I didn't actually see which way she
was standing, but when later she was lying face down
on the ground, ye immediately Russell Hill let go of

(44:50):
the shotgun.

Speaker 2 (44:51):
Lynn insisted his hand wasn't on the trigger, but it
was all an accident, that he was just trying to
get his gum back. He said. He up the wap
and had it back to his vehicle and put it
in the passenger seat, but then Russell allegedly re emerged as.

Speaker 1 (45:08):
I turned around and coming back this way. In the
meantime he had been with miss play. He advances towards
me with a knife in his right hand and a
fist punched in his left. He first takes a swing
with his left hand. I blocked that with his right hand.

(45:28):
He takes a swing with a knife. I bropped his
wrists and with my left arm pulled over his right
and he pushed me over back under the ground and
the knife went into his chest.

Speaker 2 (45:48):
Linn said that in the struggle, the knife drove into
Russell's chest. Linn stood up, Russell crawled for a few moments,
then stopped, rolled over and died right there. It was
a tragic accident self defense, at least that was the
story that greg Lynn told detectives. But if that was

(46:09):
the truth, why did he go to such extreme lengths
to cover it up. Why didn't he seek help? Greg
Lynn told detectives that he panicked the moment that Russell
and Carol were dead. He knew the shotgul was his,
and he knew what that would mean. In just a

(46:31):
few seconds, he weighed his options and decided that there
was no way he could come forward. If he did,
his career would be over, his reputation would be destroyed,
and his family would be left in financial ruin. He
told the detectives, so yeah, I tried to save myself.
Lynn admitted that instead of calling for help, he focused

(46:52):
on eliminating all traces of what had happened. He louded
both bodies into the back of his trailer, wiped on
the camp's and then set it on fire, hoping to
eraise any evidence. The blaze consumed what was left behind
as Lynde drove away, searching for a place to dispose
of the bodies. What he didn't realize at the time, however,

(47:13):
was that Russell's cellphone was still in his pocket, pinging
cell towers and silently marking his path. Eventually, Lyne pulled
off the road onto a remote track in the wilderness
along Union Spur Track in Victoria. The area was isolated,
long forgotten by most except for the occasional four wheel
drive or off road motorbike enthusiast. It was here that

(47:38):
Lynne dragged the bodies into the bush, covering them with
sticks and leaves, before leaving the scene and returning home,
but despite his best efforts to move on, he couldn't
shake the fear that something had been overlooked. Seven months later,
Lynn returned to the site. By then, the bodies had
decomposed and the stench was overwhelming. He said that this

(48:00):
scene was gruesome. Carol's head was largely missing because of
the shotgun blast, but there had also been activity from
a wild dog. Lynn said that he vomited several times,
but he had come prepared. He doused the remains in kerosene,
stacked logs on top, and then set them alight. Sitting

(48:21):
beside the fire, he watched as the last physical evidence
of Russell Hill and Carol Clay burned away. Ours passed,
and when only small fragments of bone remained, he scooped
them with the dust pan and scattered the ashes. Later,
in his confession to police, he coldly stated, there's literally
nothing there. Despite Lyn's believed that he had successfully covered

(48:43):
his tracks, detectives were determined to find Russell and Carroll.
Armed with a confession, a search team was deployed to
the area that he had described. The painstaking process of
sifting through the dirt and debris began with detectives carefully
combing through the landscape looking for any trace of the victims.
Eventually their efforts paid off. Among the scattered remains, police

(49:07):
uncovered charred bone fragments, several teeth, a wristwatch on a
piece of women's jewelry. They also found a single spent bullet.
Forensic testing confirmable detectives already knew Russell Hill and Carol
Clay had finally been found. Greg Lynn had spent nearly

(49:27):
two years trying to erase every physical trace of them,
but in the end, science and persistent had sealed his fate.
He was charged with two counts of murder. By the
thirteenth of May twenty twenty four, a jury of eight

(49:50):
men and six women had been selected and Greg Lynn's
murder trial was set to begin in the Supreme Court
of Victoria. Escorted into the courtroom, Lynn entered a plea
of not guilt to all of the charges against him.
From the outset, His defense team, which was led by
Attorney Dermot Dan, sought to frame the deaths of Russell
Hill and Carol Clay as nothing more than tragic accidents.

(50:12):
During his opening statement, Dan walked the jury through Lynn's
version of events, describing a dispute that began when Russell,
using his drone, had spotted Lynn hunting too close to
their campsite. Tensions escalated, he claimed, because Russell was particularly
uneasy about firearms safety, having lost his uncle in a
hunting accident. According to the defense, after a heated exchange,

(50:36):
Russell took Lynne's shotgun and fired warning shots, leading to
a struggle, during which the gun accidentally discharged and killed Carol.
Dan argued that Russell Len attacked Lynn with a knife,
and in the ensuing struggle, the blade became lodged in
his chest, leading to his death. He acknowledged that his
client had made terrible choices in the aftermath, but insisted

(50:58):
he had only acted out of fear that his life
was about to be screwed. The prosecution, however, rejected this
narrative outright. Lead prosecutor Daniel Porceto argued that Lynn had
killed Russell and Carroll with murderous intent. While the exact
circumstances of Russell's death remained unknown, the prosecutor suggested he

(51:19):
had likely been killed first, given that Carol would have
no reason to provoke a violent confrontation. He also pointed
to Lynn's calculated efforts to cover up the crime, highlighting
how he removed Russell's drone and both victim's mobile phones,
suggesting the dispute may have stemmed from footage captured on
the drone. As the trial progressed, witnesses who had interacted

(51:42):
with Russell in the days leaning up to his death
were called to testify. Fellow camper Blair Anson recalled the
conversation in which Russell had spoken fondly of the Alpine
National Park, reminiscing about his past forestry work in the area.
Russell had even sought permission to fly his drone, demonstrating

(52:02):
his deep appreciation for the wilderness. Just a week later,
Russell was dead in the very place he loved. The
families of both victims took the stand, providing emotional testimony
about the moment they realized that Russell and Carl had vanished.
Carol's daughter, Emma, recalled her initial concerns about the media attention,

(52:24):
stating Russell was married and so I was concerned about
the media release going out and showing them camping together.
Other witnesses describe seeing Russell's drone in the area. Further
supporting the theory that it had played a key role
in the deadly altercation. The prosecution then shifted their focus
to the investigation, detailing how Lynne had become a suspect.

(52:48):
Testimony was presented about his attempts to evade detection, including
repainting his car, removing the awning that had made his
vehicle identifiable, and ultimately confessing to police. Forensic evidence was
a critical part of discussion, with doctor Melanie Archer testifying
that due to the extent of the decompensation and destruction,

(53:08):
the exact cause of death for both victims couldn't be determined.
She stated, sometimes, even when remains are fragmented, we may
find pieces that bear the hallmarks of trauma, but in
this case that was impossible. A significant moment in the
trial came when ballistic expert Paul Griffiths took to the stand.

(53:30):
He testified that the shotgun believed to be the murder
weapon had an unusually heavy trigger weight and didn't discharge
accidentally in their testing. To fire it, he explained, one
would need to manually load the magazine, rack the bold
action firearm, disengage the safety impulled the trigger, making the
defense his claim of an accidental discharge difficulty accept However,

(53:54):
under cross examination, Griffiths admitted that he had conducted his
testing using a different twelve US shotgun than the forensic cerp. However,
under cross examination, Griffiths admitted that he had conducted his
testing using a different twelve gage shotgun from the Forensic
Services Center library rather than the actual firearm recovered from

(54:15):
Lynde's home. The credibility of the forensic investigation took another
hit when Officer Mark Gallantly, a police expert, was accused
of misleading the court. He testified that while no traces
of blood were found on the exterior of the shotgun,
a red bronze stain had been swapped from the inside
of the barrel. He introduced a new theory, suggesting that

(54:38):
blood may have been vacuumed into the barrel when the
weapon was fired. However, defense attorney Dan was quick to
challenge this claim, pointing out that the vacuum theory had
never been mentioned prior to this point in the trial,
and that he had failed to notify the defense about
his intention in presenting it. He argued, can't you see

(54:59):
coming up without three weeks into your murder trial? Is
totally inconsistent with your obligations as an expert witness. It
looks like half bag theories that end up going nowhere.
As the trial neared its most critical stage, the jury
was shown the videotaped confession of Greg Lynn. In the footage,
he appeared composed as he sketched diagrams illustrating what had

(55:20):
allegedly transpired, and pointed out on a map the locations
where he had dumped the bodies. While his confession was
meant to provide clarity, it remained to be seen whether
the jury would believe his version of events or see
it as a calculated attempt to minimize his responsibility for
two brutal murders. The defense team called just one witness,

(55:44):
Greg Lynn himself. Taking to the stand, he offered a
brief statement to the families of Russell Hill and Carol Clay.
He stated, all I can say to the families is
that I am very sorry for your suffering. Lynn went
on to describe Carol was positioned low to the ground
when he and Russell struggled over the weapon. He insisted

(56:06):
that he only saw her in his peripheral vision, but
believed that she was getting up when the gun discharged.
As he recounted the aftermath, he admitted to panicking and
attempting to erase any trace of what had occurred. He
told the jury there was blood spatter on the hitching
rails and the tray base of the Toyota land Cruiser.
There was some on the inside of the canopy. I

(56:28):
wiped all of that off. Under cross examination, Lynne maintained
that he had no reason to kill Russell or Carol.
He described his actions after their deaths as despicable, but
continued to insist he wasn't a murderer. The prosecutor challenged
Lynn on his decision not to call police if the
deaths had truly been accidental. Lynn responded, I feared that

(56:51):
I would be blamed for it. It would be devastating
for everything that was important to me. The prosecutor then
pointed out inconsistencies Lynne's version of events, suggesting that the
deaths could not have unfolded the way he described. He
noted that a rope guide line stretched between the bonnet
of the land Cruiser and a nearby portable toilet tent,

(57:13):
an obstruction that would have made the struggle Lynne described
nearly impossible once Lynn stepped on. The trial neared its conclusion.
During closing arguments, defense attorney Dermot Dan urged the jury
to put themselves in his client's shoes, asking them to
consider what they would have done if improper gun storage
had led to the deaths of two people. He painted

(57:35):
Lynn as a man who had made some terrible choices
out of fear rather than guilt. He stated, he thought
he was going to be blamed for the deaths, and
he was one hundred percent correct. He thought he was
going to be wrongly blamed, and he is being wrongly blamed. Prosecutors, however,
dismissed Lynn's theory is fanciful, a work of fiction he

(57:58):
had nearly two years to profess. They argued that his
elaborate clean up, disposal of the bodies and subsequent return
to burn their remains demonstrated consciousness of guilt rather than panic.
As the jury prepared to deliberate justice, Michael Croucher informed
them that the alternate manslaughter charge had been thrown out.

(58:21):
This meant they could only reach one of two conclusions,
guilty or not guilty of murder. After a week of deliberation,
the jury sent a note to the judge, asking what
would happen if they couldn't reach a unanimous verdict. Justice

(58:44):
Kroucher instructed them that they must all agree on the
same verdict. Not long after they announced they had made
a decision inside the silent courtroom, the verdict was read aloud.
Greg Lynn was found not guilty of the murder order
of Russell Hill, but for the murder of Carol Clay
he was found guilty. The sentencing phase was yet to come,

(59:08):
but before that, Greg Lynn got a brutal haste of
what awaited him behind bars. Inmates targeted him, pelting him
with faces in urine, in an attack that was orchestrated
by somebody with ties to the Clay family. It was
a grim reminder that even before a judge passed sentence,
justice had already began taking its own course. In October,

(59:32):
greg Lynn learned his fate. He was sentenced to thirty
two years in prison, with the possibility of parole after
twenty four years. For Russell Hill and Carol Clay's loved ones,
it wasn't enough to undo the horror of what had happened,
but it was a measure of justice in a case
that had left them with so many unanswered questions. As

(59:55):
for Greg Lynn, the high Country he had once roamed
so freely was now nothing more than a memory, his
future confined to the walls of a prison cell. It
was no longer his to control. Well, bestie, is that

(01:00:39):
is it for this episode of Morbidology. As always, thank
you so much for listening, and I'd like to say
a massive thank you to my new supporter au Bon
Patreon Josh. As y'all know, Morbidology is a one woman team,
so the support upon their seriously go such a long way,
and I genuinely am eternally grateful. The link to Patreon
is in this show no or alternatively, you can visit

(01:01:02):
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Remember to check us out at morbidology dot com for
more information about this episode and to read some true
crime articles. Until next time, take care of yourselves, stay safe,

(01:01:24):
and have an amazing week.