The daughter of a woman who was allegedly murdered in Victoria's High Country has told a courtroom she received a phone call from a police officer who said her mother's campsite had been found abandoned and burnt.
Emma Davies is the daughter of 73-year-old Carol Clay, a retiree who went missing following a camping trip in March 2020.
Former Jetstar pilot Greg Lynn is on trial in Victoria's Supreme Court for the alleged murder of Ms Clay and her lover, 74-year-old Russell Hill.
He has pleaded not guilty.
Earlier this week, prosecutors outlined to Victoria's Supreme Court how bone fragments that showed a DNA match to Ms Clay were later recovered from Bucks Camp, a remote campsite in the Wonnangatta Valley.
Ms Davies, a teacher, told today's hearing how she received a call from police nine days after her mother was understood to have been camping at Bucks Camp, questioning if she knew where she was.
"I wasn't sure if I knew at that time she had been away with Russell, but I knew she had previously," Ms Davies told the court.
The police detective senior constable was also seeking permission to put out a media release about her mother's disappearance.
Ms Davies said she had had some "privacy concerns" about the release because "Russell was married and so I was concerned about the media release going out and showing them camping together," she said.
Ms Davies described the 14-year relationship between her mother and Mr Hill as "very loving and caring".
"They'd known each other from childhood, Russell was mum's first boyfriend," she said.
She said the pair often went camping together, usually in the High Country around Licola and Dargo.
"[My mother] wouldn't describe herself as a camper, but she appreciated the outdoors and it was a beautiful spot," she said.
Ms Davies said her mother had been involved in the Country Womens' Association for about 15 years and, at the time of her death, was president of the Pakenham branch.
Court told of Russell Hill's radio call night of alleged murder
Prosecutors have alleged Mr Lynn murdered Mr Hill and Mrs Clay at Bucks Camp on the March 20, 2020, and then moved, and later burnt, their bodies.
On Tuesday, prosecutors told the court the exact circumstances of their deaths, as well as Mr Lynn's motivation, was not known. They said it was possible the alleged killings followed a dispute over Mr Hill's drone.
Mr Lynn's defence team said he was not guilty of murder or manslaughter because the deaths were accidental and occurred during two struggles for control of a shotgun and a knife.
However, his lawyer Dermot Dann KC accepted that his client tried to cover up the deaths by destroying campsite evidence and burying the bodies of Mr Hill and Ms Clay in a remote location several hours away.
"He's got two people dead, he fears he's going to be wrongly blamed for their deaths … his life as he knew it would be 'screwed' … and he tries to make this disaster somehow go away," Mr Dann said on Tuesday.
The court also heard today from a friend of Russell Hill, who spoke with Mr Hill on the night of his alleged murder via long distance radio.
Michael Allan, a retired research assistant and radio enthusiast, told the courtroom how he and a fellow group of radio enthusiasts would speak via radio most evenings at around 6pm, including on the evening that Mr Hill was allegedly murdered.
Mr Allan told the court that on that day, Mr Hill's demeanour was "like normal, nothing seemed to be untoward".
"We just generally spoke about how lovely it was to be in the Wonnangatta Valley and just general talked about the day's activities," he said.
Someone known to Russell Hill 'accidentally' shot by deer hunter, court hears
Earlier today, the court heard evidence from a pair of deer hunters who had been camping near Mr Hill in the week before his death at a different campsite called King Billy.
One of them, Chris Benton, told the court he spoke with Russell Hill and found him to be "kind-natured" and "good to talk to" but that Mr Hill had mentioned he was a former forester who struggled to adjust to retirement.
"He did go on to say that retirement did "f*** him up" and that's a phrase that he used," Mr Benton told the court.
In his statement to the court, read by Mr Lynn's lawyer Mr Dann, Mr Benton wrote: "I remember Russell saying he has a wife, if I go home, my wife is only going to nag me anyway, I may as well stay up here."
Another hunter, Rowan Stewart, recalled Mr Hill asking him about firearm safety and telling him he was not in the area to go hunting himself.
"Then he went on to tell a story about a relative of his, possibly a nephew, I can't recall exactly, but there was a case where a hunter accidentally shot them."
Mr Lynn's barrister asked if Mr Hill had provided further details on what happened
"Did he say to you that … he was on a shooting trip with others, and then amongst his group, one of the members of the group shot and killed another member of the group?" Mr Dann asked Mr Stewart.
Mr Stewart did not recall Mr Hill sharing those details of the story, he told the court.
The court also heard evidence from Scott McDonald, who had camped at the same spot as Mr Hill and Mrs Clay, in February 2020, about a month before their disappearance, at a campsite called Pikes Flat near Mount Buller.
Mr McDonald thought Mr Hill's tent belonged to a fellow competitor of an alpine running race, so had set up camp close to theirs only to realise he was mistaken, he told the court.
Initially Mr Hill was "a bit upset" and questioned Mr McDonald about why he had set up camp so close, but once he explained the mistake Mr Hill was "quite fine", Mr McDonald said.
"In no way was he aggressive to us, he was just direct about, why did we camp so close," he told the court.
The trial continues.
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2024-05-15 06:29:52Z
CBMiaGh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmFiYy5uZXQuYXUvbmV3cy8yMDI0LTA1LTE1L2NhbXBlci1hbGxlZ2VkLW11cmRlci1ncmVnLWx5bm4tY2Fyb2wtY2xheS1ydXNzZWxsLWhpbGwvMTAzODUxODU00gEoaHR0cHM6Ly9hbXAuYWJjLm5ldC5hdS9hcnRpY2xlLzEwMzg1MTg1NA
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