Slain Australian campers: Jetstar pilot Greg Lynn repainted 4WD after alleged murder of Russell Hill and Carol Clay, jury hears

Airline pilot Greg Lynn’s 4WD was painted a different colour when police attended his home months after he allegedly murdered Russell Hill and Carol Clay, a jury in Melbourne has been told.

Lynn, who was a Jetstar captain at the time, is accused of killing the couple on March 20, 2020, in Victoria’s Wonnangatta Valley and then dumping their remains in bushland.

The 57-year-old has pleaded not guilty to two counts of murder and is on trial at the Supreme Court in Melbourne.

Detective Leading Senior Constable Abbey Justin on Wednesday said cellphone tower records showed Hill’s phone was near the Great Alpine Rd at 10am on March 21, the day after the alleged murders.

Former Jetstar pilot Greg Lynn has been charged with murdering the pair.

Police accessed CCTV footage from the road and found only one vehicle had come from the Wonnangatta Valley in that period, she told the jury.

Justin said the vehicle was a grey-blue Nissan Patrol registered to Lynn.

She first attended Lynn’s Caroline Springs home on July 14, 2020, and saw his vehicle parked on a side street but it was painted a light-brown colour, the jury was told.

She admitted it might have been a “sand bank” colour when quizzed by Lynn’s barrister Dermot Dann, KC.

Lynn had told police he painted his car that colour after the Wonnangatta trip, Dann said.

Carol Clay, 73, and Russell Hill, 74, were killed in 2020 while camping in the Wonnangatta Valley in Victoria. Photo / Supplied

Justin also gave evidence about Lynn’s bank records, which showed he purchased fuel in Mansfield, west of Wonnangatta, on March 21.

It’s alleged Hill and Clay died on March 20 after an argument between Lynn and Hill at Bucks Camp in the Wonnangatta Valley.

Hill had threatened to send police his drone footage of Lynn deer hunting near the camp, Dann told the jury.

He claimed a scuffle broke out after Hill took a gun from Lynn’s vehicle and Clay was accidentally shot by Hill.

The barrister said Hill came at Lynn with a knife and was accidentally stabbed in the chest as Lynn defended himself.

Preliminary search area for the bodies of Russell Hill and Carol Clay in Wonnangatta. Photo / Victoria Police

However, prosecutors allege Lynn intentionally killed Hill and Clay.

They allege Lynn burned Clay and Hill’s campsite, put their bodies in his trailer and dumped them on the remote Union Spur Track, near Dargo.

The trial continues.