A “grumpy old bugger” believed to be Russell Hill was seen speeding into a campsite in remote bushland in Victoria’s high country hours before he was allegedly murdered, a court has heard.
Hill, 74, and Carol Clay, 73, went missing in March 2020 while camping in the Wonnangatta Valley, east of Melbourne.
Greg Lynn, a former airline pilot, is charged with murdering Hill and Clay. Lynn faced the Melbourne magistrates court on Monday for a committal hearing, which will determine whether there is enough evidence for him to stand trial.
Robert Williams, a weed sprayer contracted by Parks Victoria, told the court he had been working in the area on 20 March when he saw a man who appeared to be “on a mission” speed past him in a white LandCruiser.
Williams described the man in a later police statement as a “grumpy old bugger” who he assumed may not have wanted to talk to him because he had Parks Victoria markings on his vehicle and the man wanted to get to his camp.
“He looked really grumpy to me and I thought he may have even been having an argument,” Williams said on Monday.
Hill and Clay were later reported missing and images of Hill and his Toyota LandCruiser were published. Williams told the court he was in no doubt this was the same “grumpy” man he had seen earlier that year.
“I could just tell straight away by looking at him,” he said.
Williams told the court that about four hours later he noticed a drone being flown in the area that appeared to be filming him and flying over other campsites.
He agreed with Lynn’s lawyer, Dermot Dann KC, that he considered flying a drone over campers to be rude.
“You’re going there to have a peaceful camp and then someone’s out flying a drone over the top of you.”
The next day, Williams noticed the smell of burning plastic, the court heard.
The court earlier heard from two New South Wales men who had camped in the valley and had seen an elderly couple during their trip.
The pair, Goran Miljkovic and Damir Jovar, had been driving on a track in the area when they came across another car that was travelling slowly and blocking the path.
Miljkovic told the court that while he was stuck behind the car he could see the occupants clearly in their large side mirrors.
He said he remarked to Jovar that the pair looked like they might have been a grandfather and grandmother out for a drive.
He then saw the couple’s white LandCruiser being parked unusually close to two other cars in a meadow further down the road, the court heard.
Miljkovic and Jovar stopped in the same meadow to pick mushrooms but Miljkovic said he did not see the couple get out of the car.
Hill and Clay were last heard from while camping in the area on 20 March 2020, the following day.
Hill made a call via high-frequency radio that day saying he was in the valley. Miljkovic and Jovar had also seen the couple again earlier that day, the court heard.
During Miljkovic’s evidence, which was provided via an interpreter, he said he regularly camped in the area and frequently heard gunshots. He told the court that he thought he had heard one gunshot on the morning of 20 March and that he had seen the elderly couple again later that day.
Two further witnesses provided evidence on Monday: a camper who said he heard what sounded like a vehicle towing a camper trailer performing a U-turn near his site overnight on 20 March 2020, and an IT specialist formerly employed at Mount Hotham.
The specialist had provided Victoria police with an analysis of images captured by four automatic numberplate recognition cameras on the mountain within a specific timeframe and said details of 12 vehicles and about 2000 images had been handed over.
Lynn, who was arrested in November 2021, sat quietly during the hearing, occasionally reading from material in front of him or taking notes.
He will be asked to formally enter a plea when the hearing finishes, which is expected to be next week.
Dann flagged a challenge to the legal admissibility of the first police interview given by Lynn, but no further detail was provided during the hearing about what occurred during the interview, or the nature of the challenge.
The hearing continues on Tuesday, with Victoria police officers expected to give evidence next week.
