Found Deceased Australia - Russell Hill, 74, & Carol Clay, 72, Wonnangatta Valley, 20 Mar 2020 #6 *charges*

[Kemug]

A new twist in the case of campers RH and CC suggests that their bodies were set on fire after they were allegedly killed.

Saturday morning Herald Sun reported The pair was incinerated A fire was lit in a shrubland near Arbuckle Junction in a remote area of East Gippsland.

The incinerator is believed to have occurred near the Union Spur Truck, a few meters away from where their bodies were.

It may have been an attempt to destroy their bodies.

Russell Hill, Carol Clay: Victorian camper corpse burned before burial - Sydney News Today

Weird that to acknowledge this sad and awful post, I have to click "like." I certainly do not like it.

 

[Kemug]

So 2 fires? I wonder if GL has any history with fire events?

 

[Detective Willy]

It sounds like it will be very difficult to determine the cause of deaths. IMO GL shot them both and recovered the bullet shells before burning the bodies. The more information that comes out the more I think he is a psychopath and a SK. He has zero respect and zero remorse IMO, likely that he is still in denial.

 

[Motomike]

I only just realised there had been a breakthrough in this case.

Wow. I guess i have a lot of catching up to do before I ask too many questions, but I can't resist one. Is there any information on how the suspect might have been linked to the victims?

As far as we know there is no link between the man charged and the 2 victims.

 

[JBowie]

It sounds like it will be very difficult to determine the cause of deaths. IMO GL shot them both and recovered the bullet shells before burning the bodies. The more information that comes out the more I think he is a psychopath and a SK. He has zero respect and zero remorse IMO, likely that he is still in denial.

As we know, police have questioned the accused over a number of days and during that process they somehow determined where to locate the human remains.

The inference to be drawn from that is that he is/has been talking to them. He could simply be playing along and denying any involvement and discovering what the police have as evidence. On the other hand, if he had decided to go the no comment route, then any police questioning of him would be fruitless.

So, if he did tell them where to look for the remains, I guess it would be hard for him to deny any involvement.

Nonetheless, with the police now saying that the bodies were incinerated not far from where the remains were unearthed, this has the hallmarks of a cold, calculating killer, that's for sure.

 

[Kemug]

Carol was so alive.

 

[JBowie]

Is there any information on how the suspect might have been linked to the victims?

AFAIK, the only common link is that both liked to camp in that part of VIC.

 

[JudgeJudi]

So 2 fires? I wonder if GL has any history with fire events?

I think the campsite fire was only to destroy evidence. I don't recall reading that there was evidence of a fire where the remains (bone fragments), set of dentures and ring were found underneath the rootball of the fallen tree. The burnt pieces of timber over this hole may well have been left-over from incinerating the bodies which we've now learned was only several metres away.

 

[they'll get you]

It doesn’t makes sense that he didn’t burn them inside the grave site.
How could, why would you burn and then move their remains which would not be a ‘clean’ task and would take many hours.
Did he go back when everything was cold?

This is starting to sound very disturbing to me.
I’m imagining some evil visuals.

 

[JBowie]

It doesn’t makes sense that he didn’t burn them inside the grave site.

It does to me. Funeral pyres are built above ground in order to fully cremate corpses. Incineration requires good air flow from bottom to top of the fire. (Grisly subject.)

 

[Sher Lock]

Given we have a lack of information, I'm considering another possible scenario as follows.

- GL showed up at RH & CC's camp site, pointed a loaded gun at them and ordered them to not make a sound or he will kill
- he then orders CC to gag & tie up RH (with ropes etc supplied by GL) & then GL gags & ties up CC
- this immediately stops any potential screams/yells and also renders them unable to run off into the bushes
- GL then burns down the tent and loads the couple into the back of his trailer - he doesn't need to carry either of them as
they are both still able to walk with their ankles tied up (difficult but probably doable)
- now that they are in the back of his trailer, GL bludgeons them rendering them both unconscious
- GL then takes the road trip up to the closed gate and then onto their final resting place on Union Spur Track
- what he then does is anyone's guess (besides burning them) and I sincerely hope neither of them were aware of
the horrors unfolding resulting in their demise

Even if all this started with an accident ie pushing RC over and he hits his head on a rock and dies, what then happens
is definitely not normal or even slightly abnormal. It's horrendous and reeks of psychopathic tendencies.

IMOO

 

[srper2]

Heartbreaking, poor poor Carol and Russell, what happened to them just keeps getting more abhorrent as time goes on. There certainly should be a renewed investigation into GL's first wife's untimely death and the death of his Doha lady. It seems to me that there would have very likely been a shocking reason he resprayed his car from white to blue in the past before RH and CC's murders. (MOO). I currently doubt he sold the trailer, I think he would have dumped it in a dam or lake somewhere. If he sold it, surely the purchaser would have come forward by now - unless they have already and it has not been divulged.

 

[JudgeJudi]

There certainly should be a renewed investigation into GL's first wife's untimely death and the death of his Doha lady.

I'm sure they are, but I'm equally sure they'll be looking at other possible victims too.

 

[JudgeJudi]

While most people sit around on a Saturday arvo hanging out with friends and family etc, I spent my time reading about burnt bones. In my mind fragments are very small pieces, but this article shows what burnt bones and fragments look like (nothing gruesome) and they can be larger than you may expect.

“The dehydration and decomposition stages cause an increase in porosity (small holes) in the bone, which leads to increased fracturing, fragmentation and breakage. This is why burned remains are often very fragmented".

“An approximate age-at-death and sex can still be determined from cremated human remains. Pathological evidence can also be observed in burned remains, including joint disease, or cut marks. This is useful for forensic contexts because perpetrators often think that burning a body will eliminate evidence of trauma (such as knife wounds or dismemberment), but this is not always the case”.

“DNA can survive in the bone but it is often degraded.”

What Happens to Human Bodies When They Are Burned?

 

[Kemug]

It sounds like it will be very difficult to determine the cause of deaths. IMO GL shot them both and recovered the bullet shells before burning the bodies. The more information that comes out the more I think he is a psychopath and a SK. He has zero respect and zero remorse IMO, likely that he is still in denial.

Do we know yet that they were shot? I may have missed it. I would have thought it was just as likely that they were stabbed, especially as that would be quieter.

 

[Kemug]

It doesn’t makes sense that he didn’t burn them inside the grave site.
How could, why would you burn and then move their remains which would not be a ‘clean’ task and would take many hours.
Did he go back when everything was cold?

This is starting to sound very disturbing to me.
I’m imagining some evil visuals.

Or perhaps he was making it up as he went along.

 

[Intriguedbymissingpersons]

Heartbreaking, poor poor Carol and Russell, what happened to them just keeps getting more abhorrent as time goes on. There certainly should be a renewed investigation into GL's first wife's untimely death and the death of his Doha lady. It seems to me that there would have very likely been a shocking reason he resprayed his car from white to blue in the past before RH and CC's murders. (MOO). I currently doubt he sold the trailer, I think he would have dumped it in a dam or lake somewhere. If he sold it, surely the purchaser would have come forward by now - unless they have already and it has not been divulged.

I must have missed something - I knew about his first wife’s death, but what’s this about the death of this Doha lady?

 

[JudgeJudi]

Article published on 19 October

DI Stamper said:

"So any clothing that people might find in unusual location would be of interest to us.

Any personal items that people may find in strange locations … to give us a call on CrimeStoppers."

Once again it suggests to me they were in either some form of night attire or undressed and in their sleeping bags. Something had to prompt DI Stamper to make a specific comment about clothing. It seems to me something obvious is missing. That begs the question, couldn't clothing have burned in the campsite fire together with personal items. We know the drone is still missing, but that's been in the media from the word go.

Police searching for missing campers Russell Hill and Carol Clay zero in on theory

 

[SouthAussie]

I must have missed something - I knew about his first wife’s death, but what’s this about the death of this Doha lady?

Unless I missed something too, nobody knows about the disposition of the Doha lady. She could be alive and well, for all we know. imo

Here is the post that mentions her.
Deceased/Not Found - Australia - Russell Hill, 74, & Carol Clay, 72, Wonnangatta Valley, 20 Mar 2020 #6 *charges*

 

[Bats]

...so... we know that the accused drove a Blue Nissan Patrol that was in the area at the right time...

I'd be confident the LE had enough to charge the accused for murder prior to the arrest... that is, without even knowing if they could find any human remains...

We really have no clue as to what the LE know! I think this has been a supremely executed investigation by the Victorian Police so far...I am really intrigued as to what happened... as we all are!

So what "could" the LE know?
1. DNA (matching the accused at the campsite of RH & CC)
2. Fingerprints (matching the accused at the campsite of RH & CC)
3. An admission (by the accused whilst he is under surveillance)
4. Evidence from nearby campers (I think this is strong and the LE just haven't released this type of information).
5. Evidence from family of accused....
6. Triangulation of radar, CCTV and mobile phone data etc... putting him in the area at the right time
7. Strangely leaving the area in the middle of the night

...still, none of the scenarios above shows that there was an intent to kill anyone (except number 4... the admission part)

....accusing and charging a person with murder is about the highest bar in legal terms and requires very strong evidence that shows the the accused had intended to do so..... so...What is it?...I am so intrigued!