Australia - Russell Hill & Carol Clay Murdered While Camping - Wonnangatta Valley, 2020 #9

[mam544]

Who knows what Lynn was carried away with, or for that matter, by.

He made sure there were no witnesses to the events at the camp site, so we have no precise knowledge of how it was set up, what state he was in or what went on.

Having read of him previously killing things that ‘annoyed’ him (though I’ve not heard whether he had triggers other than ‘annoyance’ e.g. alcohol or drugs) IMO it’s not a stretch to think he simply killed Russell & Carol because Russell annoyed him.

Lynn said “The scene was horrendous “ A blood-soaked tent and camping furniture with splatters scattered across Hill's ute, inside the seats and across the passenger door.
I wouldn’t be surprised if he stabbed or shot Russell through the tent. … Carol then tried to run, she may’ve tried to get in the vehicle to flee, but he shot her.

All just my thoughts.

We’ll likely never get a story from him that has a ring of truth to it, but irrespective of his account, and the jury’s decision - I believe his sentence for Murder must be significantly increased for various reasons: not promptly reporting the “accident”, for leaving the victims families in a state of pain & ignorance for some 20 months, and a state of pain & loss for ever more, for his destruction and stealth of their property, for his interference with their bodies, and for the total disrespect he exhibited when he set them on fire.

I have always thought that the entire episode was reasonably predictable.

Both men were the type that thought they were the boss, arrogant and opinionated (we have all met them). Both wanted, and expected, exclusive use of the campsite and were not happy about the presence of the other.

Hill wanted a private cosy spot to canoodle with his girlfriend and Lynn wanted to roam around shooting at whatever he wanted.

When Hill started flying a drone over Lynn, he would have been incensed at the invasion of his 'space' (and to be honest I would not have been very happy either) and probably confronted Hill about it.

Hill, being the same type, thought he could do whatever he liked with his drone, and probably hoped that annoying Lynn would get him to pack up and leave.

Lynn, of course, would do no such thing and would have confronted Hill and possibly threatened him with the gun.

Hill retaliated with the threat of going to the police over Lynns misuse of firearms (shooting through the camp etc) which probably was true, and had now been filmed.

Lynn immediately realised the potential damage this could have, not only re the gun investigation but resulting in the end of his career as a pilot and basically his whole life.

From that moment on, Hills' fate was sealed. Sadly, Carol was collateral damage as she was a witness.

 

[TootsieFootsie]

There is no way I believe that Russell was in any way responsible for what happened to himself and Carol.

He went on holiday with a woman he loved and was very unlucky to have come across a man prone to violence.

 

[Warshawski]

Both men were the type that thought they were the boss, arrogant and opinionated (we have all met them). Both wanted, and expected, exclusive use of the campsite and were not happy about the presence of the other.

I didn’t know either man to be able to comment on their ‘type’.
I agree I’ve met the personalities you’ve described, but that personality is not a prediction that murder is about to occur. IMO

And all the below is Lynn’s tale of the events, no witnesses left to attest otherwise

When Hill started flying a drone over Lynn, he would have been incensed at the invasion of his 'space' (and to be honest I would not have been very happy either) and probably confronted Hill about it.

Hill, being the same type, thought he could do whatever he liked with his drone, and probably hoped that annoying Lynn would get him to pack up and leave.

Lynn, of course, would do no such thing and would have confronted Hill and possibly threatened him with the gun.

Hill retaliated with the threat of going to the police over Lynns misuse of firearms (shooting through the camp etc) which probably was true, and had now been filmed.

Lynn immediately realised the potential damage this could have, not only re the gun investigation but resulting in the end of his career as a pilot and basically his whole life.

From that moment on, Hills' fate was sealed. Sadly, Carol was collateral damage as she was a witness.

 

[SouthAussie]

I dunno, they don't sound like the same type of person to me.


Mr Benton described Mr Hill as “very kind-natured” .... Link

Mrs Clay’s daughter, Emma Davies, confirmed ... she’d known of the affair for about 14 years, describing their relationship as “very caring, very loving”. Link

Debbie Hill, the daughter of Russell Hill .... 'My dad was not a violent person in any way. He wouldn't have provoked anything.' Link

Greg Lynn assaulted and terrorised his first wife .... 'She did describe a time when Greg [allegedly] slammed a door on her and it hit her in head and knocked her unconscious,' .... 'pushed her outside and hosed her down and locked her outside overnight'. Link

'Greg had been verbally abusing Lisa since their marriage began. Lisa kept a diary from the day Greg left their marriage. The diary details the abusive phone calls and death threats and verbal abuse to their children made by Greg.' Link

(And this is without considering Lynn bludgeoning their pet pig, and allegedly killing pet dogs)

 

[wallyworld]

I dunno, they don't sound like the same type of person to me.


Mr Benton described Mr Hill as “very kind-natured” .... Link

Mrs Clay’s daughter, Emma Davies, confirmed ... she’d known of the affair for about 14 years, describing their relationship as “very caring, very loving”. Link

Debbie Hill, the daughter of Russell Hill .... 'My dad was not a violent person in any way. He wouldn't have provoked anything.' Link

Greg Lynn assaulted and terrorised his first wife .... 'She did describe a time when Greg [allegedly] slammed a door on her and it hit her in head and knocked her unconscious,' .... 'pushed her outside and hosed her down and locked her outside overnight'. Link

'Greg had been verbally abusing Lisa since their marriage began. Lisa kept a diary from the day Greg left their marriage. The diary details the abusive phone calls and death threats and verbal abuse to their children made by Greg.' Link

(And this is without considering Lynn bludgeoning their pet pig, and allegedly killing pet dogs)

That is a fantastic summary SouthAussie. Agree wholeheartedly!

​

 

[mam544]

I dunno, they don't sound like the same type of person to me.


Mr Benton described Mr Hill as “very kind-natured” .... Link

Mrs Clay’s daughter, Emma Davies, confirmed ... she’d known of the affair for about 14 years, describing their relationship as “very caring, very loving”. Link

Debbie Hill, the daughter of Russell Hill .... 'My dad was not a violent person in any way. He wouldn't have provoked anything.' Link

Greg Lynn assaulted and terrorised his first wife .... 'She did describe a time when Greg [allegedly] slammed a door on her and it hit her in head and knocked her unconscious,' .... 'pushed her outside and hosed her down and locked her outside overnight'. Link

'Greg had been verbally abusing Lisa since their marriage began. Lisa kept a diary from the day Greg left their marriage. The diary details the abusive phone calls and death threats and verbal abuse to their children made by Greg.' Link

(And this is without considering Lynn bludgeoning their pet pig, and allegedly killing pet dogs)

Okay, what do you think happened?

 

[SouthAussie]

Okay, what do you think happened?

I think it was an unprovoked attack on Russell and Carol.

I have flipflopped around on theories for a few years, but more recently this has been my conclusion. This is why.


Russell would more than likely back away from an altercation. He wouldnt be happy about it but he was smart enough to know not to "poke the bear" as such in a remote area like that. He didnt suffer fools but he was not an aggressive man. Linked post - by Motomike (verified insider)

Russell had a stern face, quite weather beaten due to all the years he worked outdoors, so I can understand why people may think he was grumpy just from his physical appearance. He was not a "grumpy" man, but he was quite "old fashioned" in his ideas on how people should treat each other. If someone did something he thought was not the right thing to do, he would tell you that he didn't think you were doing the right thing. He was quite a big man, so I can understand how he may have appeared threatening to some people, but he was really just a big softie, not a mean bone in his body. In the 20+ years I knew him I never saw him angry, and we did have some spirited discussions about all sorts of things. Another linked post - by Motomike (verified insider)

But his wife, Robyn, told the jury her husband had begun to slow down after his retirement.
“Later in the years, he got very slow,” she said. “He walked slow and he – and he would think slow.” Link

Debbie Hill, the daughter of Russell Hill .... 'My dad was not a violent person in any way. He wouldn't have provoked anything.' Link

 

[SouthAussie]

Okay, what do you think happened?

Just to add, none of us will likely ever know why Lynn killed both Russell and Carol.

Perhaps he "thought" Russell had footage of Lynn doing something illegal, and he wanted to make sure it would never surface so he wouldn't lose his pilot's license.

Or perhaps Lynn had graduated from killing a pig, and (allegedly) dogs, and being behind the death of his first wife, to killing deer (perhaps only for their antlers, leaving them dying or dead), to killing two people.

Or perhaps Lynn is some kind of serial killer, and is behind more disappearances in the Valley than Russell's and Carol's.

Or .... ??

One thing is for sure (to me), Russell was well aware of the remoteness of their location, and the inherent danger in him causing strife there with another person ... especially an obviously armed one.

And I think Lynn killed Russell first, then killed Carol. He destroyed their remains because Russell did not die in the manner in which Lynn claims.

imo

(Sorry for the long posts, but it took a bit of explaining)

 

[Warshawski]

Just to add, none of us will likely ever know why Lynn killed both Russell and Carol.

Perhaps he "thought" Russell had footage of Lynn doing something illegal, and he wanted to make sure it would never surface so he wouldn't lose his pilot's license.

Or perhaps Lynn had graduated from killing a pig, and (allegedly) dogs, and being behind the death of his first wife, to killing deer (perhaps only for their antlers, leaving them dying or dead), to killing two people.

Or perhaps Lynn is some kind of serial killer, and is behind more disappearances in the Valley than Russell's and Carol's.

Or .... ??

One thing is for sure (to me), Russell was well aware of the remoteness of their location, and the inherent danger in him causing strife there with another person ... especially an obviously armed one.

And I think Lynn killed Russell first, then killed Carol. He destroyed their remains because Russell did not die in the manner in which Lynn claims.

imo

(Sorry for the long posts, but it took a bit of explaining)

Well said SA
I also think he killed Russel first. .. but he made sure there was no one left to tell the truth about what really happened, so as you said, we’ll likely never know.