Fire obliterated any chance of working out campers’ cause of death
By Erin Pearson
Experts were unable to determine the cause of deaths of campers Russell Hill and Carol Clay because fire had obliterated any evidence.
Forensic pathologist Melanie Archer, who also works as an expert in the study of insects, told the Supreme Court jury on Monday about her examination of the remains of the pair who were killed at a remote Alpine campsite.
Forensic pathologist Melanie Archer leaving the Supreme Court on Monday.Credit: Joe Armao
She said ultimately it was impossible to say how Hill, 74, and Clay, 73, died, but by looking at the remnants of maggots found at a burial site near Dargo, she was able to say the bodies were left for months before being burned.
Archer said that fire, which left behind thousands of bone fragments, meant there was only one option open to her when deciding on how the pair died.
“The problem for the forensic pathologist is that the material that you need – the evidence you need to help make that decision – has been obliterated by the change,” she said.
“You’re left as undetermined as your only choice.
Where police say the remains were burned at Union Spur Track, near Dargo.
“Whatever caused their deaths has been masked by the changes that’s taken place in the burning and fragmentation.”
Archer – who specialises in estimating minimum times of death, season of death, insect biology and how a body is treated after death – told the court she became involved in the investigation into Hill and Clay’s deaths in December 2021.
She said as part of her role, she was asked to examine superficially buried insect remnants that were found at Union Spur Track.
Archer said the casings of maggots from the scene showed it was highly likely they had come into contact with the campers’ remains before accused killer Gregory Lynn returned to burn them in November 2021.
During questioning by defence barrister Dermot Dann, KC, Archer agreed that Lynn’s version of events to police – about returning to the scene eight months later and setting fire to the remains – correlated with her findings.
Lynn, who has pleaded not guilty to murdering Hill and Clay on March 20, 2020, told police both retirees died accidentally.
He says Clay was shot in the head as he and Hill struggled for control of a shotgun after a dispute over a drone. Lynn claims Hill then fell on his own knife during a subsequent scuffle, before the 57-year-old set fire to their campsite.
The court heard Lynn’s dark-coloured 1997 Nissan Patrol 4WD, towing a box trailer, was captured the following day on a traffic camera near Mount Hotham at the same time Hill’s mobile phone pinged a nearby telephone tower.
The prosecution disputes Lynn’s account and alleges the hunter killed the pair with murderous intent.
The trial continues.
A new podcast from 9News, The Age and 9Podcasts will follow the court case as it unfolds. The Missing Campers Trial is the first podcast to follow a jury trial in real time in Victoria. It’s presented by Nine reporter Penelope Liersch and Age reporter Erin Pearson.