Grisly twist in case of secret lovers who disappeared on a camping trip as it is revealed they were BURNED after being killed - as new details emerge about the Jetstar pilot accused of murder
- Remains of missing campers and lovers allegedly burned after their deaths
- Human remains found in search for missing campers Russell Hill and Carol Clay
- The remains have not yet been formally identified and are being DNA tested
- Personal belongings were found nearby including jewellery and dentures
- Detectives had been searching area of bushland for days after laying charges
- Gregory Lynn, 55, was arrested and charged with murders of the campers
The Jetstar pilot charged with murdering missing lovers Russell Hill and Carol Clay allegedly burned their bodies in an attempt to destroy their remains.
Gregory Lynn, 55, allegedly murdered the pair while they were camping at a remote site in Wonnangatta Valley in the Victorian Alps on March 20, 2020.
Police allege Lynn lit a fire in bushland near Arbuckle Junction before attempting to incinerate their remains and burying their bodies, Herald Sun reported.
Detectives discovered a burial ground close to the site of the fire on November 30.
The shallow grave was found near the Union Spur Track, about 30 kilometres from the campsite.
Detectives have yet to determine if the remains belong to missing lovers Mr Hill and Mrs Clay.
Lynn has been charged over the murders of the two campers and will face court on May 31, 2022.
Gregory Lynn, 55, allegedly murdered the pair while they were camping at a remote site in Wonnangatta Valley in the Victorian Alps on March 20, 2020
Police allege Lynn lit a fire in bushland near Arbuckle Junction before trying to incinerate their remains and burying their bodies (pictured, Russell Hill)
Detectives discovered a burial ground close to the site of the fire on November 30 (pictured, Mrs Clay)
Police are still hunting for vital evidence including a trailer that was allegedly used to transport the remains of Mr Hill and Mrs Clay from the campsite to the burial ground.
They have employed the help of one of the state's top forensic experts professor Soren Blau to help them examine evidence found at the crime scene.
Jewellery and a set of dentures found near the shallow grave are among the objects being examined.
They could also be crucial in proving they belong to the missing elderly campers.
Bone fragments will also be forensically examined in the expectation the couple have finally been found.
Police had descended on the precise location three days after Mr Lynn's arrest, who spent four days in custody before being charged.
Police warned it would take 'quite some time' to determine if the remains are in fact those of Ms Clay, 73, and Mr Hill, 74.
While fingerprints and dental records of the bodies could reveal their identities within minutes, it is understood detectives will need to rely on DNA samples due to the devastating toll of the harsh environment on their bodies.
The terrain is deemed some of the harshest on the planet, with predators including wild dogs roaming the wilderness.
Early reports suggest the remains were found in what appeared to be a shallow grave.
Russell Hill (pictured, right) and Carol Clay (left) are alleged to have been murdered during a camping trip in March 2020
DNA testing on recently deceased corpses can take a matter of hours, but analysis on older bodies becomes more complex, particularly if all that remains are bones.
Experts in the field of forensic science claim techniques are constantly changing as new methods become available and validated, but the extraction of DNA from bone material remains for now a time-consuming and laborious process.
Bones need to be cleaned and powdered to enhance access of extraction chemicals.
The extraction procedure itself may take several hours or days depending on the condition of the test sample.
Footage of the search showed plain clothes officers sifting through dirt by hand as an excavator worked ahead turning the soil over and digging up the packed ground
Greg Lynn is seen with his wife Melanie - who is a flight attendant with Jetstar - with the pair meeting through work
Human remains have been found in the search for missing campers Russell Hill and Carol Clay
Victoria Police also have the added burden of a forensic team still struggling to catch-up with a backlog of analysis brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Six hard lockdowns have seen routine forensic examinations pushed back for months on end, with some court cases being delayed for years.
Despite the backlog, the remains are expected to jump the queue in the hope of finally providing the families of Mr Hill and Ms Clay the opportunity to give them a proper burial.
Forensic experts made the grisly find off a remote track north of Dargo in the state's east within dense bushland often frequented by deer hunters
Mystery remains, for now, over what else police have found at the burial site.
While police were keen to use the media to catch the alleged killer, it now refuses to answer basic questions on the still active case.
On Monday, police refused to say if the alleged killer's trailer had yet been located, or whether Mr Hill's missing drone was found at the same location as the remains.
Despite having near GPS-quality information on the bush burial site, it still took expert officers days to extract the human remains.
Officers endured treacherous conditions in the search for the missing campers
On Monday, temperatures climbed into the 30s as plain clothes officers sifted through dirt by hand and an excavator dug up packed ground.
Detectives believe the bodies had been dumped in the area the very day they went missing on March 20 last year.
Over that period, the rugged terrain has endured two winters, with the area prone to rain, hail, sleet, snow, frost, strong winds, low temperatures and frequent blizzards, especially during winter and spring.
Many people who go missing in the Victorian Alps remain that way.
Detectives are hopeful they'll finally be able to provide some sense of closure to Mr Hill and Ms Clay's grieving families
Barwon prison boss David Prideaux was 50 when the experienced hunter went on a trip with his brother-in-law in Victoria's rugged Alpine National Park and simply vanished.
More than 100 police, search and rescue officers, State Emergency Service and volunteers from the Bush Search and Rescue had descended on the area at first light.
To this day, his remains have not been accounted for.
Former Victorian Water Minister Tim Holding, who fell off Mount Feathertop while attempting a solo hike back in 2009, was only found due to good luck and better contacts.
Footage of the search showed plain clothes officers sifting through dirt by hand as an excavator worked ahead turning the soil over and digging up the packed ground
A breakthrough in the missing campers case came just last week when police arrested Lynn in the bush on November 22.
They seized the Caroline Springs man's Nissan Patrol after tracking his movements and flying into remote bushland by helicopter.
A trailer being towed by an off-road vehicle - also captured on CCTV the night the secret lovers vanished, remains missing.
The charred remains of the couples' tent were found by fellow campers a day after they vanished
Human remains have been found in the search for the 'secret lover' missing campers Russell Hill and Carol Clay in Victoria's Gippsland region
For 20 months police have been investigating what happened to the two missing campers
Police believe it was likely sold on Gumtree.
A subsequent search of his home did not uncover the trailer, which police claimed last week could be the final piece of the puzzle.
Lynn was stood down from his job as a Jetstar pilot after his arrest.
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