6:00

episodes will be going through the case

6:02

in detail, talking about the

6:04

police investigation that spanned years, what

6:07

led up to this trial in the Supreme

6:09

Court, things the jury didn't

6:11

know, and ultimately, the two

6:13

verdicts that have been delivered today.

6:15

As Erin mentioned, police began investigating

6:17

more than four years ago what

6:19

was then the disappearance of Russell

6:22

Hill and Carol Clay, who

6:24

seemed to have vanished from their campsite

6:27

after heading on a trip into the Wanangatta

6:29

Valley. Today is another chapter

6:31

for the detectives who have investigated for

6:33

years. There have

6:35

been so many people involved in this

6:37

case and the court processes in the

6:39

lead up to these verdicts being delivered.

6:42

But ultimately, it's the

6:44

families of Russell Hill and Carol

6:46

Clay. We'd like to end

6:49

this episode with the words of Victoria

6:51

Police and, most

6:53

importantly, Russell Hill and

6:55

Carol Clay's families. This

6:57

statement comes from Assistant Commissioner

7:00

Martin O'Brien from Victoria Police's

7:02

Crime Command. Victoria

7:04

Police acknowledges the decision of the

7:06

jury today. Our thoughts

7:08

are with the Hill and Clay families at

7:11

this time, and we acknowledge how difficult these

7:13

past four years have been for them. Their

7:16

courage and resilience in the face of their

7:18

grief amidst enormous public

7:20

attention has been nothing short

7:22

of extraordinary. We

7:24

will continue to support them in every

7:27

way possible following this decision. We

7:29

would also like to acknowledge the

7:32

determination and perseverance of missing persons

7:34

squad detectives over the

7:36

course of this exhaustive and complex

7:38

investigation, as well as

7:40

the significant support received from a

7:42

number of specialist areas and local

7:44

police from right across Victoria

7:46

Police. And

7:49

this is a statement on behalf of

7:51

Russell Hill and Carol Clay's families. It's

7:54

been written by them. Russell

7:56

Hill and Carol Clay's families are

7:58

both relieved. and devastated at

8:01

the verdicts in the trial of Gregory

8:03

Lynn for the murder of Russell Hill

8:05

and Carol Clay delivered today. The

8:09

jury have only decided murder in one

8:11

case, that of Carol Clay.

8:14

The verdict of guilty was the only

8:16

charge. The possibility of a

8:18

verdict of manslaughter was ruled out.

8:21

We thank the jury for their verdict of

8:23

guilty in the murder of Carol Clay. It

8:26

was an extremely difficult task, given

8:28

the accused destroyed so much evidence.

8:31

The verdict of not guilty in relation to the

8:34

murder of Russell Hill is

8:36

devastating. There was not

8:38

enough evidence to be sure of how he

8:40

died. Our families were

8:42

always aware that the prosecutor had

8:44

an enormous burden of proof as

8:46

there were no eyewitnesses. The

8:49

accused was the only person who

8:51

saw and experienced what happened. He

8:53

was also the only person who emerged

8:55

alive. We thank the

8:58

Crown prosecutors wholeheartedly for their

9:00

diligent effort in presenting the pretrial and

9:02

the trial. They had an

9:04

enormous job putting a case together with

9:06

limited evidence. They fought hard

9:08

to keep all their evidence allowed in

9:10

court so the jury could make an

9:12

informed decision, but this was not the

9:14

case. We also thank the

9:17

Victoria Police Missing Persons Squad, particularly

9:19

Detective Inspector Andrew Stamper and

9:21

Sergeant Brett Florence for

9:23

their tireless investigative work over four

9:26

and a half years. They

9:28

have gone above and beyond in

9:30

their duties to solve this case,

9:32

and we sincerely thank them for

9:34

their time, effort, persistence, care, and

9:36

professionalism to bring us answers. For

9:39

the wider Victoria Police involvement, thank

9:41

you. We appreciate the efforts

9:44

of you all and are extremely grateful

9:46

for your expertise, your hard work, and

9:48

support. Plus, we thank

9:50

all the wonderful volunteers who spent weeks

9:52

searching for our loved ones. Finally,

9:56

Carol Clay and Russell Hills families would

9:58

like to thank all our... our friends

10:00

and family who have given their support

10:03

throughout this harrowing experience over

10:05

the last four years. We

10:07

are heartbroken at the loss of our loved ones.

10:10

It will take time to absorb the

10:12

verdicts, put this behind us and

10:14

set about healing and getting on with our

10:16

lives. Thank

10:20

you for listening to this episode of

10:22

the Missing Campus Trial. We'll be back

10:24

with more on the verdict, the case

10:27

and the investigation very soon. For more

10:29

information on this trial search the age

10:31

and 9 news in your browser or

10:33

app store. We'd like to acknowledge

10:36

the traditional owners of the land that this

10:38

podcast was recorded on and

10:40

wherever you're listening to it now.

10:42

The Missing Campus Trial is hosted

10:44

by me Penelope Leish and Erin

10:46

Pearson. This podcast is

10:48

produced by Hannah Sterling and Alistair Mulligan.

10:51

The executive producer is Del Fordham.

11:00

you