How hero detective Sergeant Brett Florence worked case of missing secret lover ... trends now
Detectiveswill return to the rugged wilderness where two elderly campers were allegedly shot, stabbed and left to the unforgiving environment.
The search is the last entry on what has been a long 'to do' list for one of Victoria Police's most experienced cops.
Detective acting-Sergeant Brett Florence on Wednesday revealed there was unfinished business in the harsh bush terrain where the fractured remains of secret lover campers Russell Hill, 74, and Carol Clay, 73, were found.
Former Jetstar pilot Greg Lynn, 56, was on Wednesday committed to stand trial over the couple's alleged murder in the Victorian High Country in March 2020.
Detective Sergeant Brett Florence will take a short break before returning to finish what he began in April 2020
Former Jetstar pilot Greg Lynn has pleaded not guilty to killing the secret lover campers
Police allege Greg Lynn shot dead Carl Clay (left) before stabbing to death Russell Hill (right)
Covid restrictions and harsh weather conditions meant police left the mountains before they were satisfied all they could do had been done in the homicide investigations.
For 20 long months the disappearance of the campers captivated the Australian public while behind the scenes police worked to track down the suspected killer.
Outside courtroom 12 in the Melbourne Magistrates' Court on Wednesday, a candid Brett Florence told Daily Mail Australia he was looking forward to taking a break after the day's proceedings.
The Missing Person's Squad detective had been working the case from the moment it landed on his desk in April 2020 - just weeks after the lovers vanished.
'I'm taking two weeks off to build my race car,' he said. 'That's what I love to do.'
The strain of the investigation was evident across his face, but it's not as if this was the detective's first big job.
Sergeant Florence has been a police officer working the mean streets of Melbourne for 35 years.
In just a few moments time, the detective would be forced again to enter the witness box where just days earlier he had been under siege by Lynn's barrister Dermot Dann, KC.
Mr Dann is regarded as one of Australia's best criminal barristers and has been defending accused crooks for almost as long as Sergeant Florence has been locking them up.
The KC has represented everyone from 'Australia's most hated man' Richard Pusey to wife killer Borce Ristevski.
He even managed to get Katia Pyliotis's conviction for the brutal murder of a lonely widower, which earned her 19 years in jail, quashed on appeal.
Mr Dann repeatedly questioned Sergeant Florence about whether he and his colleague, Senior Constable Daniel Passingham, had followed the rule book when it came to interviewing his client in November 2021.
Victoria Police and forensic teams search for the remains of Russell Hill and Carol Clay in bushland north of Dargo on November 30, 2021. They are expected to return again over the coming weeks
Detective acting-Sergeant Brett Florence was deployed to the crime scene (pictured) weeks after the campers went missing after police initially believed they had just got lost
Detective acting-Sergeant Brett Florence (left) and Senior Constable Daniel Passingham (right) leave court after being grilled by Greg Lynn's barrister
Lynn's barrister Dermot Dann, KC (pictured on Wednesday) lugs a suitcase out of court stuffed with folders of information on the case
The contents of Lynn's nine-hour and 18-minute interview - conducted over a four day period by the two detectives - cannot be revealed due to a court-imposed gag order.
But what can be published is that both of the officers were pressed about their knowledge of the law - particularly an accused man's right to silence.
Special Operations Group officers had descended from the sky to arrest Lynn, who was armed with a rifle, after police got spooked he may have been on his way into the bush to kill himself.
The court heard Lynn was not provided access to a lawyer until the next day when he spoke to a female solicitor for an hour and a quarter. He carried out his police interview without her.
Under siege by Lynn's barrister, Sergeant Florence repeated time and time again he had done nothing but seek the truth from Lynn.
It was something he repeated again outside court on Wednesday.
The fact Sergeant Florence and Senior Constable Passingham were able to locate the remains of the campers at all was a significant achievement.
Sergeant Florence and his team wanted to spare the families of Mr Hill and Ms Clay the agony of a loved one gone missing.
An intense legal stoush over the admissibility of Lynn's record of interview will kick off on February 9, allowing Sergeant Florence just two short weeks to recharge his batteries before being tossed back into the fray.
Before a Supreme Court
