Australia Samantha Murphy, 51, last seen leaving her property to go for a run in the Canadian State Forest, Ballarat 100km NW of Melbourne, 4 Feb 2024 #6

[Angeline]

I don't know what evidence the police had prior to the accused being charged, but it wouldn't have been from 4WD or places he lived ( ie DNA ) , as they would have needed a warrant to search it & that surely would have tipped PS off IMO

Good point. Police were so secretive in their investigations they weren't even allowed to talk about it outside of a small group, to avoid any chance of alerting the accused.

 

[Dr Samoht]

<modsnip: quoted post was removed>

Exactly. I was going to ask, had anyone even heard of him before now?

Yes , he was a well respected ruckman playing for Redan( central suburb of Ballarat) in 2003 when I first was aware of him, Redan a team in the Ballarat Football League .
Think they won the premiership that year .
Orren moved on soon after to play for North Ballarat , a few years later my younger son ( also a ruckman ) played at Redan and on occasion had mentoring contact with him . In my opinion Orren was an excellent player , went on to the next level AFL but this was in the twilight of his physical prowess.

 

[Angeline]

This narrative of a ‘popular guy…immersed in …top tier football’, as though that precludes an individual from possibly being violent is so frustrating.

Being involved with top-tier football makes me think a guy is MORE likely to be violent, IMO... (and more likely to get away with it.)

The Australian media keeps treating them like role models, but it seems to me that a lot of them are unsavoury characters.

 

[drsleuth]

Being involved with top-tier football makes me think a guy is MORE likely to be violent, IMO... (and more likely to get away with it.)

The Australian media keeps treating them like role models, but it seems to me that a lot of them are unsavoury characters.

I agree & the media fuel their ego IMO, which gives them the sense of entitlement IMO

I don't really care who you are, but a sure to care about the crimes they commit!

 

[nightpaw]

bbm
If PS heard THIS ^^ said about his father more often, his privilege (being his son) didn't feel like a privilege, rather to the opposite. Could be a massive problem, he had/has to live with, and it could have made him ashamed and aggressive over the years. IMO
It's no excuse for fights or even a fatal attack on someone, of course.

His father Orren was drafted much later in age than all the other players 29 or 30 I think. He achieved this with having 3 kids and a wife. Perhaps he didn’t end up playing a huge amount of games but in itself that is quite an achievement to reach that level under those circumstances. Most people achieve this from a very young fit condition with nothing else to think about other than dedicating their time and energy to their development.

 

[drsleuth]

https://www.news.com.au/national/victoria/crime/volunteer-ground-crew-continue-to-help-victoria-police-in-search-for-samantha-murphys-body/news-story/eb825eb20563ff4a902d40a2b1d1933d

Volunteer Ground Crew continue to help Victoria Police in search for Samantha Murphy’s body​

Volunteers are not giving up hope in finding the body of allegedly murdered Samantha Murphy in bushland

 

[drsleuth]

His father Orren was drafted much later in age than all the other players 29 or 30 I think. He achieved this with having 3 kids and a wife. Perhaps he didn’t end up playing a huge amount of games but in itself that is quite an achievement to reach that level under those circumstances. Most people achieve this from a very young fit condition with nothing else to think about other than dedicating their time and energy to their development.

I really don't see what his father's achievements have to do with Sam's alleged murder IMHO

 

[Dotta]

bbm
If PS heard THIS ^^ said about his father more often, his privilege (being his son) didn't feel like a privilege, rather to the opposite. Could be a massive problem, he had/has to live with, and it could have made him ashamed and aggressive over the years. IMO
It's no excuse for fights or even a fatal attack on someone, of course.

IMO
Dad's sports celebrity status has been ridiculously hyped up.
I think he was appreciated locally as a player but that's it!!!

I honestly don't think it influenced his son one way or the other.

JMO

 

[SouthAussie]

I really don't see what his father's achievements have to do with Sam's alleged murder IMHO

I think that I was only looking at it from what the accused's expectations of himself might be, career-wise.
And if there was any deep level of disappointment/resentment/rejection/entitlement due to that.

Not that we can possibly make any sense out of a senseless alleged murder, as much as we try sometimes.

imo

 

[nightpaw]

IMO
Dad's sports celebrity status has been ridiculously hyped up.
I think he was appreciated locally as player but that's it!!!

I honestly don't think it influenced his son one way or the other.

JMO

I’m not sure but I guess an alleged “deliberate attack” of this nature all childhood experiences will be taken into account in profiling?? Perhaps being at a young age from a quieter country town and then all of a sudden dad is playing in stadiums in front of thousands of people might affect the psyche ?

 

[Voluspa]

I think that I was only looking at it from what the accused's expectations of himself might be, career-wise.
And if there was any deep level of disappointment/resentment/rejection/entitlement due to that.

Not that we can possibly make any sense out of a senseless alleged murder, as much as we try sometimes.

imo

I agree. We have no idea what their relationship was like... How pushy was his father with the sport? Expectations?

We can see he was following in his father's footsteps in terms of sport (footy) and career (electrician).

None of this is excusable for what he has done, it's more about considering the accumulation of traits that has led up to this behaviour. Sense of entitlement, expectations, resentment, rebellion etc imo

 

[Dotta]

I’m not sure but I guess an alleged “deliberate attack” of this nature all childhood experiences will be taken into account in profiling?? Perhaps being at a young age from a quieter country town and then all of a sudden dad is playing in stadiums in front of thousands of people might affect the psyche ?

I think a person who allegedly attacked Samantha is probably a psychopath and/or sexual deviant.

Sure, all childhood experiences count into forming a person's personality.

JMO

 

[BreakingNews]

Parents will go to all sorts of lengths to look after their children's interests.

I refer you to the Australian Murder Trial of Warriena Wright from about a decade ago, with the accused changing legal council 3 times, before being found Not Guilty of murder nor manslaughter.

From memory, the accused was working for the fathers business, but I'd say the family paid all the costs.

Balcony accused Tostee's new lawyer

The man accused of the murder of Lower Hutt woman Warriena Wright has appeared in court today with a new lawyer.

www.nzherald.co.nz

Today was also the first time Tostee appeared in court with his new lawyer, Nick Dore, from Fisher Dore Lawyers, the Gold Coast Bulletin reported.

Mr Dore was Tostee's third lawyer, having previously split from high-profile Gold Coast law firm Potts Lawyers, and Terry O'Gorman from the Robertson O'Gorman firm.

In November last year Tostee was granted bail at the Supreme Court in Brisbane, but was ordered to obey strict bail conditions that prevented him from using the dating app Tinder and drinking or partying into the small hours of the night.

His parents also paid a A$200,000 ($220,000) surety to ensure Tostee would not abscond.

I was personally involved after the fact in GT case. He was cleared of the charges. Entirely different from Samantha's murder. Tostee had numerous other offences and had been banned from the Surfers precinct. Pest was what the police called him
Parents fully aware of what he did. He did not live with them. Parents not well known, except for continually bailing him out.
With PS there appears no other arrests, nor trouble. He played footy. He had a trade. He had a steady girlfriend, he lived at home. Tostee's claim to fame was to attempt eating the most hot dogs in one sit.

 

[BreakingNews]

Good point. Police were so secretive in their investigations they weren't even allowed to talk about it outside of a small group, to avoid any chance of alerting the accused.

However after PS arrest, police got many search warrants to search houses, cars etc. might just put icing on the cake for all the phone/watch and one helpful member of the public.

 

[nightpaw]

Good point. Police were so secretive in their investigations they weren't even allowed to talk about it outside of a small group, to avoid any chance of alerting the accused.

How did they have a 24/7 tail on him for 2 weeks without quite few knowing. Also just a curiosity in a small town where everyone is on edge how do police watch someone unnoticed? Or is my image of unmarked surveillance vans parked in the street severely outdated ?

 

[SouthAussie]

How did they have a 24/7 tail on him for 2 weeks without quite few knowing. Also just a curiosity in a small town where everyone is on edge how do police watch someone unnoticed? Or is my image of unmarked surveillance vans parked in the street severely outdated ?

Police commonly use vehicle tracking devices and listening devices in covert operations.

eg: Borce Ristevski found the vehicle tracking device the police had snuck onto his vehicle, and (presumably) ripped it off. It was gone.

imo

 

[Awakening]

apologies if this has already been said but does anyone think perhaps he isn't saying where the body is because he doesn't know where the body is? as in, if someone else helped him to dispose of the body then perhaps he really cannot say

It’s a possibility but I think it’s more likely one of these:

1. Telling them where the body is will be admitting to murder and he maintains his innocence

2. He doesn’t want the body found as that will reveal what he has done to her

 

[HoneyBunOne]

Almost one hundred women have gathered to complete the Sunday run that Samantha Murphy didn’t get to finish.

“I arrived and there was a handful of people... then the cars just started piling in,” she told 7NEWS.

The group stood for a minute silence before heading off on a 7km run around Ocean Grove at 5.30am on Sunday.

“I’ve got goosebumps talking about it now, it was the most heartfelt morning you could imagine ... there was lots of hugging ... there were lots of tears,” Ryan said.

Community gathers to finish run for Ballarat mother Samantha Murphy

There are several runs being planned like this I believe, one is in my local town. The hashtags #runforSmanatha and #finishSamanthasrun are trending too. I'd love to see an annual 14km run in her honour, with the proceeds going to whatever charity her family chooses. Perhaps a charity that is working towards eradicating violence against women? It seems a fitting tribute to a woman who appeared to be a great person and community member.

 

[jjleroche]

I was just reading that the accused was popular.

View attachment 489705
The night before Samantha Murphy’s disappearance, her accused killer partied

Many threads ago, IIRC a Websleuther posted that they had known the alleged murderer throughout their schooldays, and certainly didn't have positive comments to make about him - quite the reverse.

IMO, perceptions of this person may depend on how well they knew him. During my schooldays, the sports stars were huge heroes (particularly if they belonged to one's "house") - worshipped from afar. Everyone knew who they were, but not all that many interacted with them on a daily basis.

Anyway, I'm searching for that post now, but if the poster, or anyone else can point me in the right direction that'd be great! TIA

 

[Choices]

Being involved with top-tier football makes me think a guy is MORE likely to be violent, IMO... (and more likely to get away with it.)

The Australian media keeps treating them like role models, but it seems to me that a lot of them are unsavoury characters.

I guess there's a certain arrogance that they're untouchable but I think they are more pumped being in a group situation. Where multiple individuals are engaged in behaviours, like the drug taking, or as often happens if we think of general bullying, its a type of tribal bonding but of the destructive/insidious type, IMO.
Might there be an extreme need to stand out for PS if only to himself, as the only one of the group whose family member, his father, I presume is a somewhat revered sporting identity in their community. Him being the only son, did he perceive pressure. Very much speculation. Not enough is known about him or the circumstances of the murder charge, I feel.