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

[BreakingNews]

I would not describe Ballarat as a small town. It’s a large regional city.

You have Melbourne, then Geelong, then Ballarat.

It’s a mix of built up areas, suburbia, reserves, national parks, farms, bushland with a variety in the density of vegetation from mild to severe.

Where SM ran you can be deep in a forest but suburbs and major roads are meters away.

Population 117,000.

Comparison, my council area which is near the beach and considered outer suburbs has population of 160000.

Aside from being near a beach it’s a bit similar in that we have suburbs, industrial area, farms, acreages, national parks with varying degrees of vegetation.

I’m attaching photos of Ballarat to show how diverse it is. Some my own some I got off google.

And Ballarat used to be the manufacturing capital of Australia. Could always buy quality shoes and clothing from Ballarat.

 

[Awakening]

Reminds me of Pawel Relowicz who murdered Libby squire in the UK. Had an absolutely saintlike innocent baby face (and young wife and child) but a deep sexual perversion that you would never had guessed -but the police knew about.

I’ve being following true crime stuff for years and I know that killers rarely look like one, but I’m still blindsided at their ordinariness.

Occasionally someone looks terrifying, or mentally ill, or intimidating but mostly it’s a person that just blends in. You walk past similar people every day.

It still surprises me and terrifies me.

 

[Awakening]

This is totally different but gives you in idea of the sporting world and the pressure children can be under.

My granddaughter has been scouted for a well known football team in the UK. She is 9 years old

My boys played soccer and if you haven’t been identified by scouts by 10, you have little chance of making a career out of it. It can be very intense.

 

[Awakening]

I believe this new area of interest is where they think the alleged drove his vehicle afterwards. I would guess it's where they feel he may have disposed of her body.

Or possibly disposed of items belonging to her?

 

[fauhjdsh]

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

Power/control/ego.

 

[Dotta]

Power/control/ego.

Also...
(Alleged)
Cowardice of exposing his true self.
And what really happened to the victim.

JMO

 

[Oona]

I believe this new area of interest is where they think the alleged drove his vehicle afterwards. I would guess it's where they feel he may have disposed of her body.

Yes, I did a quick Google street view tour around those streets and it looks pretty industrial with lots of old sheds, wrecked car yards and some derelict looking properties.
I recall police were asking the public for reports of any damage to property and was wondering if the alleged perpetrator might have forced entry to a property in that area to hide evidence.
I imagine the area would be fairly quiet on a Sunday morning with businesses closed.

 

[Awakening]

Would be good to see footage from the last few weeks to see how regular he was in the area and his route in/out.

Yes, I’m very curious to know if he engaged in his normal routine, work, socialising etc.

I’ve attempted to come up with a timeline but I cannot vouch for it’s accuracy.

3/2 Reports/rumour the accused was at The Deck until 3am?

3/2 House sitting in Yendon no 2 road?

4/2 Eureka St 7am SM leaves home

4/2 Approx 7km away from SM’s home an incident is alleged to have occurred between SM and accused in Mt Clear at around 8.00am

4/2 5pm “last ping” at Buninyong tower?

5/2 Buninyong Search Area declared

21/2 Reported that Specialist units from Melbourne have been assigned to the case

6/3 Arrested at 6am at address?

7/3 Accused charged with murder

It was reported that police had him under surveillance for the fortnight prior to his arrest which imo means he was under surveillance from the 21/2 which is when police announced they had specialists coming to Ballarat to assist in the case.

I’m assuming Sunday he didn’t have to work. He is a 22 year old man who was rumoured to be house sitting with his girlfriend.

So from 8am (incident) to 5pm (phone ping) he really could have been free to go anywhere.

He could tell his parents he was with his girlfriend and his girlfriend he was with his parents.

Perhaps there was an argument with his girlfriend on the Saturday night?

And from Monday did he keep his normal schedule? We don’t know but the police will.

Please correct me on any errors or feel free to make any additions.

All of this is imo, as I do not know the facts of the case and I’m getting this timeline information from various media reports.

 

[Catspyjamas]

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

Exactly! It has no relevance.

 

[sm1980]

they're pretty low tech. simply strapped to a tree and motion detection recording to an SD card. a sizable sd card could store for months (potentially 6+) some have a solar panel for battery topup. batteries could conceivably last that period too.
unlikely that they'd require any special equipment or knowledge to access. knowing where they are is the key.
Rubbish dumping is in eppic proporportions up there. at least once a week there is a new dump of crap from some cretin.

Just further to this (hypothetical)...
If a trail cam caught some activity by PS in the location LE were searching on boak Rd, it might provide grounds for the charges / admission that he did something. It would explain the very specific location they were searching, as well as the confidence LE has that they have the right person and evidence to back it up.

 

[Tricia]

IMO - Feels really unfair to us Australians in the group, I’ve never seen this happen to a thread before.

Hi Karin1974,
In the past, we have closed threads overnight because members could not adhere to our rules. It is rare, but it does happen.
I understand the frustration since our overnights are prime time in Australia.
Without the moderators, Websleuths would not exist. It is rare that our mods ever complain about a discussion. They work their rear ends off, giving us their time to make sure Websleuths runs smoothly.
In all the years I have worked on Websleuths, I have never seen a thread go off track like Samatha's. Our mods were finally able to clean up the thread, but it took up so much time that the other discussion threads could not be properly moderated.
It is not the mods fault that I made the decision to close the thread. It was the members who refused to follow our rules.
However, we have discussed it and decided to try again to leave the thread open tonight.
The number 1 rule on Websleuths is "Don't Be A Jerk!"
Please do not name people who are not named in the media, and do not post addresses of people's homes. and use common sense.
I love Australia and its people. I really do. I've had the pleasure of visiting Australia and working with Australians all these years on Websleuths. Most of you are fantastic!
Thank you,
Tricia Griffith
Manager/Websleuths.com

 

[HoneyBunOne]

Yes, I did a quick Google street view tour around those streets and it looks pretty industrial with lots of old sheds, wrecked car yards and some derelict looking properties.
I recall police were asking the public for reports of any damage to property and was wondering if the alleged perpetrator might have forced entry to a property in that area to hide evidence.
I imagine the area would be fairly quiet on a Sunday morning with businesses closed.

I haven't looked extensively into this area, but I do believe it leads to more forest areas. I do think there's a storage shed business there too, but I doubt that would turn out to be of relevance. Seems like a rookie place to leave evidence. I'd be more concerned about footage around the forest entry points.

 

[ProfCluezo]

Some thoughts in relation to possible police evidence that may have been gathered in relation to the alleged offender… I am curious to know about what searches the alleged offender may have conducted on the internet, before and after the alleged murder? Presumably police have access to this info? I imagine it may provide the most insights we are likely to get Re the accused’s thought processes and state of mind. It is possible that certain searches may demonstrate a clear intention to murder, and this information may constitute a part of the police evidence for alleged murder? All speculatory of course, JMO…

 

[nightpaw]

Exactly! It has no relevance.

Psychoanalysis in its entirety would heavily disagree!

 

[nightpaw]

Exactly! It has no relevance.

His parents became parents at a very young age then had 3 kids by 21, not outrageous but mostly uncommon in this era. Who knows if that could have an effect of resentment or being held back if his father really wanted that afl career? From what has been reported He is alleged to have murdered (in a deliberate attack) a person that has quite similar qualities to his own mother similar age range, 3 kids, shoulder length blonde hair. He played afl football just like his father and was an electrician just like his father. I’m pretty sure there are a lot of factors here in childhood that are poignant in regards to understanding the narrative of motive if this was as suggested a deliberate attack. Could also be something else completely random and unrelated but in trying to understand and figure out a mindset I definitely think things that have been heightened events in life are all connected and considered? Jmo

 

[Awakening]

In terms of where the accused might have put the body, anyone want to hazard a guess?

In my mind is the categorisation of killers: organised and disorganised and wonder what the accused might be and what this would mean for disposal of a body?

 

[Angeline]

In terms of where the accused might have put the body, anyone want to hazard a guess?

In my mind is the categorisation of killers: organised and disorganised and wonder what the accused might be and what this would mean for disposal of a body?

I'm really hoping not a mineshaft. If so, how would police figure it out? Could they put a camera down there? Some sort of imaging equipment? They could scan the depths of the ocean searching for MH370, hopefully there's a technology for this sort of search.

If the body was transported by car, hopefully police can work out the location from CCTV and road cameras capturing the number plate.

 

[nao]

Moo..he probably knows the area and surroundings very well. If you are raised in a rural area, exploring is a common pastime. The area has probably a lot more built up than when he was young. The exploring places get built on. I would guess body is on some private farm or large property. Less chance of body being found if it is away from public trails....moo

 

[Dotta]

It must be a place the alleged perp knows very well.

Considering he was brought up next door to this park/forest/bushland,
I feel certain the accused knows this area as well as any kid knows his/her local "playground".

JMO

 

[Marie A]

I live on the edge of the Canadian Forrest, about 30sec from the accused parents house. While I don't have any direct information / knowledge of anyone inbolved, I do have a fair bit of knowledge about the boak road area and the site LE were searching a few weeks back. I actually rode my bike with the dog past through the search site around lunchtime on the day SM went missing. A sobering thought
Happy to comment on specifics if it helps.
One thing that should be noted is thar boak road is not a shortcut at all, while it can be driven, it's very rutted in places and has large potholes. Make speed would be 20-30 km/hr in places.
Going from Mt Clear to Scotsburn via that route would take 2x longer than via recreation Rd / boundary road. If the search site on boak road is where it all happened, it was not by chance during a shortcut (IMO)
Something else to note, there has been a significant problem with rubbish dumping in the area for the past 12mths. To the point where parks Vic / LGov have placed trail cameras throughout the area in order to catch dumpers. I'd put good money that they caught some footage (being placed to do exactly that, catch numberplates / car descriptions)

Thanks for this wonderful information. Very helpful!