Australia Samantha Murphy, 51, last seen leaving her property to go for a run in the Canadian State Forest, Ballarat, 4 Feb 2024 *Arrest* #10

[Kittypoo]

At a glance, it kind of looks like a medium/large socket or tourqe wrench

View attachment 506900View attachment 506902

Seems very odd to me these wrench/spanners are found when the victim and her husband ran a business in the motor trade

 

[Shortfusepsb]

Seems very odd to me these wrench/spanners are found when the victim and her husband ran a business in the motor trade

Pretty common item for any bloke to have in his ute.

 

[Whatson]

Seems very odd to me these wrench/spanners are found when the victim and her husband ran a business in the motor trade

Well, it's just a guess. No guarantee that's what the object is. Could be anything. A tire iron or wheel nut remover perhaps. If we are to assume it's a weapon, it could be something of the sort that was readily at hand in the back of the accuseds vehicle/toolbox.

 

[Cliff Hardy]

Someone mentioned in the previous thread, before it got shifted here to #10, about the possibility of the police inserting someone into the remand centre to see what they could find out from Stephenson. That's a tried and true strategy and I reckon you could just about bet that has taken place. Hope they managed to get something out of him.

 

[Whatson]

IMO it’s an adjustable spanner / wrench / shifter , you can just make out the slotted end of the worm drive .
If so it might well be not related to the perp but be possibly a farmers lost tool recognising the proximity to the water pumping station close by.

Can you highlight the worm drive you speak of?

 

[JLZ]

Well, it's just a guess. No guarantee that's what the object is. Could be anything. A tire iron or wheel nut remover perhaps. If we are to assume it's a weapon, it could be something of the sort that was readily at hand in the back of the accuseds vehicle/toolbox.

Or police equipment. Perhaps has been used in the water and is being plastic-bagged so it doesn't wet the other satchel contents.

 

[iamshadow21]

Seems very odd to me these wrench/spanners are found when the victim and her husband ran a business in the motor trade

I had a socket set and wrench in my boot for many, many years, bought when I first bought my first car, on the advice of a friend, so that I'd have tools that could be used on my car in an emergency. Never used them. Never killed anyone, either.

Not an uncommon tool for many people to have. Especially in a rural area, where NRMA Roadside might take forever to get to you.

Pretty common item for any bloke to have in his ute.

I had them, and I am not a bloke. I just drove an older car ('76 HX Premier) and having a set in the boot was something a more mechanically inclined friend said was a good idea. I think it cost me no more than $30.

MOO

 

[Shortfusepsb]

I had them, and I am not a bloke. I just drove an older car ('76 HX Premier) and having a set in the boot was something a more mechanically inclined friend said was a good idea. I think it cost me no more than $30.

MOO

Noted. Less common, but point taken.

 

[HoneyBunOne]

Seems very odd to me these wrench/spanners are found when the victim and her husband ran a business in the motor trade

Doesn't seem the least bit odd to me. It's a common tool that people have, especially in a tradie's work vehicle. I think it's mere coincidence, if indeed it turns out to be related to the alleged crime. Just imagine if it were the weapon used? The weapon AND the mobile phone could hopefully give some great leads that help tie up the case, and bring answers and justice for a life taken too soon.

 

[Whatson]

IMO it’s an adjustable spanner / wrench / shifter , you can just make out the slotted end of the worm drive .
If so it might well be not related to the perp but be possibly a farmers lost tool recognising the proximity to the water pumping station close by.

This seems plausible looking at the photo again. You can see a hole at the top end (A) and a join lower down (B).



This second photo is literally called Water Pump Pliers

 

[Sor Juana]

Samantha Murphy's husband breaks silence on latest find

The owner of the property, who wished to remain anonymous, said police contacted him about three weeks ago asking for permission to access his land.
The man said officers returned on Wednesday where they told him they were going to perform a line search along the road.
'A dog found something on the banks and they came up and asked me and my wife to make a statement,' he said.
The man said police were interested in the levels of his dam.
'I hasn't seen anything suspicious out there. We don't have cameras. But yeah I believe one of those tech dogs found it,' he said.

 

[browneyes]

Where are you Samantha?

 

[HoneyBunOne]

Not an uncommon tool for many people to have. Especially in a rural area, where NRMA Roadside might take forever to get to you.

NRMA will DEFINITELY take forever to get there, seeing as though they don't operate in Victoria. RACV might be a tad quicker.
Just a little light humour amongst Web Sleuthers.

 

[iamshadow21]

NRMA will DEFINITELY take forever to get there, seeing as though they don't operate in Victoria. RACV might be a tad quicker.
Just a little light humour amongst Web Sleuthers.

I did not know that! I learnt something today.

 

[Kittypoo]

I had a socket set and wrench in my boot for many, many years, bought when I first bought my first car, on the advice of a friend, so that I'd have tools that could be used on my car in an emergency. Never used them. Never killed anyone, either.

Not an uncommon tool for many people to have. Especially in a rural area, where NRMA Roadside might take forever to get to you.


I had them, and I am not a bloke. I just drove an older car ('76 HX Premier) and having a set in the boot was something a more mechanically inclined friend said was a good idea. I think it cost me no more than $30.

MOO

Ok but my point being that this particular tool ends up in the mud with a missing woman’s mobile phone not in anyone’s boot.

 

[iamshadow21]

Ok but my point being that this particular tool ends up in the mud with a missing woman’s mobile phone not in anyone’s boot.

Plenty of ways it could have nothing to do with it.

Possibility: The dam has a pump. Someone working on it one day drops the wrench into the water and can't reach or find it.

It absolutely could be connected to the case, but it also could just be a lost tool.

We have no idea whether the tool was near the phone or the other end of the dam buried under six inches of silt. We don't even know if it is a wrench at all.

MOO

 

[ZombieKittie]

I think it must have been something like that, otherwise they would have searched there before. Plus it was found just above the waterline. Phones are made to be super-waterproof now. Also, the latest versions have more than just cell service - there's also bluetooth that connects to other nearby devices, and uses those devices to track location on a 'find my device' app, even after a phone's been turned off.

JMO

If the phone had battery when it went under the water it would have just kept running until the battery died with water slowly seeping into the phone. This is info I got from a friend who is a phone tech while we were talking about this case.
MOO

 

[JLZ]

IMO - Amazing how perceptions can be so different. This screams unplanned & a frantic tossing of evidence to me.

What would be the wise approach? I suppose separate the SIM card from the phone.

 

[TootsieFootsie]

If the phone was switched off would it still keep running and using the battery.
I remember an old phone of mine that I kept as a backup.

I turned it off and when I went to use it months later it still had full charge.

Though it was not a smartphone, they weren't around yet.
So perhaps smartphones don't work the same way.

 

[ProfCluezo]

This is my thought. I also think it has taken some time to trace his movements as he was also working as an electrician, so driving and stopping a lot, until he was arrested. I think there will be more searches. The phone might have been discarded long after the body, and in different places.

Agree phone and body may well be in different places but for me the question still remains as to why the alleged offender did not attempt to destroy or otherwise disable the phone. To throw it into a dam in its original case with cards etc seems utterly reckless when he could easily have smashed it to smithereens first (especially if he had tools in his disposal). So I still lean towards the idea that the phone was thrown in a state of panic, most likely on the day SM was murdered. JMO