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 #7

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Yes that reserve at the back of Scotsburn. But haven't they already searched that area? Perhaps intelligence has pinpointed a specific area. Perhaps they have located something attached to SM? Unsure at this stage.
 
New intelligence from 'number of sources' sparks search for Samantha Murphy's body

A tidbit of information from this article I haven't seen mentioned elsewhere yet (sorry if I missed it):

"Police are scouring thick bushland in Buninyong, about 11km from Ballarat, where Murphy was last seen leaving her home on the morning of February 4.

Police said the area being searched, which is littered with mineshafts and full of wildlife, had been highlighted by "intelligence derived from a number of sources"."
 
In all fairness, Prof.. every Barrister ever born claims his/her client's innocence due to various outside influences, the conjunction of the planets, the moon in Jupiter, some trauma in the far distant past, and so on.
Perhaps I am missing something here, Trooper, but, to me, “innocence” and “reduced culpability” are completely different issues. “Innocence” to me implies that someone has done nothing wrong, while “reduced culpability” implies that someone has done something objectively wrong but cannot be considered to be fully responsible for their actions.

If VICPOL do indeed have “solid gold” evidence as you suggest, re. the accused’s murderous actions, the only wriggle room would seem to be around issues of intent, culpability, mens rea….?

Could the accused have committed the alleged murder while sleepwalking (for example), as per. Lady Macbeth?

mens rea
noun
LAW
  1. the intention or knowledge of wrongdoing that constitutes part of a crime, as opposed to the action or conduct of the accused.
    "a mistaken belief in consent meant that the defendant lacked mens rea"

JMHO (just my humble opinion)
 
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(undeleted) If they are searching Buninyong Bushland Reserve (as opposed to the area the helicopter was circling 1km to the south-west)--I notice the reserve is either side of Webbs Hill Road, the other end of which received a lot of aerial attention some time back.
 
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There would be a lot of decomposition after 7 weeks. PS knows the longer it takes to find Sam then the harder it will be to prosecute for a premeditated murder charge IMO v manslaughter:

 
Perhaps I am missing something here, Trooper, but, to me, “innocence” and “reduced culpability” are completely different issues. “Innocence” to me implies that someone has done nothing wrong, while “reduced culpability” implies that someone has done something objectively wrong but cannot be considered to be fully responsible for their actions.

If VICPOL do indeed have “solid gold” evidence as you suggest, re. the accused’s murderous actions, the only wriggle room would seem to be around issues of intent, culpability, mens rea….?

Could the accused have committed the alleged murder while sleepwalking (for example), as per. Lady Macbeth?

mens rea
noun
LAW
  1. the intention or knowledge of wrongdoing that constitutes part of a crime, as opposed to the action or conduct of the accused.
    "a mistaken belief in consent meant that the defendant lacked mens rea"

JMHO (just my humble opinion)
I can only reiterate what the Police Commander stated, , that it was an 'attack'.. ( deliberate, calculated ) and that she was murdered. Murdered meaning, with intent to kill, intent to extinguish life, . Not assaulted, or accidentally killed, not a 'hit and run' car incident. .... but murdered.


I have no idea what his defence barrister will put up in court for some sort of mitigation. Truly, it could be anything. Heard voices, God told him, the tea leaves said so, I mean.. I don't know. It is hard to figure out any possible mitigating factor when a stranger kills another stranger. It's not as if there is background of annoyance, or belligerence. He was a stranger to her, she was a stranger to him. .. Motiveless, malicious, .... *shrug*..


We know that whoever did it knew it was wrong, because the body was hidden and the person did not come forward, when the hue and cry began. If they didn't know it was wrong , they would have said, ''oh. hey, I did it.... you're looking in the wrong place, it's over here.'.........
 
There would be a lot of decomposition after 7 weeks. PS knows the longer it takes to find Sam then the harder it will be to prosecute for a premeditated murder charge IMO v manslaughter:


They could still get more evidence from Sam's body now

Yes, the state of decomposition would be high, being outside in the elements, insects and animals, compared if she was concealed in something

But most times at this time frame from highly qualified police, there could be visual evidence present on how she died and possibly a sexual assault
 
Oh I like this one. Now Shakespeare.
“Intelligence” [double entendre] and great literature often go hand-in-hand, after all….

double entendre
noun
  1. a word or phrase that is open to two interpretations, one of which is usually risqué or indecent.
    "he was unable to get through two consecutive sentences without a smutty double entendre"
The “disappearance” of Samantha reminds me of a Greek Tragedy… albeit without any gods…
:(
 
They could still get more evidence from Sam's body now

Yes, the state of decomposition would be high, being outside in the elements, insects and animals, compared if she was concealed in something

But most times at this time frame from highly qualified police, there could be visual evidence present on how she died and possibly a sexual assault
Decomp will be high but they can tell bullet holes broken bones the can tell if strangled .once they find her ,her body will tell the story. That's my opinion jmoo
 
They could still get more evidence from Sam's body now

Yes, the state of decomposition would be high, being outside in the elements, insects and animals, compared if she was concealed in something

But most times at this time frame from highly qualified police, there could be visual evidence present on how she died and possibly a sexual assault

If sexual assault has occurred... How long does that evidence stay in/on a decomposing body?
 
I can only reiterate what the Police Commander stated, , that it was an 'attack'.. ( deliberate, calculated ) and that she was murdered. Murdered meaning, with intent to kill, intent to extinguish life, . Not assaulted, or accidentally killed, not a 'hit and run' car incident. .... but murdered.
I keep coming back to that too. I think LE knows with the level of scrutiny and interest in this case they’d have to be very careful with their language. So for them to say so emphatically that it was not a hit and run, it would strike me as a bit of a “gotcha” if they turned around and said “well, he did hit her with the car but didn’t run so technically not a hit and run.” I think if that was the case they would’ve responded to the hit and run question with a more neutral answer as they have done in other instances, or just given it a no comment. I just don’t really see them trying to play linguistic games or find little loopholes like that with this case.

That said, just looking at the facts I do feel that an accidental hit with the vehicle followed by perhaps a panicked attack just makes the most sense on its face, so I get why people are coming back to it. But for now I’m taking LE at their word.
 
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