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

[BreakingNews]

I tend to agree.

What do you make out of LE hugging and high fiving at the dam?!

Are we missing something significant here? Or are they just happy to find the phone.

The police have finally found some material evidence of Mrs Murphy, post her leaving home. I would think that is cause for celebration for the searchers.

 

[BreakingNews]

I agree. I think he got rid of Sam’s body immediately and near by. Mine shaft or water is my guess and leaning more towards water. Water would hasten decomposition and reduce the smell wouldn’t it?
But why would you risk creating a decoy? Wouldn’t it be smarter to completely de-identify, destroy and separately bury the cards, phone and wallet?
He is so silent and keeping a really low profile on all other fronts so it doesn’t seem congruent at all that he’d risk attention with a decoy that is quite oddly intact once retrieved.
JMO

I doubt that the alleged killer was thinking rational after the night he allegedly had. Once rid of Mrs Murphy's body, I believed he simply ditched the phone in the dam with no thought of seperating the Sim/cards etc. Actions of previous drug and alcohol taking, do not indicate a rational or organised person.

 

[Sor Juana]

It’s an older model … image is in this article …

Does it look more like a Hilux N70 to you? Visually, it resembles the N70 a lot, but I'm not sure. If there are any car experts here, they might be able to confirm.

 

[Scooby-Doo]

I agree. I think he got rid of Sam’s body immediately and near by. Mine shaft or water is my guess and leaning more towards water. Water would hasten decomposition and reduce the smell wouldn’t it?
But why would you risk creating a decoy? Wouldn’t it be smarter to completely de-identify, destroy and separately bury the cards, phone and wallet?
He is so silent and keeping a really low profile on all other fronts so it doesn’t seem congruent at all that he’d risk attention with a decoy that is quite oddly intact once retrieved.
JMO

When the results come back on how long her phone has been in the dam will be interesting. The important piece of evidence the police need, is to connect the accused murderer to the phone and dam. If they can't, someone else has done it and is involved. The police have not even confirmed or denied the 5pm ping. The police are keeping very quiet on that front

 

[Rocket333]

I doubt that the alleged killer was thinking rational after the night he allegedly had. Once rid of Mrs Murphy's body, I believed he simply ditched the phone in the dam with no thought of seperating the Sim/cards etc. Actions of previous drug and alcohol taking, do not indicate a rational or organised person.

There’s a lot of comments about the accused’s drug & alcohol habits and that he had a big night before the crime. Is there any solid evidence that he’s more than a recreational user or social drinker and that he definitely would’ve been inebriated on the day of the murder, or is this, plus the “he goes on big benders” just wishful thinking or fun folklore, or hearsay and conjecture?

 

[SLouTh]

There’s a lot of comments about the accused’s drug & alcohol habits and that he had a big night before the crime. Is there any solid evidence that he’s more than a recreational user or social drinker and that he definitely would’ve been inebriated on the day of the murder, or is this, plus the “he goes on big benders” just wishful thinking or fun folklore, or hearsay and conjecture?

BBM

The evidence is back in the earlier threads … including video evidence of the accused using cocaine …. Police have tracked his movements the night before, at various bars .

IMO

 

[BGirl88]

Thanks team.
I’m so relieved that her phone has been found, not only some positive news for her family, but also for the investigations group to finally see some fruits of their exhaustive labours.

I tend to think her body may be much Closed to the actual crime scene, as imo it would be a huge risk to drive around in broad daylight with a dead body in the car, to then dispose of. .. IF the only ping was at 5 pm ( and it very well could be because I think Mick said that her phone was Off in the morning when he tried to call her) then I think it was a deliberate decoy.

Unless he left the car & body parked in a garage somewhere, and went out again later to do the disposal at night. … tossing the phone in the dam on the way, and then going faaar away with the body.

I think the police would know of his movements that day & night from g/f etc as they were living together.

All just my thoughts

Perhaps parked the car at one of the Elwood Street properties while he worked out his next steps… it seemed very close to the alleged crime scene.

 

[SLouTh]

Does it look more like a Hilux N70 to you? Visually, it resembles the N70 a lot, but I'm not sure. If there are any car experts here, they might be able to confirm.

I think the car was identified in the earlier threads … Hilux is not ringing any bells for me …. But I could be wrong ???
Locals on the thread may know the make and model???

The sticker on the back of the style side is making me think Nissan … ???

IMO

 

[ProfCluezo]

Any websleuths game enough to offer a comprehensive theory (at this stage of the game) on what exactly happened on the fateful day of Samantha’s disappearance - who, when, where, what, how, why etc - up until the day the accused was arrested..?

I would love to hear peoples’ current theories, (as opposed to bits and pieces, and ever-shifting ideas dispersed over 10 threads….!)

All with the disclaimer of 100% speculation of course…

… And a commitment to kindness, openness and receptivity by all websleuths in relation to the expression of different viewpoints, and possibilities, as per the TOS

 

[HoneyBunOne]

BBM

The evidence is back in the earlier threads … including video evidence of the accused using cocaine …. Police have tracked his movements the night before, at various bars .

IMO

Yes, and "friends" have come forward (to whom I don't know, but it's been mentioned in the press) to say he was on a "massive bender" the night before.

Articles have been posted much earlier, it was probably around early or mid March when the news of that came out.

 

[Sor Juana]

Any websleuths game enough to offer a comprehensive theory (at this stage of the game) on what exactly happened on the fateful day of Samantha’s disappearance - who, when, where, what, how, why etc - up until the day the accused was arrested..?

I would love to hear peoples’ current theories, (as opposed to bits and pieces, and ever-shifting ideas dispersed over 10 threads….!)

RSBM.
I don't have a firm theory as I don't know much about Samantha or the accused beyond the technical details of that fateful day and a bit of historical data. I'm more guessing than deducing, but it's possible that PS hit and ran over Samantha. Maybe he was too distracted or just careless, or perhaps he did it on purpose because he was in an altered state of mind.

I think it was the hit that led to everything that followed. When he got out of the car and realised what had happened, he decided to hide the body and dispose of Samantha's phone to mislead the police. He did this to the best of his ability... My theory is that he hid Samantha's body in one of the mines and discarded her phone in a different location. I also believe he chose a private property for a reason, thinking that without any links to the property owner, the police would have a hard time investigating there.

To me, it seems that staying silent is his safest strategy because he has no accomplices who might betray him. This means the case against him will rely heavily on indisputable forensic findings. Without a body, this will be quite challenging, so I don't expect him to start talking until the body is found. Once the body is discovered, fingers crossed, his tactics will likely change. He might claim a clouded mind, blame drugs for depression or painkillers for his left knee, or use other excuses to portray himself as a victim and frame the murder as an accident with lethal consequences.

There will be some sort of defence, but I don't expect him to just confess and take responsibility.

 

[HoneyBunOne]

Snap chat also has a map function if it is turned on shows pretty precisely where you are…

I totally forgot about that. It's always horrified me that this feature is out there on an app very young people use (rightly or wrongly), likely with people they don't know in real life. Scary stuff IMO.

The watch may still be on her arm

I thought this too. Ear buds may also be with her. I think her body was disposed of as is - whatever was on her person, in her ears etc would be in the same place she is, unless something small like the ear buds fell out unnoticed. I can't recall if they were small ones that fit entirely in the ear or the ones that dangle down a bit. One's far more noticable than the other. I really don't think he's taken bits and pieces from her and disposed elsewhere, or kept them. Perhaps the phone was taken, as the possible immediate thought would be that she would have had a phone, and phones can track you, so must be disposed of. Maybe she had it out to record or call someone and therefore front of mind for the accused. I'd say, in a panicked and drug/alcohol state, he turned the phone off, thinking that problem was temporarily fixed, to worry about later. I'm definitely no tech head, and I don't know exactly what a turned off phone can and can't do, maybe he was the same - although it has been noted he was into STEM type subjects at school, from memory. However, phones are another beast, he may not have been all over them. Another thought is that the phone was concealed near the alleged murder site at the time of the alleged crime, and when he'd had time to think he came back for it.

What we do know is that Samantha's phone was not obliterated, it was kept with its case, and contained identification cards as well. Disposed of in fairly shallow water, very near the roadway, on private property.

Let's just assume it was the accused that disposed of the phone for this argument. These few facts indicate to me that this was more of a panicked, desperate act, and not well thought out. I think it was disposed of later that day, and accounts for the 5pm alleged ping. If you had time and privacy, and lived very near remote bushland or on a country property without people around, you could, and should, do your best to damage all those items enough so that if they were ever found, they would yield as little evidence as possible. I'd certainly cut up and/or melt down the ID, and most definitely not dispose of it with the phone, which I would have done my best to smash to smithereens. That would be my MO, but I'm not a murderer. I'm thinking he's either not very clever, and/or had limited time and opportunities to dispose of this one last item tying him to the alleged crime, and it was burning a hole in his literal pocket.

All just my thoughts only of course.

 

[Rocket333]

BBM

The evidence is back in the earlier threads … including video evidence of the accused using cocaine …. Police have tracked his movements the night before, at various bars .

IMO

You reckon? I’ve read all of the threads. It seemed to originate from the DM, another chat site and a video of him snorting something without much context. I don’t care either way but if it’s just conjecture, maybe he didn’t have a blinder the night before and was more clear minded on the day than is realised.

 

[LozVic]

I totally forgot about that. It's always horrified me that this feature is out there on an app very young people use (rightly or wrongly), likely with people they don't know in real life. Scary stuff IMO.


I thought this too. Ear buds may also be with her. I think her body was disposed of as is - whatever was on her person, in her ears etc would be in the same place she is, unless something small like the ear buds fell out unnoticed. I can't recall if they were small ones that fit entirely in the ear or the ones that dangle down a bit. One's far more noticable than the other. I really don't think he's taken bits and pieces from her and disposed elsewhere, or kept them. Perhaps the phone was taken, as the possible immediate thought would be that she would have had a phone, and phones can track you, so must be disposed of. Maybe she had it out to record or call someone and therefore front of mind for the accused. I'd say, in a panicked and drug/alcohol state, he turned the phone off, thinking that problem was temporarily fixed, to worry about later. I'm definitely no tech head, and I don't know exactly what a turned off phone can and can't do, maybe he was the same - although it has been noted he was into STEM type subjects at school, from memory. However, phones are another beast, he may not have been all over them. Another thought is that the phone was concealed near the alleged murder site at the time of the alleged crime, and when he'd had time to think he came back for it.

What we do know is that Samantha's phone was not obliterated, it was kept with its case, and contained identification cards as well. Disposed of in fairly shallow water, very near the roadway, on private property.

Let's just assume it was the accused that disposed of the phone for this argument. These few facts indicate to me that this was more of a panicked, desperate act, and not well thought out. I think it was disposed of later that day, and accounts for the 5pm alleged ping. If you had time and privacy, and lived very near remote bushland or on a country property without people around, you could, and should, do your best to damage all those items enough so that if they were ever found, they would yield as little evidence as possible. I'd certainly cut up and/or melt down the ID, and most definitely not dispose of it with the phone, which I would have done my best to smash to smithereens. That would be my MO, but I'm not a murderer. I'm thinking he's either not very clever, and/or had limited time and opportunities to dispose of this one last item tying him to the alleged crime, and it was burning a hole in his literal pocket.

Yes I was horrified when I checked my daughter’s an hers was on a lot of her friends have them on it’s crazy. But in a case like this it could have come in handy if a friend noticed his location that morning I think unless planned and premeditated would be something you would completely forget about in the moment.

 

[BreakingNews]

When the results come back on how long her phone has been in the dam will be interesting. The important piece of evidence the police need, is to connect the accused murderer to the phone and dam. If they can't, someone else has done it and is involved. The police have not even confirmed or denied the 5pm ping. The police are keeping very quiet on that front

The 5 pm ping was confirmed in Channel 9's breaking story the other night. Nothing more about the phone until the dog found it on Wednesday.

 

[ProfCluezo]

Great theories HoneyBunOne and SorJuana - thank you

 

[Dr Samoht]

Pretty cool to actually murder someone, a complete stranger, in broad daylight, and then remove in total all traces of your crime, in addition, dispose of the body, again without leaving any discernible traces , again, in broad daylight ( because people were searching by that afternoon ) and then to trip on home to the girlfriend and rock up for work on Monday, have a yarn to the blokes about a bit of motocross on Saturday, share the lunch sandwiches around...

And keep it up as Mr Cool Electrician for weeks.

Not crack a word, or a sign., Cool as. For a first time murderer, at 22.

And then, maintain silence for all this time. .. mum and dad having to leave home, the sisters, too. . .. still. Silence. how cool can a bloke get?

Perhaps parked the car at one of the Elwood Street properties while he worked out his next steps… it seemed very close to the alleged crime scene.

Elsworth st I think you mean .

 

[HoneyBunOne]

Great theories HoneyBunOne and SorJuana - thank you

Thanks, I do my best.

 

[Scooby-Doo]

The 5 pm ping was confirmed in Channel 9's breaking story the other night. Nothing more about the phone until the dog found it on Wednesday.

The phone ping time earlier in the piece from the detective leading the investigation, Hatt, In an interview would not comment on the time. Maybe the media are just running with this.

 

[Rocket333]

“The owner of the property, who wished to remain anonymous, told Daily Mail police contacted him about three weeks ago asking to access the property.”

Wonder what prompted this lead?

https://www.skynews.com.au/australia-news/crime/criminologist-floats-fears-that-mobile-phone-discovered-in-search-for-samantha-murphys-body-will-no-longer-contain-evidence-116-days-after-ballarat-mums-alleged-murder/news-story/6e982d7a7e33af78f8056c77b07d5d38