Today - 4th June -
marks 4 months of Samantha's disappearance
"Dr Xanthe Mallett,
a criminologist from the University of Newcastle,
said she was 'surprised'
to hear the phone was in working order -
and this could potentially mean it had not been left out in the elements for the entire four months.
'The police were searching for it obviously for almost four months,
something took them to that dam,'
she told Seven's Sunrise on Tuesday morning.
'That hasn't been disclosed what evidence or intelligence that was yet, but yes, this could absolutely offer new clues that will help find Samantha'.
'As we know now, [the phone] is operational and downloadable.'
Dr Mallett speculated that a phone that had been underwater or in mud for four months would likely be 'beyond retrievable'.
'So does that indicate that it hasn't been there for the entire four months?'
she said.
'That's yet to be seen.
But it's that timeline that the police will be working on and it's certainly going to be essential in helping to develop that'.
'I think that there may be potentially more witnesses that may come forward because we now know about that dam, we know the phone is there,'
she said.
'So I'm hoping that now that information is public, other people may come forward and offer information as to
who may have dumped that phone and when'.
'You have to commend the investigators that have worked so hard on this'."
A leading criminologist believes Samantha Murphy's phone could reveal her final movements after the device was found in perfect working condition beside a dam.
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Police have renewed hopes they will find the body of the missing Ballarat mother.
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