Australia Samantha Murphy, 51, last seen leaving her property to go for a run in the Canadian State Forest, Ballarat, 4 Feb 2024 *Arrest* #11

[JLZ]

Moo...if it was not called domestic violence...n just called it assault..by degree... think it would work better. Would take the responsibility of the assaulted away...but it is complicated...moo

Why not charge them with both and let the lawyers bargain it down.

But yes, as far as I know, women aren't assaulting and murdering men in greatly increased numbers, regardless of the pressures of social change.

 

[nao]

Why not charge them with both and let the lawyers bargain it down.

But yes, as far as I know, women aren't assaulting and murdering men in greatly increased numbers, regardless of the pressures of social change.

Moo .many mixes of couples now a days, most couples.. there is one dominant partner..could be male could be female.... Problem with domestic is they share living space.
Do not think random attacks have changed much. Just more people n access to news of violence. Getting a smack across face n such was pretty normal from my life as older person.. physical violence was just part of life...moo

 

[nightrider17]

I had an idea that the attacker might have waited for a victim at the edge of the dementia trail, where it comes out of the forest near Elsworth St. Expecting somebody a bit frail and hopefully tired.

The Police were looking around Elsworth Street at one point. Back in early March.

https://www.news.com.au/national/crime/bring-her-home-samantha-murphys-family-heartbreak-as-police-continue-search-for-her-body/news-story/3f13c4279fd0824fbe53d35c10cf61d8

The Sunday Herald Sun reports police have identified a new location of interest in the search and are reviewing security camera footage from businesses in a light industrial and residential area of Ballarat East.

Homeowners and businesses in Elsworth, Joseph and Butt streets in the suburb of Canadian have handed over footage from the time Ms Murphy disappeared and police have also searched the area, which is home to businesses such as panel beaters, gyms and self-storage facilities.
Elsworth St East leads into thick bushland managed by Parks Victoria, but it is not clear whether the footage shows Ms Murphy, Stephenson or any vehicles of interest, or has yielded any clues as to what happened to Ms Murphy.

That would make sense if PS was leaving from his parents house? JMO

I wonder where the other jogger that was also captured on CCTV usually jogged?? Technically that other jogger was out on the same day and time. MOO


A second jogger has come forward to identify themselves as the runner caught on CCTV that was released by police investigating the disappearance of Victorian mum Samantha Murphy.

Mystery behind CCTV footage solved in search for missing Victorian mum

Another jogger has come forward to identify themselves as the runner in CCTV released by police in search for missing mum Samantha Murphy.

7news.com.au

 

[Rocket333]

Of course we don’t know but i highly doubt it. Not many women out there would get in a stranger’s car. Her family was only a few minutes away by car, she had her phone, could have called if she was struggling.

Yep, makes sense.
What could possibly be the motive?
Psychosis?
Sex?
Hiding a secret?
Mum rage?

 

[Dotta]

Perhaps I agree more than I don't, but when I was young, older people talked just like this about the evils of television.

And earlier older people in villages talked like this about evils of electricity,
that cows would not give milk


My great-granny told me.

 

[pavlovsdaughter]

I'm not going on anything more than the reported time difference in her run that morning. In some articles, posted many, many pages ago in the early stages of this case, it was stated that she arrived at the Mt Clear area about 30 minutes later than anticipated. Whether that's accurate, a reporting issue, or something else, I don't know.

I’ve been following this quite closely and don’t remember reading anything about that. Not gonna ask you to dig it up and tbh I don’t really care to either but if anyone reading this does remember the source off the top of their heads I’d be interested to read it.

 

[pavlovsdaughter]

Yep, makes sense.
What could possibly be the motive?
Psychosis?
Sex?
Hiding a secret?
Mum rage?

That’s the million dollar question. Purely based on how these things usually go my money is on opportunistic sexual attack. But we have so little to go on at this point it really is just a guess.

 

[nao]

That’s the million dollar question. Purely based on how these things usually go my money is on opportunistic sexual attack. But we have so little to go on at this point it really is just a guess.

Moo..anger management. Some people have a short fuse at the best of times. Throw in a hangover or drug crash. Think they were both in the wrong place at the wrong time. Do not see preplanning or sex as a thing..... moo

 

[solari]

I’m probably the sort of runner SM was. 7km is 4.35 miles. When I’m in good condition, I run a 5k (3.1 mi) in 38 minutes, so 4 and a bit miles in 50 minutes, seems right to me for someone who is poodling along at a middle aged jog.That aligns with the 8am attack if she left just after 7am.

Yeah, I think people are like… wildly underestimating how long it takes an average, middle aged, hobbyist (read: non-professional athlete) female runner to run 7k. I don’t know why that is or where it’s coming from. I’m 20 years younger than SM and my best 5k time is 29 minutes. People suggesting it’s suspicious that she didn’t run 7k in that amount of time is kind of absurd.

IMO her morning was typical, run went as planned until she got to her turnaround point in Mt. Clear.

As an avid power walker I complete on average - terrain dependant - 7k in 65-69 minutes roughly and 5k in 45-49 minutes, so that means usually I do about 1k in 8-9.5minutes, I don't run or jog, just have a very fast power walk pace that brings my heart rate up, makes me sweat after a time, but doesn't leave me out of breath, I'm travelling long term around Australia at the moment and frequently find myself on the local bike path or bush track of towns I visit and joggers pass me slowly, runners pass me at all different speeds, if she was jogging, which colloquially people call a run or running, the time it took her especially as the terrain isn't all flat surface (don't forget the hills in the terrain where she was thought to be running which may slow pace or result in a walking speed at times) is completely plausible.

 

[Dotta]

As an avid power walker I complete on average - terrain dependant - 7k in 65-69 minutes roughly and 5k in 45-49 minutes, so that means usually I do about 1k in 8-9.5minutes, I don't run or jog, just have a very fast power walk pace that brings my heart rate up, makes me sweat after a time, but doesn't leave me out of breath, I'm travelling long term around Australia at the moment and frequently find myself on the local bike path or bush track of towns I visit and joggers pass me slowly, runners pass me at all different speeds, if she was jogging, which colloquially people call a run or running, the time it took her especially as the terrain isn't all flat surface (don't forget the hills in the terrain where she was thought to be running which may slow pace or result in a walking speed at times) is completely plausible.

I couldn't agree more!
7 km in 60/50 mins is SLOW run.

JMO

 

[Scooby-Doo]

I thought somewhere in the early days it was reported that she left about 7.15 am. Police have been so vague about exact times. Actually vague about lots of things. And all these short targeted searches? Is someone feeding them bogus information?

Yep, makes sense.
What could possibly be the motive?
Psychosis?
Sex?
Hiding a secret?
Mum rage?

We don't have the evidence that police have, but I think it was premeditated. Possibly others involved with the accused murderer. I think it was well-thought-out, too much for a young 22-year-old to have done the whole procedure himself. I think someone/others have removed Sam's body and been involved from the beginning
The area she was taken from, seems to be left clean as a whistle, ( what we have been told ) no evidence anywhere to suggest Sam was taken from this spot, signs of struggle etc. so my thinking is this has been well planned
I think there is more to it, an older woman who is quite wealthy, and her family are well known in the area for years
I am looking towards finance

 

[JLZ]

We don't have the evidence that police have, but I think it was premeditated. Possibly others involved with the accused murderer. I think it was well-thought-out, too much for a young 22-year-old to have done the whole procedure himself. I think someone/others have removed Sam's body and been involved from the beginning
The area she was taken from, seems to be left clean as a whistle, ( what we have been told ) no evidence anywhere to suggest Sam was taken from this spot, signs of struggle etc. so my thinking is this has been well planned
I think there is more to it, an older woman who is quite wealthy, and her family are well known in the area for years
I am looking towards finance

BBM--So, how about they haven't found the right spot?

You say some interesting things. I regret that I seem to keep aggravating you.

 

[Rocket333]

The area she was taken from, seems to be left clean as a whistle, ( what we have been told ) no evidence anywhere to suggest Sam was taken from this spot, signs of struggle etc. so my thinking is this has been well planned
I think there is more to it, an older woman who is quite wealthy, and her family are well known in the area for years
I am looking towards finance

Motive:
Psychosis (mental health episode)
Sexual
Hiding a secret
Mother rage
Failed kidnapping
Financial?

 

[Scooby-Doo]

BBM--So, how about they haven't found the right spot?

You say some interesting things. I regret that I seem to keep aggravating you.

The police don't seem to have an actual position where there has been some evidence left behind to indicate that this certain spot is where Samantha was taken as, for example, they found something belonging to her

 

[Rocket333]

The police don't seem to have an actual position where there has been some evidence left behind to indicate that this certain spot is where Samantha was taken as, for example, they found something belonging to her

or have they….

 

[SouthAussie]

The police don't seem to have an actual position where there has been some evidence left behind to indicate that this certain spot is where Samantha was taken as, for example, they found something belonging to her

We don't know that. And we probably won't know that until the trial, if he goes to trial. imo


'I will not canvass any details to do with the evidence in respect of the murder,' Mr Patton said.
Whatever they discovered eventually led them to the Scotsburn home of Stephenson on Wednesday morning.

How cops closed in on missing mum's alleged killer two weeks ago

No trace of the mother-of-three has been found and a 22-year-old man from the nearby suburb of Scotsburn was on Thursday charged with her alleged murder.

www.dailymail.co.uk

 

[JLZ]

The police don't seem to have an actual position where there has been some evidence left behind to indicate that this certain spot is where Samantha was taken as, for example, they found something belonging to her

In that case, he might have left some evidence and they haven't found it yet.

 

[Rocket333]

In that case, he might have left some evidence and they haven't found it yet.

Locard's Principle of Exchange.

“Any action of an individual, and obviously, the violent actions of a crime, cannot occur without leaving a trace.” ~ Edmond Locard, 1934

“Wherever he steps, whatever he touches, whatever he leaves, even unconsciously, will serve as a silent witness against him. Not only his fingerprints or his footprints, but his hair, the fibres from his clothes, the glass he breaks, the tool mark he leaves, the paint he scratches, the blood or semen he deposits or collects. All of these and more, bear mute witness against him. This is evidence that does not forget. It is not confused by the excitement of the moment. It is not absent because human witnesses are. It is factual evidence. Physical evidence cannot be wrong, it cannot perjure itself, it cannot be wholly absent. Only human failure to find it, study and understand it, can diminish its value.”
~ Paul L Kirk

Every contact leaves a trace. The importance of Locard's Exchange Principle. — Small Screen Science

We have all watched TV forensic pathologists pause whilst photographing the body, grab a pair of tweezers and bag a piece of trace evidence from under the victim's fingernails. In the storyline, this fibre or sliver of glass proves to be crucial damning evidence against the killer. So how important

www.smallscreenscience.co.uk

 

[pavlovsdaughter]

I couldn't agree more!
7 km in 60/50 mins is SLOW run.

JMO

It’s really not, when adjusted for age and gender, and the fact that we don’t know if or how often she walked. Did she start sprinting right out of her driveway? Or did she walk for a bit to warm up as many runners do?

4 Mile Run Times By Age And Ability - Running Level

4 mile running finish times by age for both men and women (good and average)

runninglevel.com

 

[Lemony]

I think that whole presser (22nd Feb) was done, not to inform the public of where the investigation stood, but to entice PS into making a move. To perhaps go and check on Sam's remains and/or the evidence that he had discarded. So the police could surreptitiously follow his movements.

imo

I agree.
The carefully detailed presser would've been enough to place PS under pressure while also giving the him the impression that police weren't close, had cast a wide net and were still looking at multiple lines of inquiry.

While he didn't lead them to Samantha perhaps other evidence was uncovered during surveillance operations.