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

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"It’s been six months
since Samantha Murphy failed to return home from a run
and although a man has been charged with her murder,

her body has not been found."

:(

1722707480663.png

www-news-com-au.cdn.ampproject.org

Six months since Samantha Murphy’s disappearance

It’s been six months since Samantha Murphy failed to return home from a run and although a man has been charged with her murder, her body has not been found.
www-news-com-au.cdn.ampproject.org www-news-com-au.cdn.ampproject.org
 
Trooper said:
I think VICPOL can, actually . They made a huge bold claim, that Mrs Murphy was deceased, that she was deceased because she had been attacked, that her death was not accidental, but determined, that it happened at a particular place, at a particular time, by a particular person, and no other person. That she was murdered, by a stranger. Huge , huge statements, all without a body., They must have some solid unarguable evidence.


It will be interesting to see how Mr Galbally approaches this defence of Mr Stephenson , even more interesting will be how Mr Stephenson conducts himself. Can he maintain his silence? for how long?> His barrister will have to make some kind of statement, at this point he does not have to make a plea, but that time is fast approaching when he , or his barrister , has to , or the judge will do it for him.
Click to expand...
Would the accused know the full extent of the evidence by now?
 
Rocket333 said:
Would the accused know the full extent of the evidence by now?
Click to expand...
Mr Stephenson's Barrister would have had the full disclosure of the case the Dept. of Public Prosecution intends to bring against him for about the last 8 - 10 days. Point by point. It often happens that the DPP keep certain aspects of a case for the trial, but the essence of it , the hard, concrete stuff, is disclosed to the Barrister.

The bigger question, for me , is, what has Mr Stephenson disclosed to his Barrister, the esteemed Mr Galbally. ? .. what has Mr Galbally got to work with in this very difficult and baffling defence of a peculiar murder ? Barristers, by their very professional position deal with clients who are , in any one's world, hard work, and not easy to extract the facts from, because facts are the enemy, yet the Barrister has to get those out of him to defend him.
 
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He has no legal opportunity to 'enter a plea'. The earliest this can happen is at the committal hearing, but he is not required to enter a plea until an actual trial is convened.

We might not find out much at all on 8 August. Maybe he will enter a plea, maybe not.

Some evidence might be revealed at the committal hearing, but the details may not be revealed until the actual trial.

Was he was "carrying out orders" under duress, from someone else who actually had a reason to want her dead ?
Did police actually trace his phone to the dam, where Samantha's phone was located, or did they trace someone else phone during that time?
With the gathering and analysis of cell phone data, which possibly put him in the same location as Samantha at the time she is alleged to have been killed.
But he may not have been the only person who came up in on the cell phone data, police could have been working on other 'more likely' leads with some known connection to Samantha or may have been looking for extra evidence which connected him with Samantha or the family, the alleged scene, with other forensic evidence we don't know about.

With evidence, the police naturally have kept quiet, but If they wanted to keep the phone secret, they could have. It seems like a tactical decision to go public with the finding of the phone and really showed how excited, high-fiving etc they were in front of the cameras
 
Scooby-Doo said:
He has no legal opportunity to 'enter a plea'. The earliest this can happen is at the committal hearing, but he is not required to enter a plea until an actual trial is convened.

We might not find out much at all on 8 August. Maybe he will enter a plea, maybe not.

Some evidence might be revealed at the committal hearing, but the details may not be revealed until the actual trial.

Was he was "carrying out orders" under duress, from someone else who actually had a reason to want her dead ?
Did police actually trace his phone to the dam, where Samantha's phone was located, or did they trace someone else phone during that time?
With the gathering and analysis of cell phone data, which possibly put him in the same location as Samantha at the time she is alleged to have been killed.
But he may not have been the only person who came up in on the cell phone data, police could have been working on other 'more likely' leads with some known connection to Samantha or may have been looking for extra evidence which connected him with Samantha or the family, the alleged scene, with other forensic evidence we don't know about.

With evidence, the police naturally have kept quiet, but If they wanted to keep the phone secret, they could have. It seems like a tactical decision to go public with the finding of the phone and really showed how excited, high-fiving etc they were in front of the cameras
Click to expand...
Actually, he does not have to , at any time enter a plea. Not now, not at the committal,, not at trial. He can, and people have in times past, refused to enter a plea of any sort. His barrister has to follow suit on this, and when this happens, the system smoothly takes over, and the judge makes the decision, to enter a plea of not guilty. It is always, when the judge does it, not guilty. He could remain silent totally. No one can make him speak.

And then the whole panorama of a trial begins. At any time thru the trial , even days, or weeks into it, he can enter a plea of guilty. Nothing prevents him from doing that. He gets less of a discount on his parole date , though, in that case.

There are penalties for a refusal to enter, meaning a plea of not guilty is entailed, he loses his possibility of a discount, that people get when they plead guilty. Naturally, depending on the severity of the crime, some crimes no discount is ever given, regardless of the plea. It saves court time, and public money, and that is taken into account in sentencing.
 
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Trooper said:
Actually, he does not have to , at any time enter a plea. Not now, not at the committal,, not at trial. He can, and people have in times past, refused to enter a plea of any sort. His barrister has to follow suit on this, and when this happens, the system smoothly takes over, and the judge makes the decision, to enter a plea of not guilty. It is always, when the judge does it, not guilty. He could remain silent totally. No one can make him speak.

And then the whole panorama of a trial begins. At any time thru the trial , even days, or weeks into it, he can enter a plea of guilty. Nothing prevents him from doing that. He gets less of a discount on his parole date , though, in that case.

There are penalties for a refusal to enter, meaning a plea of not guilty is entailed, he loses his possibility of a discount, that people get when they plead guilty. Naturally, depending on the severity of the crime, some crimes no discount is ever given, regardless of the plea. It saves court time, and public money, and that is taken into account in sentencing.
Click to expand...
The earlier in the proceedings the offender pleads guilty, the greater the reduction they will receive in their sentence.
If the defendant refuses to enter a plea.
He is 'required' to at the trial and if he refuses, then the judge will get involved.

He might also be found unfit to stand trial due to his mental state, eg. he can't understand what he has been charged with, understand the evidence etc...
Medical evidence would be presented etc...
If the defendant can't stand trial, it could be adjourned for 12 months, at the latter hearing. If the judge still finds the defendant unfit to stand trial
Then a special hearing will happen, instead of a trial
 
Scooby-Doo said:
The earlier in the proceedings the offender pleads guilty, the greater the reduction they will receive in their sentence.
If the defendant refuses to enter a plea.
He is 'required' to at the trial and if he refuses, then the judge will get involved.
Click to expand...

(edited by me for brevity. )
That's exactly what I said, anyone is eligible, depending on the severity of the crime... for a discount on the length of time served before applying for parole. Pleading guilty does not mean the discount is automatic. It is conditional. It is, though, common. Some crimes are so horrendous the judge cannot grant the discount, regardless of the plea. This happens regularly, it is not uncommon.

His mental state is a matter that I am almost positive will be bought up, maybe a major factor, bearing in mind, he was working at his trade, maintaining a long term relationship, partying with friends, keeping up his sporting regime, apparently on good terms with his parents, still living at home in harmony with them, apart from the house sharing house sitting weeks with the girlfriend, right up until that Sunday. Whatever tipped that equilibrium over , it happened quickly, perhaps...

If he is unfit, it is unlikely he would still be held in remand, though. He would have been moved out into supervised custodial treatment. The Remand centre has no capacity for that kind of treatment.

For that reason, I am putting the mental health thing to one side, his local solicitor claimed he had no mental health problems at all. For these reasons I do not think that is going to fly, but who knows... it may be the only defence Mr Galbally can come up with, but there are risks. Being consigned to a secure mental ward in a locked hospital environment may not be any more pleasant that Gen. Pop at Port Philip Correctional . There is no provision for being eased out of the locked ward, either. People stay in there for years.,
 
Last edited:
Trooper said:
(edited by me for brevity. )
That's exactly what I said, anyone is eligible, depending on the severity of the crime... for a discount on the length of time served before applying for parole. Pleading guilty does not mean the discount is automatic. It is conditional. It is, though, common. Some crimes are so horrendous the judge cannot grant the discount, regardless of the plea. This happens regularly, it is not uncommon.

His mental state is a matter that I am almost positive will be bought up, maybe a major factor, bearing in mind, he was working at his trade, maintaining a long term relationship, partying with friends, keeping up his sporting regime, apparently on good terms with his parents, still living at home in harmony with them, apart from the house sharing house sitting weeks with the girlfriend, right up until that Sunday. Whatever tipped that equilibrium over , it happened quickly, perhaps...

If he is unfit, it is unlikely he would still be held in remand, though. He would have been moved out into supervised custodial treatment. The Remand centre has no capacity for that kind of treatment.

For that reason, I am putting the mental health thing to one side, his local solicitor claimed he had no mental health problems at all. For these reasons I do not think that is going to fly, but who knows... it may be the only defence Mr Galbally can come up with, but there are risks. Being consigned to a secure mental ward in a locked hospital environment may not be any more pleasant that Gen. Pop at Port Philip Correctional . There is no provision for being eased out of the locked ward, either. People stay in there for years.,
Click to expand...

We don't know what will happen..
But you can't rule out Mental Health at the time, without history. I hope personally it doesn't come to this, but a person is not criminally responsible for the offence, of carrying out the act at the time, the person had a mental health impairment or a cognitive impairment, even both, that had the effect, for that the person, and did not know the nature and quality of the act... etc. etc,,. I would not be surprised, depending on again what inspires during the process, that this could be brought up with his defence team
 
Trooper said:
Mr Stephenson's Barrister would have had the full disclosure of the case the Dept. of Public Prosecution intends to bring against him for about the last 8 - 10 days. Point by point. It often happens that the DPP keep certain aspects of a case for the trial, but the essence of it , the hard, concrete stuff, is disclosed to the Barrister.

The bigger question, for me , is, what has Mr Stephenson disclosed to his Barrister, the esteemed Mr Galbally. ? .. what has Mr Galbally got to work with in this very difficult and baffling defence of a peculiar murder ? Barristers, by their very professional position deal with clients who are , in any one's world, hard work, and not easy to extract the facts from, because facts are the enemy, yet the Barrister has to get those out of him to defend him.
Click to expand...
Defence barristers have extremely furtive minds and are great at keeping a straight face while helping spin their client's b.s. Even when they plainly know it is b.s.

The legal combatants in a case must at times have a hearty laugh over a red afterwards.
 
O/T

I was just reading about another horrible trial of another murdered woman, where the actual murder was audio recorded on a "safety" watch by the victim , which is issued to women at risk of violence , I guess domestic violence.

www.dailymail.co.uk

Jury hears teen's horrific choice

A 16-year-old girl was forced to contemplate stabbing her father to save the life of her mother, a court has heard.
www.dailymail.co.uk www.dailymail.co.uk

I had never heard of these. Here is a link https://sistersofcharityfoundation.org.au/blog/wristwatch-saving-victims-of-domestic-violence/

What a great initiative
 
Trooper said:
(edited by me for brevity. )
That's exactly what I said, anyone is eligible, depending on the severity of the crime... for a discount on the length of time served before applying for parole. Pleading guilty does not mean the discount is automatic. It is conditional. It is, though, common. Some crimes are so horrendous the judge cannot grant the discount, regardless of the plea. This happens regularly, it is not uncommon.

His mental state is a matter that I am almost positive will be bought up, maybe a major factor, bearing in mind, he was working at his trade, maintaining a long term relationship, partying with friends, keeping up his sporting regime, apparently on good terms with his parents, still living at home in harmony with them, apart from the house sharing house sitting weeks with the girlfriend, right up until that Sunday. Whatever tipped that equilibrium over , it happened quickly, perhaps...

If he is unfit, it is unlikely he would still be held in remand, though. He would have been moved out into supervised custodial treatment. The Remand centre has no capacity for that kind of treatment.

For that reason, I am putting the mental health thing to one side, his local solicitor claimed he had no mental health problems at all. For these reasons I do not think that is going to fly, but who knows... it may be the only defence Mr Galbally can come up with, but there are risks. Being consigned to a secure mental ward in a locked hospital environment may not be any more pleasant that Gen. Pop at Port Philip Correctional . There is no provision for being eased out of the locked ward, either. People stay in there for years.,
Click to expand...
Your a legend.
 

"Family hoping for answers ​

as man accused over Samantha Murphy disappearance ​

faces court.​

Criminologist Xanthé Mallett appeared on Sunrise on Monday,
ahead of Patrick Orren Stephenson, 22, facing court on Thursday.

'We have a mention,
where crown (prosecutors) will appear in court —
they may have a request from the judge,
they may set a date for a committal hearing, where the evidence gets tested',
Mallet said.

'The accused still hasn’t entered a plea.

This is very much a preliminary stage.

So we will have to wait a little longer at least before we start to get some of those answers
(about her disappearance).

But obviously,
when they get to court,
they may request for a further extension if they need more time before the committal.

We will have to wait for the court case to play out
before we get a chance (to see) where we’re at (with the investigation)'.”

7news-com-au.cdn.ampproject.org

Family hoping for answers as man accused over Samantha Murphy disappearance faces court

It has been six months since the mother-of-three left her Victorian home to go for a run and never returned.
7news-com-au.cdn.ampproject.org 7news-com-au.cdn.ampproject.org
 
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Trooper said:
I think VICPOL can, actually . They made a huge bold claim, that Mrs Murphy was deceased, that she was deceased because she had been attacked, that her death was not accidental, but determined, that it happened at a particular place, at a particular time, by a particular person, and no other person. That she was murdered, by a stranger. Huge , huge statements, all without a body., They must have some solid unarguable evidence.


It will be interesting to see how Mr Galbally approaches this defence of Mr Stephenson , even more interesting will be how Mr Stephenson conducts himself. Can he maintain his silence? for how long?> His barrister will have to make some kind of statement, at this point he does not have to make a plea, but that time is fast approaching when he , or his barrister , has to , or the judge will do it for him.
Click to expand...
Agree- Their statements have been unusually unequivocal for law enforcement. They must think they have something very solid.
 
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