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

[Cliff Hardy]

Interesting. Could explain the silence and the family fleeing so fast, but I'd ask myself, why him? A hot headed 22 year old would not be my first choice. Initiation perhaps?

Or part of clearing a debt?

 

[Trooper]

By now , VICPOL would know Stephensons entire history, from when he cracked his first tooth, his graduation from kindy, his primary school antics, his secondary school career, his weekend pursuits, his weekday habits and routines, his friends, his enemies, his peers, his colleagues, his hobbies, his travels, his tracks around Ballarat, Victoria, NSW, Bali , wherever, what he ate, where he ate, where he drank, his day to day activities, from the moment he woke up. Nothing remains a secret when you are suspected of murder.

Electronically, his entire life would be exposed. Who he contacted, who contacted him, for years....

Whatever associations, or groups he belonged to would be , by now, under a microscope, investigated into the ground, run thru the mill of all law enforcement orgs , throughout AU, because stranger/stranger murders are a great disturbance to public safety, nothing is left to chance as far as possible. Any 'guru', or 'leader', or 'mastermind' would be 'helping the police with their enquiries' by now..

 

[Whatson]

Oh wait I think I found it , can I attach a zoom in here of just him from the photo ? It was from the Damascus college in a photo from 2019 on their FB page yes? Indeed he is making a hand symbol with his right hand whilst kneeling down, the hand symbol is just like the photo you posted above @Whatson , wow. … should I attach cropped in on him or that’s against WS ?

Yes that's the picture. I couldn't find it, just one on MSM but they had cropped the photo so the hand symbol wasn't displayed.

Interesting that the photo is from 2019. The same year of the Christchurch Massacre. I'd say he knew the meaning of the symbol in that case. It was mentioned in media numerous times.

I don't know if photos of the accused are allowed to be posted sorry.

 

[Cliff Hardy]

Yes that's the picture. I couldn't find it, just one on MSM but they had cropped the photo so the hand symbol wasn't displayed.

Interesting that the photo is from 2019. The same year of the Christchurch Massacre. I'd say he knew the meaning of the symbol in that case. It was mentioned in media numerous times.

I don't know if photos of the accused are allowed to be posted sorry.

It may mean something but remember Stephenson was only 17 at the time and 17 year old boys do some dumb shstuff. I was once one myself.

 

[Scooby-Doo]

I have always thought it was random and involved only 1 perp
but, honestly,
anything is possible.

His persistent silence and no body found is baffling.
Especially,
as he has this fancy lawyer,
who should have convinced him it would be better to disclose where the body is.
(Parole, etc)

Provided, of course,
that Police have enough evidence of guilt.

If the evidence is only circumstantial,
then no wonder he is as silent as a grave.

PS
Nobody else has been arrested/charged.
Which is strange if he didn't act alone.

Time will tell.

JMO

The media has been told he's not talking
But we also don't know If that's true.
Someone though has given police information to search recently that particular dam

 

[drsleuth]

The media has been told he's not talking
But we also don't know If that's true.
Someone though has given police information to search recently that particular dam

BBM : Maybe phone pings?

 

[Doesitmakesense]

Yes that's the picture. I couldn't find it, just one on MSM but they had cropped the photo so the hand symbol wasn't displayed.

Interesting that the photo is from 2019. The same year of the Christchurch Massacre. I'd say he knew the meaning of the symbol in that case. It was mentioned in media numerous times.

I don't know if photos of the accused are allowed to be posted sorry.

Up until mention in this thread I didn't know what the hand signal meant. I thought it what the punching thing an earlier poster mentioned. I am quite a bit older than the accused and live in Vic

 

[Trooper]

BBM : Maybe phone pings?

Maybe the water level in the dam dropped, and there it was, in plain view.

Way back, in the very early days. that week, of the Sunday of the murder, a whole lot of squads were called in, Motor accident folks, street crime squad, but I do recall the Anti Terrorist section were on site for a few days..

 

[Scooby-Doo]

BBM : Maybe phone pings?

Maybe police intelligence led them to the dam and the phone, or the property was of interest to police. They had reportedly visited there before, another possibility someone is helping police

Why throw the phone at all? If he is on the way to disposing of the body, why risk a stop and not just dispose of the phone with the body? If he is on the way back, and presumably just realised he still had the phone, why choose that location and that dam ? When he could easily destroy the phone by other means

They have not connected the alleged murderer with the phone or the dam yet, and unless they can do so, it can be indicated that someone else might be involved.
And how long and when it got there?
Finding the phone without finding Samantha opens up more possibilities, including one where the phone was disposed of by someone other than the alleged murderer

 

[Warshawski]

Maybe police intelligence led them to the dam and the phone, or the property was of interest to police. They had reportedly visited there before, another possibility someone is helping police

Why throw the phone at all? If he is on the way to disposing of the body, why risk a stop and not just dispose of the phone with the body?
If he is on the way back, and presumably just realised he still had the phone, why choose that location and that dam ? When he could easily destroy the phone by other means

They have not connected the alleged murderer with the phone or the dam yet, and unless they can do so, it can be indicated that someone else might be involved.
And how long and when it got there?
Finding the phone without finding Samantha opens up more possibilities, including one where the phone was disposed of by someone other than the alleged murderer

For me the bolded (by me) is questionable Scooby. … I can’t see someone who is so fastidious in the hiding of a body to be so casual in consideration of all that goes with that body. I struggle to buy the sudden discovery of ‘her phone in the dam’. .. . I’ve wondered if it was a ploy ( they may have already had her phone + any number of items that we’re not privy to).

I doubt there’ll be too many answers in court tomorrow - but I pray that Samantha’s family can soon feel at peace, and able to treasure the memories she’s left them

 

[Dotta]

"Criminal psychologist ​

Dr Tim Watson-Munro ​

says upcoming hearing could finally provide answers.​

Dr Tim Watson-Munro said that a lack of physical evidence - such as Ms Murphy's body or a murder weapon -
meant prosecutors would mostly rely on technological evidence.
This could include tracking data relating to Ms Murphy and Stephenson's phones.

'I think (prosecutors have) got their work cut out for them in the absence of a body,
in the absence of witnesses,
in the absence of a motive - or certainly one that we know about or don't know about.

And an absence of a record of interview or any confessions or acknowledgments referable to the alleged crime.

There may be other evidence that we don't know about, and if there is I'd revise my opinion.

Usually, police find a body,
a weapon,
corroborative evidence that supports their claims that might be enough then for the individual to start talking'.

He added that six months of searches from Ballarat locals had been made extremely difficult because the area is 'riddled' with abandoned mines.

'Some of them run very deep...
you'd be looking for a needle in a haystack, I suspect',
he said."

Huge problem police face as Samantha Murphy case drags on

Patrick Orren Stephenson, 22, is set to face Ballarat Magistrates' Court for a committal mention via video link on Thursday, accused of murdering Samantha Murphy.

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