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

[SouthAussie]

You said 'es, I had forgotten about that single speck of DNA on the knife's shield, from the knife that Bryan Kohberger allegedly used to kill the 4 Idaho students.'

The point I am making is about the knife of Bryan Kohberger, was it in a dam for 3 months. Meaning is this really relevant given SM phone as we all know was in a dam for 3 months.

I wonder how long the phone was actually under water though? When did the dam recede enough for it no longer to be in water? There are recent (2023) studies that show that evidence can remain after being under water for "several weeks".

imo

My thought is that the water would likely have receded faster during all of Feb (due to the summer's heat), less quickly (if at all) in March/April, then it was found in early May.

 

[JLZ]

Supports the theory that the phone was tossed from some distance rather than thrown in to the middle whilst standing closer to the dam.

Unless you'd been observing the dam for years, you wouldn't necessarily know how the ground sloped within, so which was the deepest part, which way it would shrink.

 

[Scooby-Doo]

You said 'es, I had forgotten about that single speck of DNA on the knife's shield, from the knife that Bryan Kohberger allegedly used to kill the 4 Idaho students.'

The point I am making is about the knife of Bryan Kohberger, was it in a dam for 3 months. Meaning is this really relevant given SM phone as we all know was in a dam for 3 months.

But we don't know if her phone was in the dam for 3 months, it could have only recently been placed there ? Or maybe it was never in full water

 

[australianwebsleuth]

Me too. I think he knew to separate the body and the phone and the phone was still in his car later in the day. Is there a benefit to turning the phone back on before submerging it in water? Why can phones be turned on and off by anyone anyway? Everything else can be locked so why not that too?

His Dad is apparently an electrician and telecommunications tech, and PS worked for his Dad from what I understand so he’d know the deal with phone data etc and probably about tech detection dogs.

“So, he (the father) revisited his working life – he holds two trades, one as an electrician and the other as a telecommunications technician.”

Orren's family affair

Orren Stephenson had three kids by the time he was 20, now he's reveling in sharing his AFL revival with those closest to him

www.afl.com.au

If he turned the phone on before tossing it in the water. It would immediately give its position to the cellular network.

 

[jjleroche]

“The phone was inside a wallet case, reportedly with Ms Murphy’s credit cards and licence tucked into the adjacent side.”

https://www.skynews.com.au/australia-news/investigators-receive-major-boost-as-sam-murphys-phone-in-nearperfect-working-condition-after-being-found-by-police-last-week/news-story/4fdf7d37b07cc79cca0ca09edc8d47b7

Could the phone and/or phone wallet be a great big red herring? IIRC, it's been previously noted several times by Websleuthers that if Samantha were wearing her smartwatch, she wouldn't need the phone (if linked).

It strikes me that the phone wallet located by police at the dam, is quite bulky, and contained credit cards and licence. If she didn't actually need the phone on her run, and (I'm guessing) wasn't planning to make any purchases whilst on her run, why would she take it? If she took it with her, Samantha would either have to hold it in her hand, or secure it with an accessory such as an armband (to avoid it bouncing around in a pocket.)

JMO

 

[australianwebsleuth]

Was it a plant ? Had the police found it earlier ? Did Samantha actually take her phone, seeing she was only going for a quick run ?

Let us go through the logic.
1.The defendant would know whether he dumped the phone or not. If he didn't dump it, planting it in the dam would cause him no anxiety. The police can't manufacture evidence and take it to trial. His legal advisers know this. It would be detrimental to a conviction.
2. If it was a plant and actually Sam had not taken her phone, why did it ping at 5pm the day it disappeared. Why were they even looking for it?
The 5pm ping would have been at her home. At that stage they did not know she was murdered.

 

[Rocket333]

Unless you'd been observing the dam for years, you wouldn't necessarily know how the ground sloped within, so which was the deepest part, which way it would shrink.

Most would chuck it in the middle.

Other things were found there on the same day too. We haven’t heard what they are (we’ve previously discussed the torch shaped object) or if they’re connected. If they are connected then it wasn’t just about offloading the phone.

“Detectives from the Missing Persons Squad located "items of interest" in Buninyong south of Ballarat on Wednesday morning, but would not comment on the nature of the discoveries.”

Police confirm Samantha Murphy search has been paused day after 'items of interest' recovered

Divers were employed to search a dam on a property south of Ballarat on Wednesday, as detectives recovered a phone during a fresh search for evidence.

www.abc.net.au

 

[Rocket333]

If he turned the phone on before tossing it in the water. It would immediately give its position to the cellular network.

That’s the sole effect of turning it on? Seems counter intuitive to turn it on just to raise the alarm, then toss it in the water and possibly hide other stuff under the bushes. Isn’t he trying to make it all disappear?

Could the 5pm ping be from the phone at the site of the dam or is that too far out?

 

[drsleuth]

This video is of the search on the 20th March , Southwest of Buninyong , around Skirkas Rd ( saw the sign on another video linked below )

Explains that this area was triggered after gaining new intelligence gathered from phone tower communications & associates of the alleged killer ( was a significant search 6hrs approx )

Pictures from the video of the tower




This area is only approx 3kms from the dam

Skirkas Rd to 394 Buninyong-mt Mercer Rd

www.google.com

Were the police able to find the phone in the dam from forensics from PS's phone ??

 

[JLZ]

Most would chuck it in the middle.

And the middle at one time could be the edge at another. Because the ground slopes unevenly on the different sides. And the dam as I'm seeing it on Google Maps satellite view is a boomerang shape. Besides, perhaps under the circumstances he didn't have a wide choice of places from which to stand and chuck it, and perhaps he isn't used to aiming phones in flapping(?) wallets.

 

[drsleuth]

That’s the sole effect of turning it on? Seems counter intuitive to turn it on just to raise the alarm, then toss it in the water and possibly hide other stuff under the bushes. Isn’t he trying to make it all disappear?

Could the 5pm ping be from the phone at the site of the dam or is that too far out?

I think it's possible, approx 6mks

Durham Lead to Ballarat Bird World

www.google.com

 

[drsleuth]

This is a google earth screenshot of the dam in Sept 23 ( I assume it is an American date & not Dec?)

Google Earth

earth.google.com

 

[Scooby-Doo]

Let us go through the logic.
1.The defendant would know whether he dumped the phone or not. If he didn't dump it, planting it in the dam would cause him no anxiety. The police can't manufacture evidence and take it to trial. His legal advisers know this. It would be detrimental to a conviction.
2. If it was a plant and actually Sam had not taken her phone, why did it ping at 5pm the day it disappeared. Why were they even looking for it?
The 5pm ping would have been at her home. At that stage they did not know she was murdered.

Possibly unconfirmed 5pm ping

It was reported that Samantha's device pinged a cell tower. This requires either her phone, with or without a Sim card, to be active OR a cellular-connected Apple Watch.

We don't if the data proved that Samantha and the accused were in the same place at the same time on multiple occasions leading up to her alleged murder.

For instance, If the accused has shown to have witnessed more of Samantha's runs in the forest, and therefore be shown to be stalking her

We don't know for sure If the accused has actually spoken to the police.
But the police will only tell the media on what info they want getting out to the public

 

[SouthAussie]

In this photo you can see a police dog with one of the officers, waiting patiently while another officer strides towards the phone. I wonder if the doggy found the phone.

https://www.skynews.com.au/australia-news/crime/police-discover-what-appears-to-be-mobile-phone-during-fresh-search-for-missing-ballarat-mum-samantha-murphys-body/news-story/3bad3582254df95518ac72145838caf1

 

[Rocket333]

This is a google earth screenshot of the dam in Sept 23 ( I assume it is an American date & not Dec?)

View attachment 529732

Google Earth

earth.google.com

That’s a BIG dam and body of water. Funny how they focussed on it once the water was much lower. Were they aware that it subsides and just waiting? Does the news helicopter always hover around like it was on that day?

Police hope for a breakthrough on Samantha Murphy

The first physical clue to the missing Ballarat mother’s fate emerges from the mud - a mobile phone.

www.theage.com.au

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[Scooby-Doo]

That’s the sole effect of turning it on? Seems counter intuitive to turn it on just to raise the alarm, then toss it in the water and possibly hide other stuff under the bushes. Isn’t he trying to make it all disappear?

Could the 5pm ping be from the phone at the site of the dam or is that too far out?

It's possible her phone set off a notification sound a reminder, possibly a running app, and it would not necessarily need to be connected to the network if that happened.
But It would need to be powered on, though.
It's possible the accused did not know (or had forgotten) they had the phone until they heard a notification.
The smart thing to do would be to immediately disable the phone, then drive it a long way away before disposing of it

 

[HoneyBunOne]

Re: The phone being separated from Samantha's body - I think perhaps he had concerns about it being tracked, and it potentially giving up his hiding spot and Samantha's body. That can be one reason why they are in different locations. Another reason could be that it was forgotten after he disposed of her, and it was thrown away in somewhat of a rush. Maybe he had somewhere he had to be and was running out of time, and locations, if he was on his way back to the share house, or his parent's place, or somewhere else nearby. He would not have had the time to go further afield to dispose of it. Perhaps he had someone else in the car with him, and he spotted it beside the seat or something and had to hastily get rid of it before they saw it. It could be easy to grab it and put it in a pocket, then say he needed the toilet, pull over, hide behind the row of bushes and dispose of the phone. This line of thought would explain why it was disposed of intact, with all the cards and ID inside. Of course, there's also the possibility of another person disposing of it, either hastily, or just without much thought. I feel PS disposed of the phone, and it was done hastily without a lot of thought.

As for him being a mastermind and hiding her body so it will never be found - I still maintain that he just got lucky. He is literally surrounded by forest and bush, mine shafts, waterways etc. His options were endless.

All MOO of course.