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

[mrjitty]

I think that we have speculated before that data from Sam's watch showed her heart rate/blood pressure/etc suddenly spike (during a sudden attack) and then all of them slowly ebb away (as she died).

IIRC a couple of other cases where this kind of evidence was shown were given as reference points, back in the thread.

I gave one South Australian case as a reference ... will try to find the link again and add it.


ETA link:
Ms Matteo said the data showed activity consistent with Myrna Nilsson being ambushed and attacked as she walked into her home just after 6:30pm.

She said it then showed activity and heart rate measurements consistent with her body going into shock and losing consciousness.
"The deceased must have been attacked at around 6:38pm and had certainly died by 6:45pm," she said.
Smartwatch data helped police make arrest in Adelaide murder case, court hears

I think we have to be careful with assumptions.

For instance with my garmin watch and iphone, some of the run data is syncing in realtime to my phone - particularly steps

However the activity data does not sync until i end the activity. So I can imagine a situation where the phone was switched off, and activity not ended - you might not get all the data synced to the phone and if you don't have the watch, then you never get that data.

tldr; it can be complicated

 

[australianwebsleuth]

Thanks AWS. You said the phone could’ve been at Yendon Road but didn’t say it could’ve also have been at the dam. Both locations are on your arc, so why the home and not the dam?

Because the phone was probably underwater at the dam.

 

[drsleuth]

I did a lot of looking around to see if I could see what the maintenance was that day. I didn't find anything specifically for the 4th (probably because it was not going to disrupt services), but I did find that Telstra were doing significant upgrades in completing the 5G network in the Ballarat area around that time period.

Two weeks after Sam disappeared, they were going to have to interrupt services (Mon 17th/Tues 18th) - which is something they don't like to do - and had assured everyone they would get the services back up as quickly as possible.

It could be that there was prep work going on for that during quieter periods, like Sunday 4th Feb. If Sam's relative was correct.

Telstra outages expected in Ballarat early next week

Find out where Telstra customers can expect outages next weeks

www.thecourier.com.au

Better mobile coverage for Ballarat

A new mobile tower in Ballarat is providing 18 square kilometres of much-needed mobile coverage to the community of Lucas. And there's more to come.

www.vic.gov.au

Thanks I was more looking for a map with all the towers around Ballarat.

I found this Telstra 3G / 4G / 5G coverage in Ballarat, Australia - nPerf.com but don't know where the towers are & I may just be to stupid to work it out!

I found these, but it doesn't seem to have the tower near Bird World on it.

https://www.rfnsa.com.au/?first=1

Type in Ballarat ( can't post direct link as it links to my location!)

Than I found this one

OzTowers.com.au, Search for towers in your area.

Australian Mobile, State of the Nation.

oztowers.com.au

I just find it hard to believe that they were all out of action except one!

 

[australianwebsleuth]

Was it a coincidence that they found the phone south of Buninyong?

Previously in other posts it has been said that the cell phone network around Ballarat was 'down' the day SM disappeared. Other posts have also said that SM phone pinged south of the Buninyong, on the Buninyong golf course and Mount Clear. In order to determine precisely where a phone is either requires a GPS location or more than one operational cell tower signal from a phone that is turned on. Each tower by measuring the time lag in the ping creates an arc around each tower. As I have posted earlier just having another late model iPhone in proximity to SM phone would be enough to locate it. But what happens when there is only one available tower?

I looked at the phone tower that has been identified in Buninyong and did some measurements.

The phone tower south of Ballarat bird world. You can see the tower in the left lower corner Marked A.View attachment 529501

In the next image you can see the 4.2km arc from this phone tower going through the lake identified


View attachment 529503

In the next image you can see The location that RS was housesitting with his girlfriend. The same ARC is literally metres from the house.

View attachment 529504


Was SM phone really at 30 Yendon road and did the police search south near the dam just a lucky coincidence.

Incidentally the same ARC goes through where SM disappeared at Mount Clear. I decided not to include the image.

Given the recent posts about the phone, it makes this scenario more likely as phones don't work underwater. Those who say the phone was at the dam have to reconcile that the phone was not in the dam and why they did not reconcile the phone earlier. But we know the phone was underwater at that dam.

The owner of the dam was questioned early on, suggesting that it was about that 5pm ping from the single cell phone tower. How we can be sure of only one phone tower?

Samantha Murphy mystery is starting to unravel

Alternatively did he actually turn the phone on before he threw it in the water creating the ping?

 

[JLZ]

I found these, but it doesn't seem to have the tower near Bird World on it.

It comes up for me as only NBN and Optus, not Telstra.

 

[jjleroche]

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.

IIRC, it's been noted previously that a smartwatch linked to a phone could "ping" (ie phone not needing to be there at all.)
Could anyone please clarify whether or not this is possible. TIA

It's been suggested several times that the discovery of the phone and accompanying wallet could have been staged.
If this were the case, IMO there are various reasons why this could have been done. One possibility could be to draw an accomplice out. In such a case, theoretically, any evidence at trial would be provided by that accomplice.
Hence IMO the integrity Of the investigation would not be affected by the "staging". All entirely speculative. JMO

 

[SouthAussie]

I just find it hard to believe that they were all out of action except one!

I think your second map is showing all towers from all providers (Telstra, Optus, Vodafone, plus towers for NBN services). Sam's phone and PS' phone would have only been able to use one provider's towers - either Telstra, Optus or Vodafone, depending who each of them used as their provider.

 

[BreakingNews]

Can I not like that? haha
If it goes to trial does PS go on the stand?

Usually not. It's really up to him. In the Baden Clay wife murder, his solicitors told him not to, but being the person he is, he insisted. It was his undoing and he had to answer some really embarrassing questions.

 

[SouthAussie]

How we can be sure of only one phone tower?

"Allan [Sam's uncle] claimed that task may have been made harder due to several phone towers in the area going offline.

'That day half the repeaters were out of action - everything was going through Buninyong,' he said."

Inside the frantic hours after Samantha Murphy went missing

The family of missing mother-of-three Samantha Murphy have revealed how her husband tried to find her on the morning she went missing.

www.dailymail.co.uk

 

[australianwebsleuth]

I think your second map is showing all towers from all providers (Telstra, Optus, Vodafone, plus towers for NBN services). Sam's phone and PS' phone would have only been able to use one provider's towers - either Telstra, Optus or Vodafone, depending who each of them used as their provider.

We don't know how the ping was created.

1. In Emergencies, they can use all available towers to ping the phone. see below regarding triple 0 call from 2021. Is it possible in an emergency like this they can go the other way around? I am unsure.

2. If using apple find my phone and it was actually ROS phone that detected the 'turned off' phone, he may have been with a different provider. It would not matter. Just one of the phones would need to be on a network.

3. Do we know which provider either for SM or ROS? its highly unlikely we will find out.

https://www.triplezero.gov.au/triple-zero/How-to-Call-000/advanced-mobile-location

 

[SouthAussie]

We don't know how the ping was created.

1. In Emergencies, they can use all available towers to ping the phone. see below regarding triple 0 call from 2021. Is it possible in an emergency like this they can go the other way around? I am unsure.

2. If using apple find my phone and it was actually ROS phone that detected the 'turned off' phone, he may have been with a different provider. It would not matter. Just one of the phones would need to be on a network.

3. Do we know which provider either for SM or ROS? its highly unlikely we will find out.

https://www.triplezero.gov.au/triple-zero/How-to-Call-000/advanced-mobile-location

Have you watched the Under Investigation show about this case? Maybe (or maybe not) it will help to answer some questions. A panel of experts weigh in about the case.

Retracing the steps of a mum who disappeared after a run | Under Investigation with Liz Hayes​

 

[australianwebsleuth]

Where was the last ping?

Updated the images for the last 'ping of her phone'. The distance to the southern edge of the dam is 4.44 kms (note I changed the arc (4.2 is incorrect) from the Buninyong cellphone tower. This is where the phone was discovered after looking at the photos and the shadows of the police forensics team published in the daily mail.

This is as close as I could get.


The same arc passes through the front of the house where ROS was arrested.


So where was the last ping?

At the house (including surrounds) or was it at the dam. If it was at the dam he must of turned it on before throwing it in. Phones don't work underwater.

 

[HoneyBunOne]

We don't know how the ping was created.

1. In Emergencies, they can use all available towers to ping the phone. see below regarding triple 0 call from 2021. Is it possible in an emergency like this they can go the other way around? I am unsure.

2. If using apple find my phone and it was actually ROS phone that detected the 'turned off' phone, he may have been with a different provider. It would not matter. Just one of the phones would need to be on a network.

3. Do we know which provider either for SM or ROS? its highly unlikely we will find out.

https://www.triplezero.gov.au/triple-zero/How-to-Call-000/advanced-mobile-location

I assume ROS somehow = PS? I can't for the life of me think what it might actually stand for though. Right Old ?

 

[FromGermany1]

It occurs to me he grabbed her that morning but did she actually die that morning
The phone pinged at 5 but is it definite he hid it at that time. Perhaps he threw it on the Monday on his way to an electrician job
( for example ) or on any date infact.
the absence of info means we still know so little

If we would know, how he communicated with his girlfriend, in person or per phone, we would know more. I think, on Sunday morning he had to tell her, why he wasn't present at the home at "unknown clock" and when he would return to the home. Otherwise she would have had a reason to call friends or parents to ask for his whereabouts.
Oh yes, we know too little.

 

[Rocket333]

This is as close as I could get.

Thanks AWS. Can you show us the whole thing please? Is it an arc or a circle?

 

[jjleroche]

I assume ROS somehow = PS? I can't for the life of me think what it might actually stand for though. Right Old ?

IIRC the accused's initials are . I'm guessing ROS is a typo - perhaps should have been . JMO

 

[Porky1]

Justice..... I guess we'd have to ask the loved ones of the victims what they feel justice is.

For me, I guess it's to take someone's freedom away and make them feel regretful and remorseful for their crime, for a timeframe appropriate to their actions. Or is that just revenge? True justice can never really be achieved, as the crime can't be reversed as you say. I think if the person leaves prison a new and improved version of themselves, with regret, and a desire to be their best selves, I think that's the best we can hope for. Of course some criminals should never be released, if their crimes are particularly heinous. I don't necessarily believe that life in jail (up to 25 years in Australia) is enough. I believe parole and early release is ridiculous. Your sentence should be your sentence, no ifs, buts or maybes. In this case, if PS is found guilty and given 25 years, he'll be out this side of 50. Roughly Samantha's age. He'll have the ability to marry, have children and grandchildren, and recommence life. He'll get to live the second half of his life free, an option not available to his alleged victim.

I guess it depends why he killed her. Was it an accident and he then panicked or was this deliberate, a thrill kill? Some very good posts on another site which suggests that it was planned and he had her location, how? Maybe it was a paid hit. I feel very sorry for Samantha's relatives, children, friends. I also feel great sympathy for PS’s family. I do hope Police have adequate resources to get to the bottom of this, I think it has many layers.

 

[Porky1]

The police are keeping everything close to their chests. The police are only letting the media know about any news, on what they want to get out.
I think some of the searches were staged. Possibly her phone staged to draw others out. Someone is talking to police and location for that exact dam, whether that is the accused murderer or not, the police will keep that quiet. I think there is more CCTV footage of Samantha in the morning, but has not been released to the public and inconsistencies of the time she ran/disappeared, to what her actual plans were for later on etc. But we won't be told anything at this stage

It’s interesting that Police were involved so quickly. Either there were known concerns for her safety or the timeline wasn’t what was published. Still something fishy. Missing Persons usually not acted on in less than 24 hours.

 

[SouthAussie]

Missing Persons usually not acted on in less than 24 hours.

That is a fallacy.
And, yes, there were concerns for her safety. Sam was not answering her phone (which apparently she always answered), she was late home, she was due to attend a brunch.

You can report someone as missing at any time. There is no time limit or period to wait.

Report a missing person

Learn about when someone is considered a missing person, and how to make a missing person’s report to the police.

www.police.vic.gov.au

 

[Porky1]

The fact that all her cards were still in the phone wallet intact, indicates to me, the phone wallet could have been placed there instead of being thrown from a vehicle, and it was located at the edge of the dam.
Knowing that the water will become low and any other evidence that could be hers will be eventually found, including any irrigation being done
There was no care in hiding her phone, when there are so many other ways to have got rid of it for good

Perhaps some items have been placed, to be found. Life Insurance requires proof, does this count in the Coroner’s Court?