Australia Samantha Murphy, 51, last seen leaving her property to go for a run in the Canadian State Forest, Ballarat, 4 Feb 2024 *Arrest* #12

[Scooby-Doo]

As I said, I am pretty sure that the police made the allegation in court. Not to the media. It was reported by media at the time of the court hearing.

I still don't understand why it is thought someone else is involved. That someone else is under surveillance. Why that is even under any consideration.

That is my thoughts, the police also said in the beginning more parties involved in her disappearance, whether that's true now, we don't know. But a lot of new evidence has come forth, witnesses as well as CCTV
What court allegation ? I know earlier in the piece they suspect 'more parties' involved in Samantha's disappearance
The police aren't going to say anything that will jeopardise their operational activity

 

[Scooby-Doo]

I dunno, Scooby. My understanding is that our speculation needs to be based on some kind of facts. Threadiquette.

I am not seeing any facts that suggest involvement of anyone else. And the police have stated that PS acted alone.

imo

I have said my reasoning. You can't say it's an ordinary murder, we don't know. We'll know more soon

 

[Trooper]

I have said my reasoning. You can't say it's an ordinary murder, we don't know. We'll know more soon

There have been 59 ordinary murders of women in Australia this year.... that's nearly 6 a month. Ordinary women, going about their business. Cooking a meal, driving the kids to school, out for a Sunday run thru the bush, doing the household shopping, having a night out with the girls, travelling to see their elderly mother, some of them 'stepped over the line' and answered someone back in a tone that required the ending of their life, apparently.

By the time this week ends, statistically, there will be a 60th. One more ordinary woman 's life ended by an ordinary man, he was a good bloke, they'll say. He wouldn't harm a fly, they'll say. Oh No, his dad was am AFL footballer, it can't be true, I went fishing with him lots, he was good company, they'll say.

Ordinary stuff, so ordinary .....

 

[SouthAussie]

I have said my reasoning. You can't say it's an ordinary murder, we don't know. We'll know more soon

Except it wasn't me who said it was ordinary murder. But I do agree that this is sadly another case of deathly violence against a lone woman. Happens far too often.

 

[Scooby-Doo]

There have been 59 ordinary murders of women in Australia this year.... that's nearly 6 a month. Ordinary women, going about their business. Cooking a meal, driving the kids to school, out for a Sunday run thru the bush, doing the household shopping, having a night out with the girls, travelling to see their elderly mother, some of them 'stepped over the line' and answered someone back in a tone that required the ending of their life, apparently.

By the time this week ends, statistically, there will be a 60th. One more ordinary woman 's life ended by an ordinary man, he was a good bloke, they'll say. He wouldn't harm a fly, they'll say. I went fishing with him lots, he was good company, they'll say. Ordinary stuff, so ordinary .....

What's that got to do with my post ?

 

[Trooper]

What's that got to do with my post ?

Everything.

 

[drsleuth]

If there was a Ping from Samantha's phone from the Buninyong Tower 5pm or earlier, it says that her phone was in the vicinity at the time of the Ping, and was switched on.

But Mick said her phone was Off when he tried to ring her that morning.

But If Buninyong was the last phone ping? How did this happen if the phone was in the dam at 5pm? Or 5pm when the phone was tossed into the dam, but pings cannot transmit through water

The final ping at 5 pm (If it's true) Might not be accurate either, police allege that Samantha was killed at Mt Clear. It could be circumstantial evidence that she may have been alive later that day in a different location. So police would need to establish how this ping occurred with their evidence, so there is reasonable doubt that she was murdered at Mt Clear.

If her phone had been placed in a toolbox or metal case, that would block the signal, and when it was taken out, that would allow one final ping from another location hours later

But the phone may but been put in the dam on a different day altogether
and we don't know for sure it was the accused who put the phone in the dam. Police have not said anything.
He might have even given it to someone else to dispose of it, they might have had it in their possession for a while, we still don't know If police have found her watch

The police would know now how long the phone has been at the dam.

Phone batteries go flat within a matter of hours, if it was the last ping from that phone then surely police would have found it weeks earlier, after the event.

I find it interesting that none of her cards had fallen or slipped out of the phone wallet, especially if the phone had be thrown from the road, or from a distance, but they seemed to be loose, easily moved around when being shown by the police to the media

We seem to going around in a never ending circle with the "ping", we just don't know enough..........

Bring on November 14th, even than we probably won't know much more, if he chooses to skip a committal hearing & go straight to trial.

 

[Scooby-Doo]

Except it wasn't me who said it was ordinary murder. But I do agree that this is sadly another case of deathly violence against a lone woman. Happens far too often.

No it was Trooper

 

[Scooby-Doo]

Everything.

Lol... ... You said, its a very ordinary murder, man sees woman, man kills woman, man goes home and has breakfast, and pretends he knows nothing about it.

Happens all the time. Ordinary stuff.

But you can't say it's an ordinary murder,

We don't know. !! And you're saying facts. Lol
It hasn't even gone to court yet

Relax, Go have a chill pill..!

 

[SouthAussie]

We seem to going around in a never ending circle with the "ping", we just don't know enough..........

Bring on November 14th, even than we probably won't know much more, if he chooses to skip a committal hearing & go straight to trial.

I hope he doesn't elect to skip the committal hearing. Because we all want to know so much more. Probably Mick and family are struggling with why PS (allegedly) murdered their loved one.

But if he does skip the committal hearing, it means he will be fast-tracked to trial.

 

[Trooper]

I hope he doesn't skip the committal hearing. Because we all want to know so much more.
But if he does, it means he will be fast-tracked to trial.

the DPP will put a lovely sunburned bearded teckie from Telstra up on the stand to carefully and professionally go thru the inner workings of towers and pings and relays and quandrants with such cool ease and straightforward language that will be like music to a ping fanatics ears. Right now , as I type, that bloke is in his office going thru his testimony , threading the details together, getting it ready for the judge.

Some of the most electrifying ( no pun intended ) testimony in murder trials is from the Techs, the nuts and bolts people, men and women who undo the intricacy of technical wizadry and make it as easy to follow as a knitting pattern.

 

[drsleuth]

I've started to do a bit of a timeline with what we do know.

It's no where near complete, I have just been jotting things down as I re-read some old articles etc.

What we do know:

FEBUARY 2024

• 4th Feb SM left for a run @ approx 7am from her Ballarat East House for an early morning trail run along Woowookarung Regional Park, formerly known as Canadian State Forest. She was last captured on CCTV outside her Blairs Lane home, dressed in a maroon singlet and black running tights.
• SM had her phone, Smart watch & ear pods with her.
• SM didn’t arrive to a planned brunch @ 11am & family raised the alarm
• About 8am 4th Feb – Murphy is believed to have reached the Mount Clear area by foot, according to mobile phone data later obtained by police.
• Emergency services and community volunteers begin to search in nearby Woowookarung Regional Park, or Canadian Forest.
• 5th Feb Victoria Police launch a public appeal. A search area is established near Buninyong, about 14 kilometres from where Murphy was last seen. Police say Murphy's phone was recorded near the Buninyong Golf Club.
• 6th Feb - More than 100 specialist police officers, SES searchers, Forest Fire Management Australia and Parks Victoria officials search for signs of Murphy in the bush. Focused the search on Woowookarung Regional Park and bushland near the Buninyong Golf Course. New search area includes three bushland reserves — Black Hill Reserve, Chisholm Street Reserve, Monte Christo Bushland Reserve — and the Wallaby Track. Police said yesterday they had been using mobile phone data and Ms Murphy's usual running routes to determine the search area.
• 6th Feb - police added parts of Black Hill, Brown Hill and Nerrina as a focus area.
• 7th Feb - Police release CCTV footage of a runner they believe to be Murphy heading north-east toward Yankee Flat Road. The footage is scrapped from the investigation the following day after a community member says they featured in the image.
• 8th Feb - Murphy's husband Mick and eldest daughter Jess hold a press conference, appealing for information and thanking the public for their assistance.
• 9th Feb - Missing persons unit detectives take over the investigation from Ballarat police. Police reveal they are closely examining Murphy's electronic devices.
• 10th Feb - Investigators scale back the search. SES and CFA volunteers are called off.
• 14th Feb - Victoria Police Chief Commissioner Shane Patton confirms detectives are treating Murphy's disappearance as suspicious.
• 23rd Feb - Police say they suspect that "one or more parties" are most likely behind her disappearance. They send search units to Mount Clear again based on new phone data analysis.
• Investigators were in the process of reviewing about 12,000 hours of CCTV footage and following up more than 500 separate pieces of information.
• Police continued to ask everyone in the Ballarat East and Mount Helen areas, particularly around the Canadian forest, to check their CCTV for any possible sightings over the past three weeks.
• Detectives are also urging anyone travelling through the area, particularly between 7am and 7pm on Sunday, 4 February, who may have dashcam footage to also check this for possible sightings.
• Hatt - “I encourage anyone who does have information that could be relevant to this investigation – whether that’s a person or vehicle seen in the area on that day, something unusual such as a damaged vehicle or property – to please come forward and speak to police or provide the information via Crime Stoppers,” he said.
• 24th Feb - Acting Det Supt Mark Hatt says that while the area had previously been extensively searched, they are looking for small items that may have been missed and “intricate details” of what occurred on 4 February.
• “We’re absolutely looking for a phone, we haven’t yet found that,” he says. “We’re looking for a body.”
• Police will also investigate the possibility Murphy was removed from the local area.
• A volunteer-led community search takes places in Ballarat with hundreds of locals and visitors searching dense bushland in the hope of finding a clue to assist the investigation.

MARCH 2024

• 6th March - A 22-year-old man is arrested at a home in Ballarat about 6am.
• 7th March 9.30am -Police charge a Mount Clear man ( PS ) with one count of murder.
• Police inform the public of the man's arrest.
• Prosecutors asked for 20 weeks to compile evidence to hand to the defence, because of the "significant amount of material" that needed to be analysed.
• 7th March - A suppression order is requested by defense team
• 8th March – court – Defence lawyer David Tamanika withdrew suppression order ( instructed by his client )
• 9th March -Chief Commissioner Patton said the police would allege Mr Stephenson acted alone.
• 20th March - A widespread police search for the Ballarat mother's body is sparked after detectives receive new intelligence.
• Police spend eight hours scouring thick bushland in Buninyong, about 11km from Ballarat.

APRIL 2024

• 11th April - Police search bushland in the Enfield State Park area, after police receive intelligence from "various sources".
• Stephenson isn't cooperating with police.

May 2024

• 29th May - Police find a phone in the mud on the bank of a dam along Buninyong-Mt Mercer Road.
• Detectives from the Missing Persons Squad, together with a range of specialist resources including federal police, spend the day performing a "targeted search" south of Buninyong, about five kilometres south of where Samantha's phone last pinged to a mobile phone tower.
• 30th May – Phone found confirmed to be SM’s

August 2024

• August 8th Court Hearing. Mr Stephenson's lawyer, Moya O'Brien, said she was yet to receive the CCTV footage and would need time to review it. "It has been described as unprecedented in terms of size," she said.
• She requested at least a 12-week adjournment, a move also supported by the prosecution. Same was granted, next court date 14th Nov 2024

TBC

Court hearings for man accused of murdering Samantha Murphy delayed due to 'huge' evidence brief Thur 8th Aug 2024

Patrick Orren Stephenson named as Samantha Murphy's accused killer after suppression order ends Friday 8th March

Alleged killer of Ballarat mother Samantha Murphy unmasked Friday 8th March

Samantha Murphy: police ‘very doubtful’ missing Ballarat woman still alive amid suspicion ‘one or more parties’ involved 23rd Feb 2024

Search area expands for missing Ballarat woman Samantha Murphy Tues Feb 6th

https://www.9news.com.au/national/samantha-murphy-update-timeline-of-missing-ballarat-mums-disappearance/71927797-1901-4364-95b5-b50355b16410 29th May 2024 29th May 2024

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2024/mar/07/samantha-murphy-timeline-disappearance-investigation-news-update-events-ballarat-has-she-been-found March 7th 2024 7th March 2024

Samantha Murphy: a timeline of the alleged murder investigation 7th March 2024

 

[Trooper]

oh, nice work , Dr S! ( chefs kiss emoji)

 

[Marg944]

I've started to do a bit of a timeline with what we do know.

It's no where near complete, I have just been jotting things down as I re-read some old articles etc.

Brilliant work Drsleuth…. makes it much easier to understand.

 

[drsleuth]

oh, nice work , Dr S! ( chefs kiss emoji)

Brilliant work Drsleuth…. makes it much easier to understand.

Thanks my brain works better when every thing is all together!

 

[drsleuth]

Feel free to add to it all

 

[drsleuth]

dbm

 

[Porky1]

The search for Vicky Davey also developed quickly and extensively. Reported missing in the late afternoon IIRC (last seen at 2pm at a store). Partner couldn't get hold of her by phone.
Police were out physically searching by 9pm, and they searched all night long and for the next two days, until they sadly found her deceased.

I don't think it is that unusual anymore, for the police to jump right on it. It might have been unusual back in the day, but not now. If people are worried about an adult, there is usually a very good reason for them to be worried.

imo

I missed that one, very sad.

 

[mrjitty]

There have been 59 ordinary murders of women in Australia this year.... that's nearly 6 a month. Ordinary women, going about their business. Cooking a meal, driving the kids to school, out for a Sunday run thru the bush, doing the household shopping, having a night out with the girls, travelling to see their elderly mother, some of them 'stepped over the line' and answered someone back in a tone that required the ending of their life, apparently.

By the time this week ends, statistically, there will be a 60th. One more ordinary woman 's life ended by an ordinary man, he was a good bloke, they'll say. He wouldn't harm a fly, they'll say. Oh No, his dad was am AFL footballer, it can't be true, I went fishing with him lots, he was good company, they'll say.

Ordinary stuff, so ordinary .....

This case has fairly common motifs for a lone predator attack IMO.

Women alone walking/running in parkland, rural area or otherwise isolated. Most times the body is not far away - so in this case we know a car was used to move the body. I will not be surprised to learn it's traces of her in that car that are key to his arrest.

 

[drsleuth]

This case has fairly common motifs for a lone predator attack IMO.

Women alone walking/running in parkland, rural area or otherwise isolated. Most times the body is not far away - so in this case we know a car was used to move the body. I will not be surprised to learn it's traces of her in that car that are key to his arrest.

Hopefully the Prosecution have a Forensic Botanist on their list of witnesses