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

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mrjitty said:
Agreed. Which is why I am willing to wager that the perp will also have turned his phone off sometime shortly before he struck
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If police can put a time to the 'catastrophic event' registered on Sam's devices, and PS turned off his phone just before, that would give them a reason to believe the attack was intentional.
 
Kemug said:
At 7.15pm it was announced that there was no threat to the public! ie there wasn't somebody running around randomly abducting and possibly killing people. How did they know that? How could they possibly have known that? If I had been in that area at that time, I don't believe I would have felt safe and reassured. Surely LE only say that when they know the who and why - so if that was a true statement, then they obviously knew a great deal already, and maybe were already tracking PS. I just don't understand it.
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I don't recall the exact timing, but it did seem conflicting to me that apparently there was no threat to the public, yet at the same time the police made it feel (to me at least) that they didn't have a lot to go on, and I believe were still talking just as if she were a missing person at that stage. Those things don't gel. It's a very bold statement indeed to say the general public were safe, there's no coming back from that. Can you imagine the backlash if indeed another person went missing in similar circumstances? In these very early days it appeared police were welcoming of the general public searching for Samantha, which again doesn't mesh with perhaps knowing that she had been murdered. It just doesn't make a huge amount of sense to me, but I'm hoping it comes out at trial.
 
If SM’s phone was switched off then that’s potentially damning.

If it wasn’t switched off immediately then maybe it tried to connect to his car’s bluetooth. If police were able to do a data dump from his car would that come up?
 
HoneyBunOne said:
I don't recall the exact timing, but it did seem conflicting to me that apparently there was no threat to the public, yet at the same time the police made it feel (to me at least) that they didn't have a lot to go on, and I believe were still talking just as if she were a missing person at that stage. Those things don't gel. It's a very bold statement indeed to say the general public were safe, there's no coming back from that. Can you imagine the backlash if indeed another person went missing in similar circumstances? In these very early days it appeared police were welcoming of the general public searching for Samantha, which again doesn't mesh with perhaps knowing that she had been murdered. It just doesn't make a huge amount of sense to me, but I'm hoping it comes out at trial.
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My thoughts when they said there was no threat was that they suspected Mick . To have eyes on PS that early doesn’t seem plausible unless they had a cc tv of him near her which they are keeping quiet
 
Rumination1 said:
My thoughts when they said there was no threat was that they suspected Mick . To have eyes on PS that early doesn’t seem plausible unless they had a cc tv of him near her which they are keeping quiet
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If they suspected Mick, that would explain their comments. And if so, I hope they grovelled to the poor man, and begged his forgiveness.
 
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Rumination1 said:
My thoughts when they said there was no threat was that they suspected Mick . To have eyes on PS that early doesn’t seem plausible unless they had a cc tv of him near her which they are keeping quiet
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If PS was initially at Mt Clear for reasons other than (allegedly) attacking a woman, it’s quite likely he had his phone on. Phone data would place him there around 8am.
It’s more likely he’d turn his phone off if he was there under premeditated intentions to harm someone, and was lying in wait.

Early on the police appeared to be relying on Sam’s phone data. They seemed to know Sam’s journey from home until 7km into the park, and then the intel seemed to stop.

If PS’s phone was detected to be near hers then of course both phones were switched on at some point at the same time at the same spot. I think his phone was on when they encountered one another. If so, the attack may have not been premediated and instead occurred due to a dispute.

Right now I’m wondering if she caught something on her phone that he wanted erased, and the struggle resulted in her death. Panicked, turned off both phones, placed her in his car and went about his day, and then disposed of Sam, personal items and her phone later in the afternoon when he had time. If he was turning the phone on and off (and it actually was pinging between 3 & 5) it may have been attempts to access something on the phone, like photos or video/s.

 
BreakingNews said:
I'll be relying on WS for regular

I'll be watching out on WS as will be away. Keep posting.
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Another reason why there could be a delay.. .... back in the first Mention, the defence said, the accused was having 'issues' with being on remand.. In court, there is no such thing as a throw away line, we say , outside court, oh, he has issues, he can't deal with too much sunshine, stuff like that, but to say this in court indicates a significant issue, that the defence, and the prosecution want it On The Record..... the Remandee is causing disruption, disturbance, etc... something that has to be addressed before proceedings continue , maybe...

Meaning, there could be some request to the court for some sort of treatment, before a Committal is heard, so... pencilled in, not biro, just yet...
 
drsleuth said:
<modsnip - quoted post was removed>

Mick seems to have lots of mates :)

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=1606878939852145

www.9news.com.au

'Life was really good, and then this': Samantha Murphy's husband speaks

www.9news.com.au www.9news.com.au

Also noticed in my last link the following

After calling her mobile, with no answer, Mick notified police and began searching in nearby bushland.

BBM - ? not turned off
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His call went straight to the 'message bank', so would that not indicate that the phone was turned off or alternatviely in a 'black spot'?
 
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Kemug said:
If they suspected Mick, that would explain their comments. And if so, I hope they grovelled to the poor man, and begged his forgiveness.
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They have to eliminate those closest and it’d be an awful experience for all parties. Remember poor Tom Meagher when Jill Meagher was missing?

“Tom was told firmly, but politely, that the homicide squad begins with those closest to the victim and then works its way out in ever-increasing circles. The reality is that in the vast majority of murders the victim knows the offender and in most cases involving females they are killed by their partners.”

www.theage.com.au

'Meet me at the pub'

A GOOD homicide investigator is more marathon runner than sprinter. On-call detectives from the squad know that from the moment their mobile phones ring they may have a job that will absorb them for years.
www.theage.com.au www.theage.com.au
 
Trooper said:
Another reason why there could be a delay.. .... back in the first Mention, the defence said, the accused was having 'issues' with being on remand.. In court, there is no such thing as a throw away line, we say , outside court, oh, he has issues, he can't deal with too much sunshine, stuff like that, but to say this in court indicates a significant issue, that the defence, and the prosecution want it On The Record..... the Remandee is causing disruption, disturbance, etc... something that has to be addressed before proceedings continue , maybe...

Meaning, there could be some request to the court for some sort of treatment, before a Committal is heard, so... pencilled in, not biro, just yet...
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Like setting the groundwork for a (tactical?) delay perhaps.

Toyah Cordingley's trial was due to start in July but has been adjourned until next February, for a few reasons that I’m yet to fully comprehend.

 
Rocket333 said:
Like setting the groundwork for a (tactical?) delay perhaps.

Toyah Cordingley's trial was due to start in July but has been adjourned until next February, for a few reasons that I’m yet to fully comprehend.

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Lots of logistical matters to be scrutinised,..... traditionally, the accused presents in person at his own trial. Covid and ZOOM have changed that , but the essence remains the same, the jury is entitled to see and hear the accused at all times, the Ballarat public, all good taxpayers , are entitled to have justice done , and seen to be done, in their community, the jurors should be of his peers, etc...

Weighed up against transporting a difficult passenger, kicking and screaming , perhaps, 60klms up from Melbourne to Ballarat AND BACK every day, at high speed, with an attendant fleet of divvy vans and motorcycles, just in case, ..... and then, or, where to put him up in Ballarat if he is to stay there for the entire trial. he has to be sequestered from other prisoners, catering, Health and Safety stuff , extra Correctional staff,.. matters like this.. If he's having 'issues'.. and in Remand, everyone has issues, his must be a bit alarming to be bought forward in a Mention, all these things become elevated!!..

People mentioned how different he looked after a short time in Remand, less polished, more disheveled....
 
Trooper said:
If he's having 'issues'.. and in Remand, everyone has issues, his must be a bit alarming to be bought forward in a Mention, all these things become elevated!!..
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Remand, I’d imagine, is far more accommodating and comfortable than prison too. Yet he waits in silence, and is not pleading his case, or his innocence, or for a deal. If you were innocent or feeling misunderstood in that situation and having issues, why wouldn’t you be doing everything you can, and very vocally, to get yourself free?
 
Rocket333 said:
Remand, I’d imagine, is far more accommodating and comfortable than prison too. Yet he waits in silence, and is not pleading his case, or his innocence, or for a deal. If you were innocent or feeling misunderstood in that situation and having issues, why wouldn’t you be doing everything you can, and very vocally, to get yourself free?
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It's a difficult thing to comprehend, but it doesn't serve you well to assume one would vigorously defend themselves if they felt they were innocent.
 
Trooper said:
He had her phone in his hands, it would seem.,.. probably at 8am. up until he disposed of it. the 5pm ping? Maybe he couldn't resist fiddling with it, someone elses stuff, stuff that's now his, he can do it if he wants to, then he remembers, the tech stuff, he can't undo what he did......... he flings it out the car window...??
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Still think it would have been quite a fling to get the phone from the road into that dam.
 
BreakingNews said:
Still think it would have been quite a fling to get the phone from the road into that dam.
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Does anyone have knowledge of the actual distance - roadside to location found? Google maps makes it appear not that far at all, even using their distance guide. I haven't been able to find a full aerial shot of where the phone was located in relation to the road.

If indeed PS threw it, you need to bear in mind he's a young adult in the prime of his life. Tall (long arms and legs), athletic, played footy for several years, rode motorbikes, on the rowing team at St Pat's (upper body strength), into the outdoor lifestyle as seen in several camping pics etc.

I have no doubt, based just on pics from the media, that a phone could be thrown this distance by a person like the accused.

Mention of the rowing team in the below article:
www.dailymail.co.uk

Former schoolmate lifts the lid on Samantha Murphy's accused killer

Patrick Stephenson, 22, was this week charged with allegedly murdering Samantha Murphy on February 4 after she left her Ballarat home, in Victoria, for a morning run.
www.dailymail.co.uk www.dailymail.co.uk
 
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HoneyBunOne said:
Does anyone have knowledge of the actual distance - roadside to location found?

If indeed PS threw it, you need to bear in mind he's a young adult in the prime of his life. Tall (long arms and legs), athletic, played footy for several years, rode motorbikes, on the rowing team at St Pat's (upper body strength), into the outdoor lifestyle as seen in several camping pics etc.

I have no doubt, based just on pics from the media, that a phone could be thrown this distance by a person like the accused.

Mention of the rowing team in the below article:
www.dailymail.co.uk

Former schoolmate lifts the lid on Samantha Murphy's accused killer

Patrick Stephenson, 22, was this week charged with allegedly murdering Samantha Murphy on February 4 after she left her Ballarat home, in Victoria, for a morning run.
www.dailymail.co.uk www.dailymail.co.uk
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The problem would be if he threw it while in the car. The dam was behind a barrier of bushy weeds. So either he lobbed it over the top of his car from the far-side window, in which case difficult to aim--but it's a big dam. Or he threw it from the dam-side window, and the problem would be getting the height to clear the bushes. The bigger his limbs, the more constricted his throw.
 
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