Australia Samantha Murphy, 51, last seen leaving her property to go for a run in the Canadian State Forest, Ballarat 100km NW of Melbourne, 4 Feb 2024 #6

[mkms]

Sorry if this has already been mentioned but from the outset I thought of this case. The murder charge doesn't fit but it could be that a deliberate act was taken after the initial accident. I was surprised at how lenient the sentences were in this particular case.

Mother and son jailed for attempting to hide Indigenous woman's body following fatal hit-and-run

A mother and son duo who tried to cover-up the hit-and-run death of an Aboriginal woman by moving and burying most of her body in Darwin's rural area have been sentenced in the NT Supreme Court. The victim's leg was found on the side of the Stuart Highway last year.

www.abc.net.au

 

[Angeline]

Curious re. the motive here ?

That's one of the most puzzling aspects of the case.

It could have been an opportunistic attack. That's a frightening thought. It makes me think back to Jill Meagher and how the murderer seemed like an average person who lived with his girlfriend. He had just gone out to dinner with her if I recall correctly.

 

[ProfCluezo]

There are often deep layers of insecurity and misogyny amongst many apparently “average” looking guys…. If others, especially women, do not respond to them with the adoration and deferentiality the male expects, feelings of shame, humiliation and worthlessness can erupt into blinding rage…. I suspect this may be a common element in many supposedly “random” homicides…

 

[Trooper]

That's one of the most puzzling aspects of the case.

It could have been an opportunistic attack. That's a frightening thought. It makes me think back to Jill Meagher and how the murderer seemed like an average person who lived with his girlfriend. He had just gone out to dinner with her if I recall correctly.

Jill Meagher's killer Adrian Bayley had history of violent sex attacks

The Melbourne man who has pleaded guilty to murdering ABC employee Jill Meagher has a history of violent sex attacks on women spanning two decades, a court has heard. Adrian Ernest Bayley has admitted faking his way through a sex offenders' program and was also allowed to continue parole...

www.abc.net.au

He was as far removed from your average person living with his girlfriend as the earth is to the moon. He was a long term criminal, a persistent sex offender, a repeat rapist, and all round scourge..

 

[bearbear]

From the news they began to focus on him after analysis of the phone data. Since they didn't seize his car or his phone right away the police must not have had enough other evidence at that time (video of him striking her with his car for example). They spent almost 2 weeks doing something else we don't know about yet and only arrested him after they spoke to him at length. Somehow they developed that he was in fact the killer and that it was deliberate.

I'll speculate he told some tall-tales during that interrogation not realizing how much the police had already gathered.

i think i read in one of the articles they had the data earlier on but just watched him for 2 weeks after that so as not to alert him,

 

[bearbear]

5 weeks ago? Doubt it - would’ve healed. More likely attempt to disguise self - he knows police are all over the cctv footage. I would be surprised if he had also had a haircut or started/stopped wearing a hat.

maybe red scars still if he was scratched deeply?

 

[MissTilly]

**warning**: sorry, icky stuff

If he did hit her with his car, either deliberately or accidentally, perhaps she wasn’t deceased immediately. he may have used a rock, tree, car jack, or other implement to hit her and kill her.
why do the police seem so certain that she is dead? perhaps they found a large amount of blood or brain matter that indicates a catastrophic unsurvivable injury or they found the implement with brain matter attached
moo, speculation, but a possible scenario?

etf: spelling mistake

 

[Neet_Mc]

Having watched back the show in light of the arrest I wonder if it was aired in conjunction with police to put the heat on the perp. Especially the in depth information about the phone and tracking capabilities of gps technologies etc.

I’m sure they have input, manipulate media coverage, to elicit a response / action from suspects.

 

[Warshawski]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1766025974796398662

It appears the video which was mentioned yesterday was true. It is paywalled but I have seen the video on FB as well. It does not show the accused doing drugs but he is identified in the video.

Well imo there’s a huge difference between being present where someone is using drugs / cocaine - and being pictured actually using the stuff .

 

[Neet_Mc]

I agree with the original poster. (see what I did there) looks like the boy next door. It is stereotyping, yes but I personally would generally not sense any danger from this kind of person who seemingly had a stable family, a career, friends, not tattoos plastered all over his body, full set of teeth etc. Generally I would expect someone capable of such a crime that is so senseless, without a clear motive driving him there to look a lot ‘rougher’, like the person has lived a much rougher life. IMO

Yet data would suggest there’s a big societal problem in Australia with physical and/or sexual family and domestic violence, meaning that statistically ‘boy next door types’ are not only capable of, but actually are perpetrators of, these crimes. So really, why not him? I think there is a lot of fooling of ourselves that such crimes can’t be committed by good footy club ‘boys’

 

[iusedtofloat]

well... his initials check out.

 

[sapphire blue]

Claiming mental health is in vogue - the get out of jail free card of recent times! This one always comes to mind whenever I hear mental health card being pulled Accused killer of homeless man was popular grammar boy who changed on drugs

Claiming Mental health is not a get out of jail free card at all.

Mental health is not an excuse, however it is a factor and as such needs to be taken into consideration.

 

[Oona]

DBM

 

[Warshawski]

I truely believe that was a Police / Media strategy in full play ..for exactly that reason, …. while all the time having him under Police surveillance …..

IMO

I keep on remembering the question about why it’s taken police so long to use collected data ( or to that effect) and the answer was ‘ to see if the perp goes back to the area ‘

 

[Neet_Mc]

I just don't know where the premise of her being hit by a car has come from. Most likely, he , at some stage, used a car to remove her body from the murder site at Mt Clear ( that's where VICPOL say she was murdered that Sunday morning) because her body is not , plainly, at Mt Clear. That is a given, her body is missing. Logically, he didn't carry her away on his shoulders. But where does the claim of this being some sort of collision event come from?

The appeal for footage of a damaged car. Think it has been assumed that the damage was related to Sam’s death. As stated previously, damage could have been pre-existing, meaning police had suspicions of which/whose vehicle was used and were trying to get more evidence.

 

[Fieldsroyal]

Given the evidence re: drug use (reportedly cocaine and God knows what the cocaine was cut with) I wouldn't be so quick to rule out a drug induced psychosis. I am aware that MDMA can cause psychosis too. No excuse. Just a thought.

 

[Neet_Mc]

Most people in prison suffer from mental health issues so it’s certainly not a get out of jail free card. Mental illness does come into play when charging and sentencing though because it alters the intent and also the court does need to be notified of their issues so they can continue treatment or be assessed in remand.

I am aware of the reality of mental health and incarceration. I guess I’m reflecting on it being regularly thrown up in last ditch efforts to reduce someone’s culpability. Particularly in say cases of white collar crimes where an individual has been a powerful ceo etc and then commits major fraud. And the only hint of mental illness ever effecting their life, is in the court proceedings.

 

[Reneemaree88]

Second crime scene established after woman's body found in bin

A second crime scene has been set up at a home almost 100km away from where a woman's body has been discovered in a bin on an isolated stretch of road.

www.dailymail.co.uk

 

[Reneemaree88]

Buckley is 1 hour and 13 mins, from Ballarat.

 

[Trooper]

Second crime scene established after woman's body found in bin

A second crime scene has been set up at a home almost 100km away from where a woman's body has been discovered in a bin on an isolated stretch of road.

www.dailymail.co.uk

I think this is a terrible situation of a son who has killed his mother. (This is a mistake I made )


I have corrected my error further down the thread , my apologies to all.