Australia Samantha Murphy, 51, last seen leaving her property to go for a run in the Canadian State Forest, Ballarat, 4 Feb 2024 *Arrest* #13

[Cliff Hardy]

After chatting to an acquaintance who lived in Ballarat for 40 years ….if there were a third party involved could he be hesitant in giving up information in fear of reprisal.

Spoke with someone from Ballarat a while ago and they told me 'most of us in Ballarat are of the same view as to what happened' but wouldn't elaborate.

Almost like if you aren't from around here we aren't going to tell you.

 

[Rocket333]

Off the top of my head, I can think of at least two murders right away where the phone was not dumped with the body.

Yeah, disposing of a phone with a body seems pretty risky, unless you've totally destroyed it, given technology today that allows them to be discovered remotely.

Absolutely SA and Shadow. Disposing of a phone with the body is risky. Travelling with the body and the phone is bonkers. Ristevski & Bayley probably wouldn’t have realised the risk of travelling with an intact phone.

Stephenson though would know better.

He made errors with the phone which I can only put down to panic, an inability to think clearly, and haste. Why was the phone not completely smashed & destroyed in Canadian, rather than carried away and discarded in its intact wallet in water where it would survive? Stephenson would know better than to not completely decimate that phone. I don’t believe that anyone else was involved so I’m thinking he was panicked, weary & rushing.

Mick Murphy said that Sam’s phone went to voicemail when he called her that morning. Probably intentionally turned off.

Sam’s phone pings at 5pm. Probably accidentally triggered.

Sam’s phone gets chucked in a dam beside the road on a route that leads to repeated search sites. Probably a panicked throw before or after dealing with the body.

Sam was reported to be wearing a smartwatch too. He would know to lose that too, but as the phone disposal appears not well thought out, the fate of the watch was probably spontaneous too. These tech pieces might be the arrows pointing to routes and broad search sites.

Q: How do you destroy a phone (or watch) in Canadian without leaving evidence, and how do you remove a phone (or watch) from Canadian without it betraying you and your journey?

 

[BreakingNews]

I can't imagine that the accused could put a body in a vehicle, without help. It's just too difficult to lift dead weight. I also can't believe a third person was involved so that leaves me to think he simply buried her somewhere close to where she died.
As a kid growing up in the area, he was probably very familiar with the area - maybe knew where the mine shafts were. Kids explore.
My opinions, but I think it is so important for the family that Mrs Murphy is found.

Moo

 

[Trooper]

Absolutely SA and Shadow. Disposing of a phone with the body is risky. Travelling with the body and the phone is bonkers. Ristevski & Bayley probably wouldn’t have realised the risk of travelling with an intact phone.

Stephenson though would know better.

He made errors with the phone which I can only put down to panic, an inability to think clearly, and haste. Why was the phone not completely smashed & destroyed in Canadian, rather than carried away and discarded in its intact wallet in water where it would survive? Stephenson would know better than to not completely decimate that phone. I don’t believe that anyone else was involved so I’m thinking he was panicked, weary & rushing.

Mick Murphy said that Sam’s phone went to voicemail when he called her that morning. Probably intentionally turned off.

Sam’s phone pings at 5pm. Probably accidentally triggered.

Sam’s phone gets chucked in a dam beside the road on a route that leads to repeated search sites. Probably a panicked throw before or after dealing with the body.

Sam was reported to be wearing a smartwatch too. He would know to lose that too, but as the phone disposal appears not well thought out, the fate of the watch was probably spontaneous too. These tech pieces might be the arrows pointing to routes and broad search sites.

Q: How do you destroy a phone (or watch) in Canadian without leaving evidence, and how do you remove a phone (or watch) from Canadian without it betraying you and your journey?

The phone , at first glance, seems like an anomaly., doesn't it, R... .. out of sync with the rest of the events... all the previous actions seem to have gone off without a hitch, the encounter , the murder, the disposal of the body,.. yet the phone.. Just laying around by a slowly shrinking dam.. Still with all the info intact including various cards, etc.. An anomaly.

I thought, it might have been that he gave the phone to someone, as a gift, as a placating issue, for being late , or missing a deadline... something like that, and this giftee suddenly realised the significance of the phone, and hurled it away at the first opportunity, where ever they were at the time... that maybe it wasn't the killer who tossed the phone. But , you know. even killers get a bit discombobulated,... he had no way of knowing what measure of time he had... even he must have been a bit surprised that the hue and cry for Samantha would erupt into a full bore search so quickly ... as it turned out he had approx . 4.5 hours, all up to get things sorted.. eg. murder at 8am , Samantha reported missing at 123.0 - 1pm....

From that point on, people were observant, and alert... roads would be watched, neighbors checked up on.. he did not have much time, really , broad daylight, Sunday traffic ...

Also, he was a technician. electrical.. surely he would know to dismantle the phone before chucking it.. unless he was well and truly rattled, by then.. that he suddenly realised , late in the day (5pm ping ) that he had her phone still with him..

We only have to wait until September..

 

[Trooper]

Off the top of my head, I can think of at least two murders right away where the phone was not dumped with the body.


Borce Ristevski did not dump Karen's phone with her body. Her phone last pinged somewhere along the route to Mount Macedon and police never found her phone.

Twenty-six minutes into the drive, Ristevski turned off his mobile phone to avoid being traced. Within an hour of leaving the house, Karen’s mobile telephone was also deactivated. He disposed of her telephone, handbag and wallet, which have never been found.
Calculated moves? Borce Ristevski's steps after he killed Karen


Adrian Bayley did not dump Jill Meagher's phone with her body.

When asked what he did with Ms Meagher's phone, Bayley told detectives: "I smashed that at home, in the driveway."
Jill Meagher's mobile phone proved the vital clue for police tracking down accused Adrian Ernest Bayley

No one has ever found Alison Baden-Clay's phone, either.. Gerard got rid of that and is saying nothing...

 

[SouthAussie]

I can't imagine that the accused could put a body in a vehicle, without help. It's just too difficult to lift dead weight. I also can't believe a third person was involved so that leaves me to think he simply buried her somewhere close to where she died.
As a kid growing up in the area, he was probably very familiar with the area - maybe knew where the mine shafts were. Kids explore.
My opinions, but I think it is so important for the family that Mrs Murphy is found.

Moo

Borce (middle aged man) managed to get the dead weight of his wife Karen in and out of a vehicle, to bury her far away.

Didn't Baden Clay also transport Allison a distance away ... somehow managing the weight of her dead body?

Simon Gittany lifted Lisa Harnum and stuffed her into a garbage chute by himself.

Lots of cases of people transporting and moving deceased adults by themselves. With the adrenaline flowing people can lift and move dead bodies by themselves.

imo

 

[Trooper]

Borce (middle aged man) managed to get the dead weight of his wife Karen in and out of a vehicle, to bury her far away.

Didn't Baden Clay also transport Allison a distance away ... somehow managing the weight of her dead body?

Simon Gittany lifted Lisa Harnum and stuffed her into a garbage chute by himself.

Lots of cases of people transporting and moving deceased adults by themselves. With the adrenaline flowing people can lift and move dead bodies by themselves.

imo

Gerard managed to heft her up from the ground under the pergola, and then put her in the car, then take her body out of the boot and lift it over the fence of a bridge... Gerard was no fitness freak, either, a bit namby pamby, more a persistent talker than an action man..

How Borce did it is a mystery, shows you what fear can promote the human body to do.. Borce was fat and chonky, and elderly, in his unfit late 50's, only exercise being to watch the horses he had a stake in run 4th or 6th. I don't even think he walked to the bookies area much, at least not to collect any winnings...

Gittany actually lifted Lisa's dead body over a the fencing on the balcony. No easy task, and , as luck would have it a pedestrian saw the whole thing, he struggled with it, but finally got it to fall over the fulcrum and fall down 15 floors to the pavement. His weird run to the elevator and then hurtling out on to the pavement in his pyjamas to scream as if he had been surprised was a terrific piece of acting, ....

 

[SouthAussie]

Gerard managed to heft her up from the ground under the pergola, and then put her in the car, then take her body out of the boot and lift it over the fence of a bridge... Gerard was no fitness freak, either, a bit namby pamby, more a persistent talker than an action man..

How Borce did it is a mystery, shows you what fear can promote the human body to do.. Borce was fat and chonky, and elderly, in his unfit late 50's, only exercise being to watch the horses he had a stake in run 4th or 6th. I don't even think he walked to the bookies area much, at least not to collect any winnings...

Gittany actually lifted Lisa's dead body over a the fencing on the balcony. No easy task, and , as luck would have it a pedestrian saw the whole thing, he struggled with it, but finally got it to fall over the fulcrum and fall down 15 floors to the pavement. His weird run to the elevator and then hurtling out on to the pavement in his pyjamas to scream as if he had been surprised was a terrific piece of acting, ....

Oh that's right. It was Anthony Hampel who lifted Phoebe Handsjuk and stuffed her into a garbage chute. (Not Gittany with Lisa).

Got the cases mixed up.

PS is young and not a small person. I can see him being able to manage Sam's dead weight - when I consider the drug addicts (Adrian Bayley) and others who have lifted and transported dead weight by themselves.

 

[kurtneverdied]

Another person involved does fit certain things.
Media presumably being told there has been 2 visits by to areas of interest. Why would police let this out? To shake the 2nd offender most likely.
Same reason for the phone being well publicised perhaps?..
Statement by police early on mentioning a 3rd party. Perhaps that was intentional as they knew it suspected that.
The not guilty plea and not revealing body location. Is he afraid of reprisal from this person? Did this person hide Samantha and really doesn't know?
Perhaps this other person is the best hope for finding Samantha and that is why they haven't been arrested yet.
This person could just be a mate but let say it's his drug dealer who is connected to something bigger and has threatened him.

I wouldn't be surprised if it was just him but all these tid bits of info being released while he is locked up seem more aimed at getting a reaction from an outside co-offender than a public about by police.

 

[SouthAussie]

I wouldn't be surprised if it was just him but all these tid bits of info being released while he is locked up seem more aimed at getting a reaction from an outside co-offender than a public about by police.

I think it is more likely to get a reaction (and maybe some help) from PS himself. If there are rumours flying around Ballarat, the Missing Persons squad only needs to pull anyone else in for questioning to rattle them and get them jumpy.

The police can say whatever hypothetical they want in a police interview. I don't think they would need to put on some big and expensive charade.

imo

 

[kurtneverdied]

I think it is more likely to get a reaction (and maybe some help) from PS himself. If there are rumours flying around Ballarat, the Missing Persons squad only needs to pull anyone else in for questioning to rattle them and get them jumpy.

The police can say whatever hypothetical they want in a police interview. I don't think they would need to put on some big and expensive charade.

imo

Yes you could be right but police didn't need to make the phone discovery so public, they could of just told him. Same with the location of where they took him the 2nd time. They even gave the media the exact location. That was not for PS or needed to get out for general public knowledge.

From Gemini Ai search:
"Greg Lynn, a former Jetstar pilot, was under surveillance by police during their investigation into the disappearance of Russell Hill and Carol Clay. Police secretly bugged his home, tracked his vehicle using cameras and GPS, and intercepted his conversations. This surveillance helped link him to the scene and gather evidence against him."

I'm more saying that a second offender is still a real possibility. Perhaps the police don't care certain info being made public, but like I said they could just tell him, they can't do that to a second offender under surveillance. You only get one chance to rattle that person and you give up any chance of them leading you anywhere or perhaps leading to their guilt there isn't enough evidence to charge them yet.

Certainly isn't expensive anything I mentioned was simply letting the media know pieces of information that they didn't have to.
Not sure what you mean about rumours. I'm saying that the police may already know there is a 3rd party.

 

[Cliff Hardy]

I can't imagine that the accused could put a body in a vehicle, without help. It's just too difficult to lift dead weight. I also can't believe a third person was involved so that leaves me to think he simply buried her somewhere close to where she died.
As a kid growing up in the area, he was probably very familiar with the area - maybe knew where the mine shafts were. Kids explore.
My opinions, but I think it is so important for the family that Mrs Murphy is found.

Moo

I agree an adult as dead weight is difficult to move but PS is a fairly large footballer and a tradie as well. If he put Samantha on her back and inserted a hand under each arm pit he could have lifted her upper body and allowed her heels to drag. This is still a strenuous task but it is achieveable, particularly when filled with adrenaline. That would have got Samantha to the car. Then it is some more lifting and dragging to get her aboard. With the stakes the way they would have allegedly been he would have found a way, even alone.

 

[Cliff Hardy]

I think it is more likely to get a reaction (and maybe some help) from PS himself. If there are rumours flying around Ballarat, the Missing Persons squad only needs to pull anyone else in for questioning to rattle them and get them jumpy.

The police can say whatever hypothetical they want in a police interview. I don't think they would need to put on some big and expensive charade.

imo

Perhaps it is true, perhaps it isn't, but by this stage the police must be across the account of events that reputedly 'everybody in Ballarat knows about.'

If there is anything to it, the police would surely be acting on it. If only to enable them to cross it off the list of possibilities.

 

[Trooper]

Perhaps it is true, perhaps it isn't, but by this stage the police must be across the account of events that reputedly 'everybody in Ballarat knows about.'

If there is anything to it, the police would surely be acting on it. If only to enable them to cross it off the list of possibilities.

oh I'm with you, cliffy.. VICPOL are not into charades and faux staged set pieces, their brief is to catch criminals and present a case to court. I do not see any evidence, at all, either by implication or rumour that a second or even third person is involved..

Certainly no solid news report on this threat to point in that direction, merely vague and unsubstantiated fleeting thoughts, nothing tangible.. Ballarat is a small town, in comparison to Melbourne, say, made up of various connections not many of which overlap.. People tend to stick to their own neighborhood,. .or church affiliation.. or football team....

I cannot credit VICPOL allowing some one under suspicion to stroll the streets of Ballarat unhindered and free to interfere with evidence. Just defies all known parameters.. Not for over a year..

 

[BreakingNews]

Borce (middle aged man) managed to get the dead weight of his wife Karen in and out of a vehicle, to bury her far away.

Didn't Baden Clay also transport Allison a distance away ... somehow managing the weight of her dead body?

Simon Gittany lifted Lisa Harnum and stuffed her into a garbage chute by himself.

Lots of cases of people transporting and moving deceased adults by themselves. With the adrenaline flowing people can lift and move dead bodies by themselves.

imo

Yes, you are right. Adrenaline can do that. i just had a hard enough time lifting my cat while under anaesthetic.

 

[Marg944]

Yes, you are right. Adrenaline can do that. i just had a hard enough time lifting my cat while under anaesthetic.

?contaminated theatre much!

 

[bearbear]

maybe he didnt dump her body straight away and a friend or witness has given verbal or video evidence about him joking about the smell in his vehicle?

 

[Kemug]

Yes, you are right. Adrenaline can do that. i just had a hard enough time lifting my cat while under anaesthetic.

Which of you was under anaesthetic?

 

[Rocket333]

oh I'm with you, cliffy.. VICPOL are not into charades and faux staged set pieces, their brief is to catch criminals and present a case to court. I do not see any evidence, at all, either by implication or rumour that a second or even third person is involved..

Certainly no solid news report on this threat to point in that direction, merely vague and unsubstantiated fleeting thoughts, nothing tangible.. Ballarat is a small town, in comparison to Melbourne, say, made up of various connections not many of which overlap.. People tend to stick to their own neighborhood,. .or church affiliation.. or football team....

I cannot credit VICPOL allowing some one under suspicion to stroll the streets of Ballarat unhindered and free to interfere with evidence. Just defies all known parameters.. Not for over a year..

Absolutely not for over a year.
Too long, too far gone, too close to trial.
This is all on Stephenson.

 

[Rocket333]

maybe he didnt dump her body straight away and a friend or witness has given verbal or video evidence about him joking about the smell in his vehicle?

Or the family that immediately left town.