Samantha Murphy update as grim milestone is reached

Samantha Murphy was 51 years old when she left her home on Eureka Street in Ballarat, Victoria, to go for a run on the morning of February 4, 2024.

The mother-of-three was never seen alive again, and her body has never been found, compounding the unimaginable tragedy for her family.

Criminal psychologist Dr Tim Watson-Munro said there are ‘a multitude of reasons’ as to why Ms Murphy’s body has not been found, more than 344 days after she vanished without a trace.

‘The police (have) thrown a lot of resources at this in terms of analysing metadata, speaking to people in the community and a fairly consistent and rigorous press campaign,’ he told Daily Mail Australia.

‘But if you look at the geography of Ballarat (with its disused) mine shafts, it’s essentially a rural city … the surrounding countryside is pretty foreboding and hostile.

‘I think it’s about geography, rather than a lack of effort.

‘People could disappear there, they could fall down or be secreted in a mine shaft, and there’s so many of them.’

Just over a month after Ms Murphy disappeared, Patrick Orren Stephenson, 24, was charged with murdering her at Mount Clear on the day she went missing.

Police with sniffer dogs are pictured at the Grenville Recreation Reserve, on their way to search bushland for Ms Murphy’s body

Stephenson is the son of former AFL Richmond and Geelong AFL player Orren Stephenson and is not known to the Murphy family.

Melbourne-based lawyer Paul Galbally from Galbally & O’Bryan, one of Australia’s top criminal lawyers, has reportedly been hired by Stephenson to head his defence case.

Dr Watson Munro said that the pain for a victim’s family can be particularly intense at certain times, especially when they face their first Christmas without her. 

‘Anniversaries are always difficult times for families of people who have disappeared or been murdered, or even killed by an act of God,’ he said.

‘It brings to the fore the magnitude of the loss. Inevitably, they start thinking about this time last year or this time 10 years ago, the last conversations, the last physical interactions with the person.

‘And so it can be an extremely difficult time for those people, as the anniversaries of any death can be for families.

‘But I think in a case like this where it’s still a mystery in terms of where she is, what happened to her, who’s responsible, all of those feelings would be accentuated and crystallised at a level of significance.’

For those frustrated at the seeming lack of progress, Dr Watson-Munro said it’s understandable that the police ‘wouldn’t telegraph every move that they’re making solving this crime.

‘They don’t want to contaminate evidence or contaminate the possibility of gaining better and further particulars surrounding her disappearance, and in all likelihood death.’

Ms Murphy’s phone and wallet (pictured) were found on the bank of a dam in May 2024

He said one issue that gets forgotten about is the impact of the continuing search for Ms Murphy’s body on local people.

‘The Ballarat community rallied around the family. There were line searches, there were a lot of volunteers attempting to assist the police in the early days.

‘And I would imagine the anniversary of her disappearance would be quite triggering for the people in Ballarat in terms of we have this person, a member of our community who’s disappeared, and the crime’s unsolved.

On May 29, Ms Murphy’s wallet containing ID cards and her mobile phone were found on the bank of a dam during a targeted search.

The phone was probably thrown into the dam, but a dry period in the area meant the water receded and what could be a vital clue emerged on the bank.

The police have not revealed what data, if any, they were able to extract from the phone, or if the find has brought them any closer to finding Ms Murphy’s body.

But given the terrain, Dr Watson-Munro said the continuing search is ‘like literally finding a needle in a haystack’. 

Dr Xanthé Mallett, a Forensic Criminologist at the University of Newcastle, said the case has resonated with so many Australians for one simple reason.

‘My first thought when I saw that Samantha had vanished, was that could be any one of us doing very normal things, going about their life and yet she’s been allegedly the victim of a violent crime,’ she said.

‘So many women could imagine being her, they could sympathise.’

Dr Mallett said it has been a very detailed investigation, and the police were obviously searching for Ms Murphy’s body.

Samantha Murphy’s husband Mick Murphy 

In early March, almost five weeks after Ms Murphy’s disappearance, police charged Patrick Orren Stephenson (pictured) with her alleged murder

‘Not only for the family’s benefit, although they do desperately need to know where she is, they need to return to them, but that Samantha’s body will also be a primary source of information for them, and so they will very much need that for the investigation.’

She said cases can proceed on a ‘no body’ basis, so police would be looking to all of the movements of the accused and people they may have spoken with.

She also noted that the recovery of the phone might have prompted new witnesses to come forward.

‘So they will be building that full picture from the time that Samantha vanished to obviously to the arrest, and looking at all of the details around that to determine who did what, when, who was in contact with whom and who shared what information.’

Dr Mallett said the police will no doubt ensure everything is being done correctly because it was such a high-profile case.

‘Everybody is going to be watching this case, because I think it resonates, because she was such a normal woman.

‘We’ve seen so much violence against women recently. 

 Police released this image of Ms Murphy from the morning she vanished 

‘And this is just another occasion where a woman can’t go about her normal activity safely, and that is something we desperately need to address, not just safety in the home, but safety in public.’

The investigation into Ms Murphy’s disappearance continues.

Anyone with information has been urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.

The Victoria Police said there is currently no update to report on the case.