The young tradie accused of murdering mother-of-three Samantha Murphy and his vet student girlfriend showered each other in affection online before their romance was recently turned upside down.
Patrick Stephenson, 22, and his long-term girlfriend Meg Harbour, 22, were making a home visit to a family friend in Scotsburn, 19km south of Ballarat, when police raided the property on Wednesday morning and arrested the electrician.
Police will allege he “intentionally assaulted” Ms Murphy, 51, in Mount Clear on February 4 after she left her Ballarat East home at 7am to go for a morning run.
Stephenson, the son of former AFL footballer Orren Stephenson, has been charged with murder and remanded in custody as police continue to search for Ms Murphy’s body.
Before their relationship soured this week, Stephenson and his girlfriend – a veterinary student at Charles Sturt University – were apparently in love and embracing adventures typical of couples their age.
22-year-old killer Patrick Stephenson appeared to be in a romantic relationship with his long-term girlfriend Meg Harbor (pictured together) before he was arrested this week
Mrs Harbor was seen caring for horses on her family’s estate on Friday
Photos posted on social media show the pair going on holidays, festivals and camping trips with friends in locations across the country – including Albury NSW, where Stephenson’s father grew up, and Kangaroo Island in South Australia.
A video posted online shows Stephenson standing outside a campsite dressed only in underwear, shaking his derriere. “There’s a lot of fish in the sea, but that’s my clownfish, don’t touch my clownfish, okay?” a voiceover shouts proudly.
In a flirty message exchange in December 2021, Stephenson responded to a post of Ms Harbor in a bikini, saying: ‘I just saw your advert and was wondering if this is still available?’
Ms Harbor replied: ‘I’m sorry it’s no longer on the market awaiting collection.’
Another photo posted three months later shows the pair posing in a car and riding horses together on a beach while on holiday in Murray River in northern Victoria, with the adoring caption: ‘Memories with you are quite good’.
Ms Harbor (pictured) is a veterinary student who also grew up in the Ballarat area
Photos on social media show the couple traveling around Australia and enjoying festivals together
Several photos show the couple kissing each other and talking flirtatiously in the comments
Several other gushing reports show the couple kissing at various events, including at the Spilled Milk festival in December 2022 and while dressed in formal attire for a night out in Albury.
“I love you,” Stephenson replied to one message, while Ms Harbor replied: “Right back to you honey.”
In another post, Ms Harbor joked that she was Stephenson’s ‘favorite face’, before later chiming in: ‘Aren’t we cute.’
Ms Harbour, whose family has strong ties to Ballarat, attended Mount Clear Secondary College, while her partner attended St Patrick’s College and later Damascus College.
It is understood Ms Harbour, Stephenson and friends were partying together in Ballarat the night before Ms Murphy’s disappearance, with detectives seizing CCTV footage from a number of locations as part of the investigation.
Ms Harbor showed off her tattoos as she groomed a horse on Friday
Samantha Murphy, 51, was reportedly killed on February 4 after leaving the house to go for a morning run
Victoria Police say they are not looking for anyone else in connection with Ms Murphy’s disappearance and Daily Mail Australia suggests no wrongdoing by Ms Harbour.
Mrs Harbor was seen caring for horses on her family’s estate on Friday.
She declined to comment when contacted by Daily Mail Australia but was seen standing, sitting and blowing kisses to the horse.
Ms Murphy was reported missing after failing to return to her Eureka Street home following her early morning walk through Woowookarung Regional Park.
Over the past month, police and dozens of volunteers have carried out large-scale searches across the area, but no traces of Ms Murphy have been found.
Ms Murphy’s alleged murder has rocked the close-knit community, with hundreds attending a community vigil on Friday evening to pay their respects to the mother of three.