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 was never found, compounding the unimaginable tragedy for her family.
Criminal psychologist Dr Tim Watson-Munro said there are ‘a multitude of reasons’ why Ms Murphy’s body has not been found, more than 344 days after she disappeared without a trace.
“The police have put a lot of resources into this in terms of analyzing 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 is essentially a rural town… the surrounding landscape is quite foreboding and hostile.
‘I think it’s about geography, and not a lack of effort.
“People can disappear there, they can fall or end up in a mineshaft, and there are so many of them.”
Just over a month after Ms Murphy disappeared, Patrick Orren Stephenson, 24, was charged with her murder in Mount Clear on the day she went missing.
Samantha Murphy (pictured) went missing while on a morning walk near her home in Ballarat
Police with sniffer dogs are pictured at Grenville Recreation Reserve, heading to scour 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 of Galbally & O’Bryan, one of Australia’s top criminal lawyers, has reportedly been hired by Stephenson to lead his defense case.
Dr. Watson Munro said the pain for a victim’s family can be particularly intense at certain times, especially as 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 home 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, just as the anniversary of a 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 those feelings would be accentuated and crystallized on a level of meaning.”
For those frustrated by the apparent lack of progress, Dr. Watson-Munro said it is understandable that police “would not telegraph every step they take in solving this crime.”
“They do not want to contaminate the evidence or contaminate the possibility of obtaining better and further details about her disappearance, and in all likelihood, death.”
Ms Murphy’s (pictured) phone and wallet were found on the bank of a dam in May 2024
He said that is an issue that is being forgotten the impact of the ongoing search for Ms Murphy’s body on local people.
“The Ballarat community rallied around the family. There were line searches and in the early days there were many volunteers who tried to assist the police.
“And I would imagine that the anniversary of her disappearance would be quite shocking for the people of Ballarat as we have this individual, a member of our community who has disappeared, and the crime is unsolved.
On May 29, Ms Murphy’s wallet containing identification cards and her mobile phone were found on the bank of a dam during a targeted search.
The phone was likely thrown into the dam, but a dry spell in the area caused the water to recede, creating what could be a crucial clue on the bank.
Police have not revealed what data, if any, they were able to extract from the phone, or whether the discovery brought them closer to finding Ms Murphy’s body.
But given the terrain, Dr. Watson-Munro says the ongoing search is “like literally finding a needle in a haystack.”
Dr. Xanthé Mallett, a forensic criminologist at Newcastle University, said the case has resonated with so many Australians for one simple reason.
“My first thought when I saw Samantha had disappeared was that any of us could have been doing very normal things, living our lives and still been the victim of a violent crime,” she said.
“So many women could imagine themselves being her, they could sympathize with her.”
Dr. Mallett said it was a very detailed investigation and police were clearly looking 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 good of the family, although they urgently 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 need that very much for the investigation .’
She said cases could proceed on a ‘no body’ basis, so police would monitor all movements of the suspects and the people they may have spoken to.
She also noted that recovering the phone may have led to new witnesses coming forward.
“So they will build that full picture from the moment Samantha disappeared to the arrest, looking at all the details around that to determine who did what, when, who had contact with whom and who shared what information. ‘
Dr. Mallett said police will no doubt make sure everything is done correctly because it was such a high-profile case.
“Everyone is going to keep an eye on this case because I think it will resonate because she was such a normal woman.
‘We have seen so much violence against women lately.
Police released this photo of Ms Murphy from the morning she disappeared
“And this is just another occasion where a woman cannot safely go about her normal activities, and that is something that we urgently need to address, not just for safety at home, but also for safety in public.”
The investigation into Ms Murphy’s disappearance continues.
Anyone with information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
Victoria Police said there is currently no update to report on the case.