A criminologist has revealed that mobile phone police found on the banks of a dam during their search for missing mother Samantha Murphy may have been damaged beyond repair.
Ms Murphy disappeared without a trace after leaving her home on Eureka Street in Ballarat East, Victoria, on the morning of February 4.
The 51-year-old left her home 18 minutes after sunrise, at 7am, for her 14km run through the nearby Woowookrung Regional Park – a route she had completed countless times.
In early March, almost five weeks after Ms Murphy’s disappearance, 22-year-old local man Patrick Orren Stephenson was charged with her alleged murder. Her body has not yet been found.
On Wednesday, police launched a new search for her remains, focusing on a dam on a property south of Buninyong, about 14 km from her home.
Samantha Murphy (pictured) vanished without a trace after leaving her home on Eureka Street in Ballarat East, Victoria, for a walk through nearby Woowookrung Regional Park on the morning of February 4
Police made a major breakthrough in their case on Wednesday after discovering a phone in a wallet while searching for Ms Murphy’s body (pictured)
Officers found a mud-spattered mobile phone in a wallet at the water’s edge, believed to have been found by a police technical sniffer dog.
In a statement issued shortly after the mobile phone was found, police said they had found some “important items” during the search for the missing mother.
Police said the phone, along with other items found in the search, will be subject to forensic testing to determine whether it belonged to Ms Murphy.
Criminologist Xanthe Mallett from Newcastle University told Sunrise on Thursday that the discovery was “very important” as it could provide information about where Ms Murphy had been.
Dr. However, Mallett added that Ms Murphy’s phone had been exposed to the elements for an extended period of time.
“Unfortunately, it may have been damaged,” she said.
‘Samantha Murphy has now been missing for 116 days, almost four months.
‘If it does happen [the phone] is from her, they may not have gotten as much information as they could have if it had been found earlier.
‘It really depends on the quality of the phone and how damaged it is. Don’t forget it was outside.’
Criminologist Dr Xanthe Mallett (pictured) told Sunrise the discovery was ‘very important’ but depended on the condition of the phone
Dr. Mallett said technicians would immediately assess the condition of the phone and whether it belonged to Ms. Murphy, but that process could take weeks.
“They will work on it soon, but it won’t be short-lived. We are not talking about days, but weeks at the earliest,” she said.
‘Whether it’s been four months or whether it’s Samantha’s or longer, we don’t know yet. We’ll have to wait and see exactly what condition that phone is in.’
Aerial footage from the search showed detectives in jubilant celebrations after finding the phone at the water’s edge of the dam.
Police hugged, slapped and shook hands in the aftermath of the discovery, in the video captured by the ABC.
A team of police divers were also sent into the water to search the small dam for further possible evidence.
Dr. Mallett said the police response showed the discovery was a “good time” in their desperate search for Ms Murphy.
“I think we can’t forget that police are human beings,” Dr. Mallett said.
“This case has really affected everyone, not just the Ballarat community, but the wider community and the police.
‘Find [her phone] after so long with no real leads… it would have been a really good time for them, giving them hope that they could move this case forward for Samantha’s family.”
Officers found the mud-splattered mobile phone in a wallet at the water’s edge of a dam on a property south of Buninyong, about 14km from Ms Murphy’s home.
It is believed the phone was found by a police technical sniffer dog
The property owner, who asked to remain anonymous, said police contacted him about three weeks ago asking for permission to access his land.
The man said officers returned Wednesday and told him they were going to conduct a line search along the road.
“A dog found something on the bank and they came to me and asked me and my wife to make a statement,” he said.
The man said police were interested in the levels of his dam.
‘I didn’t see anything suspicious there. We don’t have cameras. But yeah, I think one of those tech dogs found it,” he said.
The man said detectives came to talk to him about a month after Ms. Murphy’s disappearance, but only returned in recent weeks.
“They just asked me if I had seen anything suspicious,” he said.
Daily Mail Australia understands police are still searching for other key pieces of evidence, such as Ms Murphy’s missing watch and headphones, or a possible murder weapon.
Police have been desperately searching for Ms Murphy’s body after she disappeared from her home
Police allege Stephenson ‘intentionally assaulted’ Ms Murphy in Mount Clear, about seven kilometers into her run.
Stephenson, who has no ties to the Murphy family, was charged on March 7 with the murder of the mother of three.
More to come…