A man charged with murder over the disappearance of Samantha Murphy, 51, has been taken by cops into bushland where she was last seen alive.
Patrick Orren Stephenson, 23, was first taken from prison under heavy police guard late last year, and is expected to be taken out again.
Ms Murphy, a mother-of-three, went missing around the Canadian Forest in Ballarat, Victoria, on February 4, 2024 and search efforts have failed to uncover a body.
Stephenson has denied any involvement in Ms Murphy’s death and pleaded not guilty to the charge brought against him.
The Herald Sun reported it had not confirmed the reason for Stephenson being taken temporarily out of prison.
The act would have required special approval from the senior chiefs at Victoria Police and Corrections Victoria.
Daily Mail Australia does not suggest Stephenson knows the whereabouts of her body or that he was involved in her alleged murder.
Ms Murphy left her home on Eureka Street to go for a run on the morning of her disappearance.
A man charged with murder over the disappearance of Samantha Murphy has been taken by cops into bushland where she was last seen alive
Patrick Orren Stephenson was first taken from prison under heavy police guard late last year, and is expected to be taken out again
Despite extensive searches in the surrounding bushland, involving hundreds of police officers, SES workers and volunteers, her body has never been found.
On May 29, Ms Murphy’s wallet containing ID cards and her mobile phone were found on the bank of a dam.
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.
Just over a month after Ms Murphy disappeared, Stephenson was charged with murder.
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 Xanthé Mallett, a Forensic Criminologist at the University of Newcastle, said the case has resonated with so many Australians for one simple reason.
Police search bushland in Buninyong on March 20, 2024
‘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.
‘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.
The investigation into Ms Murphy’s disappearance continues.
Anyone with information has been urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
