A man has been charged with murder over the disappearance of Ballarat mum Samantha Murphy.
22-year-old Ballarat man Patrick Orrell Stephenson, the son of former AFL player Orren Stephenson, was taken into custody from his home in Scotsburn just after 6am on Wednesday.
He was charged with one count of murder on Thursday afternoon and will face Ballarat Magistrates Court later in the day.
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Police are yet to recover Ms Murphy’s body and the investigation remains ongoing.
Ms Murphy, 51, left her Eureka St home in Victoria’s Central Highlands about 7am on February 4 to go for a 14km run through the nearby Woowookarung Regional Park.
She is believed to have reached the Mount Clear area, adjacent to the park, about an hour after leaving home, but has not been seen or heard from since.
Ms Murphy’s family reported her missing to police later that day after she failed to attend a brunch.
Despite a significant investigation by police and extensive volunteer searches of the Canadian Forest area, no traces of Ms Murphy have been found.
The mother-of-three’s disappearance shocked the community and quickly became one of the most high-profile missing persons investigations in the state.
Police earlier indicated there was no evidence Ms Murphy had left on her own accord and were doubtful that she was still alive.
They were also probing the prospect that Ms Murphy’s body – which has not been located – may have been moved from the area after she went missing.
As part of their investigation, detectives combed through about 20,000 of hours of CCTV footage and 770 information reports.
Earlier this week, it was revealed police were reportedly probing mobile telephone tower data to find out who was in the area at the time.
It’s understood the data would then be used by police to probe the backgrounds of those people for potential new leads.
The accused’s father, Orren Stephenson, played 15 games in the early 2010s across short stints at Geelong and Richmond, after being the oldest first-time draftee in history at 29 years old.
In a statement, police said on Thursday they were unable to provide any further updates and that investigators spoke with a number of people as part of their investigation.
Speaking on Thursday, Detective Acting Superintendent Mark Hatt said police’s thoughts were with Ms Murphy’s family and friends.
“Since Samantha’s disappearance at the start of February, a significant search and investigation has been undertaken in an effort to find her,” he said.
“This has included a dedicated and committed investigative effort led by the Missing Persons squad and also involving detectives from right across Crime Command, Counter Terrorism Command and Western Region.
“This has been further supported by a range of specialist resources from across Victoria Police.
“To get to a position where we have been able to charge someone is testament to the commitment and dedication from all those areas.
“We have also had exceptional support from many people in the Ballarat community, particularly local search volunteers and members of the SES and CFA.
“I know that Samantha’s disappearance has had a profound impact on the Ballarat community and I want to thank all of those people who have assisted police in many different ways over the past month.”
Detectives are continuing to appeal for anyone with CCTV or dashcam footage and are yet to speak to police to come forward.
Anyone with any other information regarding Ms Murphy’s disappearance is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
Source Agencies
