It has been one year since mum Samantha Murphy disappeared, with the Ballarat community warned there would likely be more trauma ahead before questions were answered.
Ms Murphy never came home after going for a run in the forests near her home in Ballarat on February 4 last year, sparking mass volunteer search operations and an extensive police investigation.
A young man, 23-year-old Patrick Orren Stephenson, has been charged with her murder, but he has pleaded not guilty to the alleged killing.
Despite extensive and repeated targeted searches across multiple bushland areas, her body has not been found.
Ballarat Mayor Tracey Hargreaves said on Tuesday that the 12-month mark was an “important landmark” in the case and brought up “a lot of difficult feelings”.
“People are wanting to talk about Samantha and keep these sort of stories front and centre again,” Ms Hargreaves told Sunrise.
“I think our Ballarat community was hurting 12 months ago, a lot, and have been through a lot, and today is kind of a continuation of that as well.”
She said there’d likely be more “traumatic time to come” before any answers were heard in court, and urged the wider community to keep Ms Murphy’s family front of mind after her mother expressed hope her daughter would be found.
“Samantha Murphy’s mother speaking just reminds us that there are families involved that are hurting more than anyone, and Samantha’s close circle of friends and people who knew her personally, I think we need to keep those people in our minds,” Ms Hargreaves said.
“As far as the police are concerned, they are doing absolutely everything they can. We are really confident that they will continue that work.”
Mum’s heartbreaking message ahead of anniversary
Ms Murphy’s mother, Pam Robson, told the Herald Sun ahead of the one-year anniversary of her daughter’s disappearance that she missed her “more than anything”, and that she still had hope she would be found.
“(We) are hoping one day that they find her — she’s got to be out there somewhere,” Ms Robson said.
“We just want to give her a funeral.”
Detective Inspector Dave Dunstan said on Sunday that Ms Murphy’s disappearance had an enormous impact on the Ballarat and wider Victorian community.
“As we approach the one-year anniversary, our thoughts are with the Murphy family and all of Samantha’s friends and loved ones,” Inspector Dunstan said.
“Since Samantha’s disappearance, police have worked tirelessly to locate her.
“While nothing can erase their grief and loss, being able to return Samantha to her family has always been incredibly important to us.”
He said the Missing Persons Squad remained committed to doing everything they could to find Ms Murphy, while police still had hope they could find her a year on.
“This year we will continue to conduct searches in the Ballarat area, including searches in areas highlighted by intelligence derived from a number of sources,” he said.
“We also ask people who may be using these areas, particularly in the Enfield State Forest, to be aware of their surroundings and if they believe they may have come across Samantha’s remains to contact police immediately.
“There is nothing we want more than to return Samantha to her family and we remain committed to doing this.”
Ms Murphy last seen a year ago
Ms Murphy was last seen alive on February 4 when she left to go for a morning run through the Woowookarung Regional Park, known as the Canadian State Forest.
The 51-year-old mother of three had left her Ballarat home on Eureka St about 7am for a 14km run, but her concerned family called police after she failed to return home.
Extensive searches were launched, with her disappearance officially treated as “suspicious” on February 14.
Mr Stephenson was arrested at a Scotsburn home on March 6 and charged with murder the following day.
“We’re saying this was a deliberate attack on Samantha,” Chief Commissioner Shane Patton said at a press conference after announcing the arrest.
“He’s been located through a range of investigative outcomes that have come together, and as you are aware, we have been pinging phones and following up on investigation reports from members of the public.
“We have done ground searches, we have done door knocks, so it’s a whole range of information that has come together.”
Ms Murphy’s iPhone was found more than a month later in mud near a dam at Buninyong.
Mr Stephenson pleaded not guilty to murder in November, and was committed to stand trial at the Victorian Supreme Court.
The trial is now in the “pre-trial” phase, while a directions hearing was booked for February 18.
The trial is expected in 2025, but it’s possible it will be pushed back to 2026.
“Hard for someone so good to be gone”: Mr Murphy
Ms Murphy was described as “kind”, “caring” and “loyal” by her husband Mr Stephenson in April last year.
“You won’t hear a bad word about her, she was a good mother, caring and always providing for everybody,” he told 9 NEWS.
“She was always smiling and happy and we want people to remember Sam for who she was. Anyone who knows her knows what she’s like.”
Mr Murphy teared up, then added: “It’s hard for someone so good to be gone (from) the community.”
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