Australia Samantha Murphy, 51, last seen leaving her property to go for a run in the Canadian State Forest, Ballarat 100km NW of Melbourne, 4 Feb 2024 #7

[Dr Samoht]

C

My guess is that he had his vehicle parked not far away. There are places that he could have parked very close by.

He could even have been parked by the phone tower, with the bonnet up, feigning vehicle problems, waiting to see if a victim came along.

imo

Could have easily parked there next to the tower…tradie type vehicle … might have worn tradie hi-viz top .. sitting there appearing to be on his phone … prior to starting out some ‘electrical maintenance work ‘ on the tower installation .
An innocent non alarming scenario for anyone passing ..

 

[Dr Samoht]

C

My guess is that he had his vehicle parked not far away. There are places that he could have parked very close by.

He could even have been parked by the phone tower, with the bonnet up, feigning vehicle problems, waiting to see if a victim came along.

imo

Could have easily parked there next to the tower…tradie type vehicle … might have worn tradie hi-viz top .. sitting there appearing to be on his phone … prior to starting out some ‘electrical maintenance work ‘ on the tower installation .
An innocent non alarming scenario for anyone passing ..IMO.

 

[drsleuth]

C

Could have easily parked there next to the tower…tradie type vehicle … might have worn tradie hi-viz top .. sitting there appearing to be on his phone … prior to starting out some ‘electrical maintenance work ‘ on the tower installation .
An innocent non alarming scenario for anyone passing ..IMO.

Would you expect to see a tradie @ about 7-8am on a Sunday morning??

I don't think I would IMO

 

[Dr Samoht]

Would you expect to see a tradie @ about 7-8am on a Sunday morning??

I don't think I would IMO

I recall earlier reports of phone towers ‘down’ in that area … presumably for maintenance .. could have been scheduled for a non peak time like the weekend ,it wouldn’t seem ‘out of place ‘ to me.
OMO.

 

[jjleroche]

After three years in that area I am yet to spot a snake … they are obviously there somewhere no doubt !

A snake-catcher once told me "Mostly you won't see them, but you can bet that they'll see you."
His comment has been indelibly seared onto my brain...

 

[Whatson]

You will find most big companies in services such as communications will have a variety of tradies available on 24/7 call out service for when technical issues arrive.

 

[drsleuth]

I recall earlier reports of phone towers ‘down’ in that area … presumably for maintenance .. could have been scheduled for a non peak time like the weekend ,it wouldn’t seem ‘out of place ‘ to me.
OMO.

Would an electrician be the person who would maintain phone towers?

 

[Kemug]

I always have assumed that the alleged perp. had discarded SM's body shortly after the event: to disassociate. Could it be that SM body was transferred from their vehicle to another vehicle and then moved completely out of the area of suspicion? The seizure of multiple vehicles and SM mobile being reactivated at a much later time that day. Did the alleged perp. activate it or did the owner of the second vehicle activate it on investigation. Perhaps the first deposit area was too vulnerable and a second and possibly a third resting place is well on the table. LE having no idea where SM body is! Family and friends becoming suspicious noting odd behaviour, and the alleged perp. behaviour becoming detached and erratic. Were there trophies? Suspecting yes. MOO

Trophies - this seems very possible to me. And makes me wonder if he has a collection of them from previous attacks. Although he seems rather young to have many.

 

[MrsWattle]

Do you know where missing Ballarat woman Sarah is?

She was last seen on Tuesday, December 19.

www.thecourier.com.au

Does anyone have updates on this missing lady Sarah from Ballarat?

 

[Marie A]

This is an interesting.

Where I live the school's governing body must ask the bishop for permission to use the title "Catholic school."
To obtain such consent, the school must meet certain conditions, including:
offer a Christian teaching and upbringing programme and have appropriate teaching staff.
Catholic schools are under the supervision of a bishop.

Such schools' programmes refer – sometimes even very strongly – to the Catholic faith and tradition.
They include, for example, a prayer at the beginning of classes, compulsory religious lessons, and an educational programme based on the teachings of the Church;
sometimes the patron saint of such schools is a saint.

All imho
I have had kids at both primary and secondary level Roman Catholic schools and at other non- Catholic Christian schools.
There was much more diversity at the secondary level (high school level)
One of the schools is under the umbrella of a Catholic Order (not the local diocese)
and it is very academically advanced. The goal of their acceptance breakdown was to expose their 80% of Catholic students to 20% non-Catholic students so that they can have an inclusive world view/ learn about and become close friends with some who think and believe differently. They still have mass as a class weekly and all attend but obviously the non- Catholics do not take communion. They do sometimes serve with the priests though. When the Catholic students are confirmed, the non Catholics help serve and do the readings. They are included in a very loving way and respected for their differences. These students all studied world religions in a very in-depth and respectful way as well and studied the Old and New Testaments of the Bible in depth as well as the Catholic Catechism.
My child that was at a different school also had weekly mass and all students attended mass but the non Catholics didn’t participate in the Mass. This school was under the umbrella of the Diocese and the Bishop. They didn’t study religion in as much depth at this other school- this is a much larger school 5x or 500% larger. I think this other school likely has approximately 20% non Catholic students as well.

 

[MadDoc]

After three years in that area I am yet to spot a snake … they are obviously there somewhere no doubt !

I don't know if this is correct or not, but I have heard people say that if there are snakes in an area there are unlikely to be lizards there, and vice-versa. I think they compete for the same kind of habitat, food, etc.

 

[Dr Samoht]

P

Would an electrician be the person who would maintain phone towers?

Probably some required work is electrical specific , some might be telecommunication specific .. interestingly the accused’s father ( ex Telstra) had both trade qualifications. I believe the accused focussed on the electrical side .
OMO.

 

[DetectiveStanleyBuganski]

If you are on remand, in Victoria, you are taken down to Melbourne, and placed in the Melbourne Remand Centre, which is in William St, Melbourne. Up near the corner of Lonsdale and William, ( Lonsdale doesn't have a tramline, Bourke St. does, ) It's up a fair way from Bourke St. If you walk past it, it's a grim building, 30 stories, maybe, and it is central to all the courts of Victoria, the Supreme court ( just over the road, ) the Magistrates Court, ( just across Lonsdale St,) and the County Court, which is kitty korner to the Remand Center..

On your court day, you are removed from your cell, spruced up a bit, shaved, showered, togged up the suit your mum bought for you, and then with all the other chaps, you board a sort of horse float truck and in order of which court you go to, ( depending on your crime ) the horse float truck stops outside each court and you are escorted in by a couple of armed blokes, in boots and cammo stuff, to wait for your case number to be called. You get a cut lunch, and cups of tea.


That''s life in remand. Cell, Brekky, Horse float, Court, tea, , horse float, dinner, cell.

Remand prisons in Victoria

Most alleged adult male offenders on remand are held at the Metropolitan Remand Centre (134-154 Middle Road, Truganina Victoria 3029) - after first being received at the Melbourne Assessment Prison.

All unconvicted adult female offenders are held at the Dame Phyllis Frost Centre.

If an offender’s hearing is held at the Melbourne Magistrates' Court, the offender may be transferred to the Melbourne Custody Centre (External link) (managed by a private company on behalf of Victoria Police, not Corrections Victoria) to stay during the hearing.

Remand | Corrections Victoria

Alleged offenders on remand are held in custody before and during their trial (on criminal charges) by order of a court.

www.corrections.vic.gov.au

 

[DetectiveStanleyBuganski]

I was going by the post Sissy made where she said it was the anniversary.

What she posted, for whatever reason, was misleading and untrue.

 

[DetectiveStanleyBuganski]

Quite likely both.

With all due respect, if Ms. Austin was sexually assaulted during this attack, perhaps whilst unconscious, there would have been evidence of this to her, clothing disturbed, bodily fluids etc. I suspect if that had of been mentioned, the area of sexual assault/rape would've been publicly mentioned and explored. It is unusual, IMO, for a woman to be attacked and physically assaulted, in a remote area, with no other crime committed against her (theft of phone or personal items, sexual assault etc). It is with that, IMO, that people suspected the attack was that of a political nature, given her stance and involvement within politics and the 'YES' vote happening at the time.

 

[Voluspa]

Do you know where missing Ballarat woman Sarah is?

She was last seen on Tuesday, December 19.

www.thecourier.com.au

Does anyone have updates on this missing lady Sarah from Ballarat?

I read on the find Sam FB group that this woman was found alive and well.

 

[Kemug]

With all due respect, if Ms. Austin was sexually assaulted during this attack, perhaps whilst unconscious, there would have been evidence of this to her, clothing disturbed, bodily fluids etc. I suspect if that had of been mentioned, the area of sexual assault/rape would've been publicly mentioned and explored. It is unusual, IMO, for a woman to be attacked and physically assaulted, in a remote area, with no other crime committed against her (theft of phone or personal items, sexual assault etc). It is with that, IMO, that people suspected the attack was that of a political nature, given her stance and involvement within politics and the 'YES' vote happening at the time.

I'm sorry, I should have been clearer. By "both" I didn't mean both Sissy and Samantha, I meant that Samantha may have been both  physically attacked and sexually assaulted.

 

[DetectiveStanleyBuganski]

Hi Toowong(s) and Bearbear - I’m along similar lines initially as per your: “currently, in my opinion and all allegedly, im thinking he knew who sm was, had seen her on runs, around town and remembered her from school, she was a local, she may have acknowledged him whenever they passed on the track, he may have become obsessed with her and on the morning he was walking through to get his car she ran past, smiled hello at him and on impulse he decided to assault her, she fought back and he killed her” …

But then I’m really stuck as I don’t think he told anyone, and I’d be surprised if he left her body in that spot to go get his vehicle.

I’ll go out on a limb here & say I think Police knew by 21st Feb that Samantha was deceased. They called off the search & brought in extra police from specialised units - they downplayed the ‘unit speciality’ but spoke of the ‘skills’ those people had . .. interesting to consider what skills may be needed in those units. ( I think they will have also told MM of the likelihood that she was gone)

We’ve heard there’s a lot of cameras around the area so quite possibly the ‘assault’ etc was all caught on CCTV. ..it may’ve captured him carrying her body away - but camera surveillance capability ran out - hence the question re current location.

IMO there’s a good chance that he placed her in a temporary position, and went back later to relocate ( been suggesting the fires, also dams & mine shafts)
That same CCTV ( or another) may have picked up his vehicle in & out at a later time. It’s intriguing why Police kept asking for info on a ‘damaged’ vehicle. His vehicle looked ok to me, but I guess we only saw one side !

I do think it’s possible for it to have been a ‘deliberate attack’ which constitutes a Murder charge - but that he was shocked & horrified afterwards, by what he’d done, and terrified of the implications.

The big question for me is What did he do / How did he act in those 5 weeks ?

5 weeks FFS ! Knowing you’d murdered someone, someone’s Mum, a nice ordinary person, just like your Mum - how do you reconcile or deal with that …

* Did he go to work on the Monday
* Did he go to work as usual there after - he was dressed for work when arrested
* Did he hibernate
- did he socialise as normal
- did he drink more
- did he do more drugs
* Seems he grew a beard as court report said it was ‘bushy, however IF the videos I’ve seen were of him, he was clean shaven in January.
* Was he house sitting by himself or was it him & his girlfriend
* Was his girlfriend studying remotely or on-campus @ Charles Darwin Uni.
* Was the ‘house sitting’ a good opportunity to get out from under his parents gaze

Police paid tribute to information from ‘the public’ - so something has come from somewhere, and I don’t think ‘information’ necessarily has to be ‘verbal’.
I wonder if the searches turned up something. I think tracker Jake Cassar said they handed some stuff in.

All just my random thoughts & opinions, and I apologise for the long ramblings.

I'd just like to make a note on this, regarding PS's behavior post alleged incident - multiple (hearsay) reports from local Ballarat-ians have suggested PS returned to work as normal, on the Monday, and following weeks after, and he seemed no different than usual. I cannot vouch for those reports, however, I can personally vouch for one account, a direct family member of mine, is a school teacher at the same school PS's mother was presently working as a relief teacher. He was present at the school, 2 weeks after the alleged incident, undertaking some electrical work for the school. This suggested to me that he was "business as usual" as they say.

 

[wallyworld]

How does anyone know "the bender finished at 3am", we were not with the accused. He may have returned to where it all started and his ute was there. And then drove. Noone knows.

exactly, so much speculation!
IMO it seems highly unlikely it was a planned attack.
If the video that is floating around is in fact the accused taken on the eve/morning of SM's disappearance it seems highly unlikely to me that he would have been in any condition to carry out a pre-planned attack...

 

[DetectiveStanleyBuganski]

exactly, so much speculation!
IMO it seems highly unlikely it was a planned attack.
If the video that is floating around is in fact the accused taken on the eve/morning of SM's disappearance it seems highly unlikely to me that he would have been in any condition to carry out a pre-planned attack...

Speculating again, but don't you agree that to commit a crime this successfully, would be highly unlikely for someone 'out of their mind' on drugs and alcohol, as the alleged may have been? I would assume that a drug/alcohol fueled spur of the moment incident would result in a much messier crime, with much more evidence left behind. IMO, this had been meticulously thought out and pre-planned by PS.

I believe the "bender" is in no way relevant to this case. Given his lawyer already mentioned he had no mental health or drug issues, the 'bender' becomes irrelevant, as the potential defense of "drug/addiction/mental health problems" has already been thrown out the window.