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 #8

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Trooper said:
The only legal scenario that comes to mind about him not going to trial is if someone in Remand does him in. Then, it would be difficult to hold a trial.

He could suddenly, and without warning, go completely off his rocker, and be clinically diagnosed as permanently insane, and there would still be a trial, except he would be relieved of being expected to instruct his solicitor and a panel of Barristers would be selected to represent his interests at that trial. He would be presented at the trial, probably via ZOOM in that case, but if he can stand, and be quiet, he goes to the court.

He must be present. In whatever capacity is seen applicable.

If he pleads guilty, at trial even the morning of the trial, the matter smoothly pivots to the sentencing component of the consequence. The judge, in his infinite wisdom, lays out, in exquisite detail the mechanics of the crime, the subsequent investigation and it's findings, any input or statement by the accused, the case the defence put up, in a precis, ,the case the prosecutor put up, precis, and then explains, in gold plated detail how he arrived at the sentence he is going to impose. And then he announces the sentence.

This part.. the Summing Up of the case, and the sentencing, videoed, it will be on the Supreme Court,Victoria Website , but for a very short time, 1/2 day tops. You have to be on your toes, and catch it then because it disappears into the archives. But , if it's like other Supreme Court cases, it is certainly worth the view, if only to get a nice big dose of English as she should be spoke.
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Otherwise we will have to wait for the book. Some switched on journo will be writing as we speak. As we saw with Allison Dickie (Baden Clay). And even WS was quoted.
 
Dotta said:
My issue with the dog is,
that he could have been used for searching for Samantha.

But, surprise, surprise!
He is dead!

By the way, I have not read anywhere in MSM that it was Press car's hit.

I don't want to argue about it.
But...
I'm really surprised about the circumstances of this matter.

JMO
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Beloved dogs do odd things for their families. They sense tension in the home. My beagle would have searched the world if one of us was missing.
 
Kemug said:
Re an incident at a hospitality venue the night before - are we sure that there definitely was an incident, or is the press assuming that there may have been one, given that SM and PS were at the same venue (if indeed they were)?
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AFAIK there is nothing to say that Samantha and PS were at the same venue the evening before.
Or that there was any kind of 'incident'. imo

We know that Samantha and her husband had dinner with others - where Sam's running prowess was mentioned. We don't know where they had dinner - at Sam's place, at the friends place, at a restaurant, in a park, in Ballarat, in Geelong .......

In the relevant press conference (where Acting Inspector Lisa McDougall was answering questions), at the 5:50 mark a reporter says .... we have received reports that police are investigating her movements at a Ballarat hospitality venue prior to her disappearance. Is there any truth to that?

Lisa McDougall's response was .... yeah, I don't have anything to provide comment on that at this time.

Thread 3, post 366
 
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Dotta said:
Re the last paragraph about the vanishing Summing Up

I bet DM will report it word by word ;)

I'm sure the Media will be "on their toes".

JMO
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Oh, the summing up. First one side, then the other sum up. That could take an entire day. Then in for the word salad from the judge. Words only ever heard in a court of law. That can take an entire day! Then the poor jury have to go straight into deliberation. Heads pounding, brains on overload, bellies empty all the time thinking beyond reasonable doubt.
 
Podcast Tragic said:
Is there any legal scenario where he does not go to trial. eg? Pleads guilty? If yes would it still be revealed to the public what actually happened /evidence etc.
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Borce Ristevski pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the Victoria Supreme Court - after 3 years of denying involvement in his wife's disappearance and death.

We never learned what happened. He didn't tell the court what happened.


Victoria's Court of Appeal has ruled Ristevski's original nine-year maximum jail sentence is inadequate given his steadfast refusal to say what happened before he bundled his wife's body into the boot of her car at Avondale Heights on 29 June in 2016.
"To this day, the respondent has shown not one scintilla of remorse. He has subjected those affected by the death to the most awful state of the unknown."

www.sbs.com.au

Borce Ristevski's silence earns him four more years in jail

Borce Ristevski's years of lies and deception about how he killed his wife has earned him four more years in a Victorian jail.
www.sbs.com.au www.sbs.com.au
 
BreakingNews said:
Yes. More charges can be added. Usually tampering with a corpse. So someone accused can go to trial with several charges and a jury has to decide on each charge.
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The police most likely will be going undercover/ surveillance and watching areas of the bush of interest / other places as well, that they are focussing on

to see who turn up and is hanging around

I am finding it hard to believe SM body is in there

She could have originally been in there, but I think her body has been moved, so she is not found

With the hot conditions at the time and the body decomposing, it will give a very foul smell, especially in the bush when no other smells are around

Which can be detected from a considerable distance, depending on various factors such as wind direction, temperature etc... You can smell a body, sometimes a mile away

It can also keep decomposing for several weeks

As I have mentioned before, the place has been searched vigorously and still no body, including with dogs,
Air wing and helicopters with specialised equipment on board

Unless she has been buried very deeply

Possibly with machinery, If the soil is hard to dig

but it would be a risk if someone saw something and someone else could be involved

buried in a yard, possibly dismembered, taken out to sea

The police seem to think she is buried in the area, but it might not be true, could be a ploy
 
In regards to the dinner the Murphy's had the night before, I haven't seen any mention of where it was. Can anyone clarify that A) it was at a venue and not a private home? and B) that there was an alleged incident that occurred?

As for her dogs, I have thought since day 1 that it would be a good idea to use them to search for her. At least one, if not both, was a Hungarian Visla and they're known as hunting dogs. Sure, they were not trained in this, but dog breeds have traits that pertain to their genes - working dogs, terriers, retrievers etc. Not to mention that dogs just know the scent of their owners. It may have been useless, but what did they have to lose?

As for the death of the dog, I believe they both got out, which is not surprising considering the people coming and going from the home and the state that Mick and the kids must have been in. That is not at all surprising to me. It's believed one returned on its own, but Ruby was hit by a car (I've read no reports of this being a car driven by a member of the MSM - can anyone post a link please?) and had to be put to sleep. Again, this is a common thing that happens unfortunately. I don't think anything about the dogs going missing is untoward, just unfortunate.
 
Nifty said:
With the hot conditions at the time and the body decomposing, it will give a very foul smell, especially in the bush when no other smells are around

Which can be detected from a considerable distance, depending on various factors such as wind direction, temperature etc... You can smell a body, sometimes a mile away

It can also keep decomposing for several weeks
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Your comment about the smell made me think of the poor woman in the wheelie bin on the outskirts of Geelong who was found recently. A couple walking their dog smelt something but put it down to a dead sheep which would not be uncommon in country areas. A dead kangaroo would also give off a similar smell. Granted there was not a missing woman or large search in the area to alert that couple to the fact it could be something more sinister. However, if Samantha's body was further afield, away from initial search areas, or even the local area, the smell could go unnoticed, especially if in a very remote location. Or in water.

The fact that police are focusing on a fairly small area (in the big scheme of things) suggests that maybe they have footage or a witness to prove that the accused did not have a huge window of time to dispose of her body, so she must be fairly close by.

Also, why does everyone seem to use just Samantha's initials when referring to her? I prefer to use her name, as it's more personal (although I don't know her) and it makes her a human and not just a victim in a case we're dissecting.
 
HoneyBunOne said:
Your comment about the smell made me think of the poor woman in the wheelie bin on the outskirts of Geelong who was found recently. A couple walking their dog smelt something but put it down to a dead sheep which would not be uncommon in country areas. A dead kangaroo would also give off a similar smell. Granted there was not a missing woman or large search in the area to alert that couple to the fact it could be something more sinister. However, if Samantha's body was further afield, away from initial search areas, or even the local area, the smell could go unnoticed, especially if in a very remote location. Or in water.

The fact that police are focusing on a fairly small area (in the big scheme of things) suggests that maybe they have footage or a witness to prove that the accused did not have a huge window of time to dispose of her body, so she must be fairly close by.

Also, why does everyone seem to use just Samantha's initials when referring to her? I prefer to use her name, as it's more personal (although I don't know her) and it makes her a human and not just a victim in a case we're dissecting.
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We will have to wait and see

They still haven't found her, even in the new area, with dogs

As I mentioned, this could be a lie from the police as it could be staged to gather further interest

She might have been there, but possibly moved

Because of the court case approaching, I prefer to use SM at the moment

Some post have been removed with her full name
 
Trooper said:
This is the interesting bit, I reckon.

They can charge him with all sorts of stuff, the charge of murder well may be just the beginning. As things stand, without the body, ( and don't ask me how , I long to know, it is a puzzle to me, but I do not doubt the conclusion ) VICPOL claim that she was murdered. By Mr. Stephenson. No one else. At Mt.Clear. On Sunday morning.

Once the body is found and other investigations begin, coroner, forensics, etc .. then all manner of charges will /could flow from that.

VICPOL knows he moved the body. Because they know where he murdered her . And her body is not there at that place. Proving it, is another matter. Logic is on VICPOL's side, but it is iffy, as a court position. That particular charge, the interfering one, I expect to be laid after the summary hearing, but before any trial.


If they ever find her phone,, and it is not with her body, then there is a charge of theft. Watch, ditto.

Public information about that would be accessed once the charge is laid. VICPOL would make a statement, one that most likely would not request any questions. .

Can they add more charges later as things arise, and would the public be directly informed?

Crime is public and the police , the courts, the judges, the coroner, the DPP, the Public Prosecutor are all public office holders, paid by the taxpayer, it is not a matter of being or not being directly informed , not informing is not in the charter, it is a matter of informing, at the earliest opportunity.
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maybe the phone data show them to be the only 2 people in close proximity Sunday morning at that intersection, and maybe the signals are together briefly before hers is extinguished. Maybe it is pretty solid electronic data.
 
Moo..what are the temps out there? It is Aussie winter on the way. I live in Canada now but in heat the bugs(maggots) can work real fast. Used to live in Australia for a short time, lots of bugs and reptiles, it was my at 11 paradise
 
nao said:
Moo..what are the temps out there? It is Aussie winter on the way. I live in Canada now but in heat the bugs(maggots) can work real fast. Used to live in Australia for a short time, lots of bugs and reptiles, it was my at 11 paradise
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February is very hot. March, still hot but cooling off:
weatherspark.com

Ballarat Climate, Weather By Month, Average Temperature (Australia) - Weather Spark

In Ballarat, the summers are warm, the winters are cold and windy, and it is partly cloudy year round. Over the course of the year, the temperature typically varies from 39°F to 78°F and is rarely below 32°F or above 93°F.
weatherspark.com weatherspark.com

I remember a dead kangaroo on our property when I was young. The smell was horrible and we smelt it 500 meters away. When going to inspect closer, we attempted to move it and it basically broke in half and was full of maggots. Not just hundreds or thousands, but hundreds of thousands.

There could possibly also be other scavenger animals about to feed on a dead carcass including feral dogs, cats, pigs as well as scavenger birds like crows.
 
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