1 day Ago By Liam Beatty
The young man accused of murdering Samantha Murphy after she vanished while on a run has made is first appearance in Victoria’s Supreme Court. Patrick Orren Stephenson, 23, was arrested a month after the 51-year-old mother of three failed to return to her Ballarat home on the morning of February 4. Ms Murphy’s alleged murder shocked the community and became one of the most high-profile missing persons investigations in Australia.
Despite extensive searches in the months since, Ms Murphy has not been located. Mr Stephenson appeared in the Supreme Court in Melbourne on Friday morning after pleading not guilty two weeks ago and electing to fast-track his case for trial. He was represented by defence barrister Moya O’Brien as judicial registrar Tim Freeman adjourned the case until the new year for a further directions hearing.
Directions hearings are the first stage in the trial process and allow a judicial officer to oversee the management and direction of the case. Details of what was discussed cannot be reported under Victorian law. Prosecutors allege Mr Stephenson, the Ballarat-born son of former AFL player Orren Stephenson, murdered Ms Murphy the same day she disappeared in the Mount Clear area about 6km from her home.
In the Ballarat Magistrates’ Court in September, the accused man’s lawyers said they’d received the brief of evidence against Mr Stephenson, describing it as “unprecedented in size”. Mr Stephenson will return to court on February 18, 2025, more than a year after Ms Murphy's disappearance..
