The 22-year-old man charged with the murder of Ballarat woman Samantha Murphy allegedly killed her in a “deliberate attack” on the day she went missing a month ago, police say.
The Scotsburn man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, appeared in the Ballarat magistrates court on Thursday afternoon, charged with one count of murder.
He had been arrested at his home, about 20km south of Ballarat, on Wednesday morning by detectives from Victoria police’s missing person’s squad.
The chief commissioner, Shane Patton, said police would allege Murphy was murdered at Mount Clear on 4 February, the day she disappeared.
He would not disclose how she was allegedly killed, other than to describe the alleged murder as a “intentional act”.
“We’re saying this was a deliberate attack on Samantha,” Patton alleged.
“I’m not going to go into the details, motive or any of those further details in regards to what has or hasn’t happened when she has [allegedly] been killed. I will simply say he has been charged with murder, which by its definition means it was an intentional act.”
Patton said the man was not known to Murphy’s family and was believed to have acted alone.
He said the man had not disclosed the location of Murphy’s body, and called on the public to come forward with “even the slightest bit of information” that may help police locate it.
Appearing in court on Thursday, the man was flanked by two security guards. He wore an orange hi-vis shirt and stared ahead during the brief hearing.
Magistrate Michelle Mykytowycz said there was “high community interest” in the matter. She remanded the man in custody, to reappear for committal mention hearing on 8 August.
Murphy, 51, was last seen at about 7am on 4 February, captured on CCTV footage in her family home’s driveway. She had told friends and family members she planned to go for a run.
They raised the alarm after she failed to return for brunch later that day.
Since then, there have been extensive searches of the Canadian Forest area, involving a range of specialist units from across Victoria police and volunteers from the local community.
On Thursday, Patton thanked detectives from the missing persons squad, search and rescue, crime and counter-terrorism commands and police from the western region for their work on the “painstaking, methodical investigation”.
He said their work was “far from over”.
“We’re going to be continuing to gather further evidence, we will be taking further statements and investigations will continue at a very heavy pace,” he said.
“Importantly, doing everything we can to locate Samantha’s body for the family is absolutely vital and something we’ll be focusing on.”
Patton also thanked members of the SES and CFA, as well the close-knit Ballarat community, for their support.
“I know that Samantha’s disappearance has had a profound impact on the Ballarat community. Some cases … bring out outpourings of grief and we’ve seen that here,” he said.
“So thank you to the community and all those involved, all those who provided assistance in all of those areas.”
He acknowledged the “intense scrutiny” Murphy’s family had faced from the “outset” of the investigation.
“We [at] Victoria police said everyone should keep an open mind and let us go about our business. They have been cooperative with us. They have provided everything we needed and they have had no involvement whatsoever in this matter,” Patton said.
