A former homicide detective believes that while there is hope missing Victorian mother Samantha Murphy could be found alive, suspects in an attack that occurred one year ago should be re-interviewed.
Warning: This story contains images relating to an assault.
Charlie Bezzina spent three-and-a-half decades investigating some of the nation’s grizzliest crimes with Victoria police.
He believes police could be looking at the same suspects who attacked local Gunditjmara woman Sissy Austin a year ago, when she was hit over the head while trail running about 20km away in Lal Lal.
Ms Austin was worried police hadn’t contacted her about whether her attack could be linked to the disappearance of Mrs Murphy.
But Mr Bezzina said that was par for the course, explaining people’s statements at the time were the best and most useful record of their memory.
“That would be one avenue of inquiry,” Mr Bezzina said.
“It remains unsolved. It was a vicious attack on another woman running in the vicinity.
“I’d be looking very closely about the whole investigation, did they have suspects, whether you need to go back and talk to her.
“I’d be looking at the investigation file. Let’s start re-interviewing those suspects, let’s get them alibied.”
It was from the rural fringe of Ballarat — where large homes sit scattered across yellow paddocks with swimming pools and lush trees providing respite from the summer heat — that Mrs Murphy set off on one of her regular runs on Sunday February 4.
She hasn’t been seen since.
“Until such time as you actually physically see her either alive or dead … you work with the hope that she is alive somewhere and then you continue on the investigation full steam ahead,” Mr Bezzina said.
“As investigators, you want to find out these reasons.
“Trying to establish a reason for her absence, why as a respectable mother of three, who appears to be in a loving relationship at home has inexplicably disappeared.”
Locals remain ‘on edge’ during search
Ms Murphy was captured by her home’s security camera dressed in an exercise shirt and with her hair pulled back before she set off at 7am, aiming to fit in a run before the heat of the day set in.
That Sunday the mercury soared past 36 degrees in Ballarat and reached similar highs early this week.
“If she is laying injured in the bush, if she has tumbled into a mine shaft, it’s all about welfare and each day is crucial to find her if she’s in a particular area,” Mr Bezzina said.
As the days and hours tick by with no answers, Mr Bezzina believes police must have a specific line of inquiry to justify scaling back the physical land search for the 51-year-old.
The search, which involved police, SES and fire brigade volunteers was scaled back at the weekend, which Mr Bezzina described as “unusual”.
The forest is still being searched by volunteers and community members refusing to give up hope.
Ms Austin says many people in the local community are on edge.
“My mind is kind of thinking about what Sam could be going through, may have gone through,” she said.
“I don’t think it’s unreasonable that the community’s 100 per cent on edge, especially the running community.
“Those who are searching check in on each other as we kind of walk past or drive past each other.
“It’s kind of an eerie feeling out here.”
Mine shaft theory questioned
Despite pleas for information, and extensive media attention police have revealed little about what they suspect happened to Mrs Murphy.
They did however say that no suspicious circumstances had been identified early on in their investigation.
From her home on Eureka Street in Ballarat East, police said Mrs Murphy often ran through the nearby Canadian forest.
It’s an area of open bush interspersed with trails. Low grass trees provide dense undergrowth – it means spotting anybody or anything at ground level would be difficult.
The bushland around Ballarat is also pockmarked with old mine shafts and shallow holes where gold prospectors tested their luck.
Peter Darveniza is a member of a volunteer group, Friends of Canadian Corridor, which looks after bush in the area.
The former mining engineer is familiar with the mine shafts and diggings in the area, but was sceptical of suggestions Mrs Murphy could have ended up in a disused shaft.
“There aren’t many shafts that are as deep as that” he said pointing out a hole, where the base disappeared in shadow and covered in wire mesh.
“Parks [Victoria] have either filled them in or grated them,” he said.
Phone ping hard to track
It’s understood a mobile tower picked up a signal from Mrs Murphy’s phone, but police haven’t confirmed where or when.
RMIT university telecommunications expert Mark Gregory says it could be a helpful tool to narrow down the search field, but it wouldn’t pinpoint the exact location.
“What we see in the movies, where they’re able to triangulate exact locations of devices, or people, really relies upon having a number of towers that cover a particular area,” he said.
Mr Gregory explained that wasn’t the reality in country areas where phone coverage can be patchy.
“Generally, as we move out into regional areas, the mobile towers are set up to provide as much coverage as possible, so we’re talking from several kilometres, possibly up to 10 or more kilometres from a mobile tower,” Mr Gregory said.
As the days pass and the media attention wanes, Mr Bezzina said the investigating officers may never find answers as to where Mrs Murphy went.
“That’s always a possibility and that will be so damning, so heartbreaking for the family,” he said.
Watch 7.30, Mondays to Thursdays 7:30pm on ABC iview and ABC TV