Samantha Murphy's alleged killer could be named as search continues

The identity of a former AFL player’s son accused of murdering Samantha Murphy could soon be revealed, as the search continues for her body.

Five weeks since vanishing after setting out from her Ballarat East home, police on Thursday charged a 22-year-old man with murdering the mother-of-three at Mount Clear.

The 22-year-old’s family home is in Mount Clear while he lives in Scotsburn, about 16km from Ballarat.

He appeared in Ballarat Magistrates Court on Thursday where his name was suppressed.

The Scotsburn man’s lawyer argued releasing his name could prejudice his right to a fair trial, and said his client had poor mental health since he was arrested.

But a hearing at the court on Friday could reveal the alleged murderer’s identity.

The man was returned to custody and will face a committal mention on August 8.

Detectives from the missing persons squad arrested the man, who is not linked to the Murphy family, at his home about 6am on Wednesday before later charging him with murder.

The accused man has refused to disclose the location of Ms Murphy’s body, Police Commissioner Shane Patton said.

“We are alleging a deliberate attack that has caused the death of Samantha,” Mr Patton told reporters on Thursday.

Police and specialist detectives are continuing a desperate search for the body of Ms Murphy, who was last seen on February 4.

They were yet to find her body as of Friday morning.

“Investigations will continue at a very heavy pace,” Mr Patton said.

“Doing everything we can to locate Samantha’s body for the family is absolutely vital.”

Police are not looking for anyone else in connection to the alleged murder.

Ballarat mayor Des Hudson said news of the arrest was devastating but brought the community some closure.

“What we heard yesterday is the confirmation that Samantha will never come home to her family,” he told ABC News on Friday morning.

“They will never have a beautiful mother, a beautiful wife to be with them.”

He urged the public to let the investigation run its course and avoid speculating.

Ms Murphy’s husband Michael on Thursday told of his relief from the arrest, describing the past few weeks as “s***house” while telling of how the community had rallied around his family.

Anyone who has information, including CCTV or dash-cam footage from the time Ms Murphy went missing, has been asked to come forward.

Weeks of extensive searching began around Ballarat after Ms Murphy disappeared, with trained emergency services workers joined by hundreds of concerned locals.

They combed dense bush, private land and walking tracks.

Ms Murphy’s disappearance was out of character as she had been described as mentally and physically fit, and was training for an upcoming race by doing 15km runs.

A vigil will be held in Ballarat on Friday evening near Ms Murphy’s home.