Patrick Orren Stephenson: Man accused of murdering missing mum Samantha Murphy to face court

The young man accused of murdering missing Ballarat mum Samantha Murphy will face court on Thursday morning.

Tradie Patrick Orren Stephenson, 23, has been behind bars since his arrest in March and it’s hoped the hearing will shed some light on the motive for the alleged killing.

Appearing before the Ballarat Magistrates’ Court, it is expected that prosecutors and Mr Stephenson’s lawyers will provide an update on how the case is progressing.

Mrs Murphy, a mother-of-three, left her Eureka Street home to go for a run in the Canadian State Forest on February 4. The 53-year-old has not been seen since.

Police say Mr Stephenson — the son of a former AFL player — murdered her at nearby Mount Clear on the day she went missing.

But to date, little is known about what might have sparked the alleged killing or the location of Mrs Murphy’s body.

Police have launched numerous searches of nearby bushland without finding her remains.

However, they did find her working mobile phone at a dam in June — something that was expected to play a crucial role in their investigation.

Ballarat mayor Des Hudson said the court hearing would be the beginning of a “healing process”.

“I don’t think we will learn much about today because it is about potentially an indication of a plea so ther won’t be too many details, that will come out at the trial stage and it will be some time before that will be listed for hearing,” he said on Sunrise.

“But I guess today is about the beginning of that judicial process where hopefully some answers will come forward throughout the trial process.”

Mr Hudson said Mrs Murphy’s disappearance had struck at the heart of his tight-knit community.

“There was something about Samantha’s disappearance that resonated with people. That question of how does a mum go for a jog on a Sunday morning, something she has done many, many times before in a very familiar place, and not return home,” he said.

“People would like to think that Samantha’s body can be found, that she can be laid to rest in a very dignified way so that her family have a grave to be able to go and lay some flowers and to remember the better times that they had with their wife and mother.”

A former schoolmate of Mr Stephenson told the Herald Sun: “Everyone’s on edge for the case to see where things go from here,”

“It’s a big ‘small town’. If you’re not somehow connected to any part of the case, someone you know is.”