Samantha Murphy: Top criminologist Xanthé Mallett breaks down new development in case

Patrick Orren Stephenson, the man charged with the murder of Samantha Murphy, has been taken from prison to Ballarat bushland as police continue to search for the 51-year-old mother’s body.

Stephenson, 23, has pleaded not guilty to murdering Murphy.

Murphy was last seen leaving her home for a 14km run along a route she frequented in the Canadian State Forest on February 4 last year. The details surrounding her disappearance are murky at best.

Her body is yet to be found, despite extensive searches by police and members of the public, with a particular focus on the Canadian State Forest, Enfield State Park and Buninyong Bushland Reserve.

7NEWS.com.au does not suggest Stephenson was involved in Murphy’s alleged murder.

Top criminologist Xanthé Mallett joined Nat Barr and Matt Shirvington on Sunrise on Tuesday, breaking down the significance of the development.

“I think it signifies they are still looking very hard for her remains but given we don’t know what has passed between the accused and police in terms of what information may have been said, it is difficult to weigh the evidence,” Mallett said. “They may simply be testing the last known whereabouts or elements of his story as to what happened.”

“What are police trying to achieve here?” Shirvington asked. “They’re trying to pinpoint where Samantha was last seen, we know from certain phone records where she disappeared but is there anything that he could help the police with by taking them out there?”

“He may literally have given a ‘no comment’, there is nothing to think he has any involvement in this,” Mallett said. “He does retain the right to the presumption of innocence so they may simply be taking him out to confirm elements of what he says, where he was that day.

Barr questioned whether it’s a “normal thing” to take someone out of custody to an alleged crime scene.

“It is certainly not abnormal, but I’m not surprised by this development. They are trying to talk to him to get as much information to help them with the investigation as possible,” Mallett said.

“We know very little about what the police do have in this case, and obviously we are waiting for this to be fast-tracked to the Supreme Court later this year to hear what evidence there is against the accused.”

Shirvington: “One thing this does ... I think it has buoyed the public and family that authorities are not giving up, and trying to track down what happened to Samantha.”

Mallett: “This is a case that has touched not only the local community, but the entire country, everyone is watching and everyone wants Samantha to be returned to her family. They want answers and, ultimately, they want to know who is responsible and why, so the police are working hard behind closed doors to bring answers to all the people with vested interests, least of all Samantha’s family.”

7NEWS understands police had been keeping an eye on Stephenson for two weeks before his arrest in March last year, at a Ballarat home where he and his girlfriend were house-sitting at the time.

A trial is expected later this year.