Man Fronts Court Charged With Samantha Murphy’s Murder

Published on March 7, 2024

A 22-year-old man has fronted court charged with the murder of missing Ballarat mother Samantha Murphy. The Scotsburn man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was arrested about 6am on March 6 at his home. He was charged with murder on Thursday afternoon, March 7, more than a month after Ms. Murphy, 51, went missing from her Ballarat East home to go jogging. The man faced a packed Ballarat Magistrates Court about 3.40pm on March 7, where his lawyer David Tamanika applied to have his name and other details suppressed from media reporting. Mr. Tamanika said releasing the name could cause prejudice to his client, who had been suffering from poor mental health since he was arrested....

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