The young tradie accused of murdering mother-of-three Samantha Murphy and his vet student girlfriend showered each other in affection online before their romance was recently turned upside down.

Patrick Stephenson, 22, and his long-term girlfriend Meg Harbour, 22, were making a home visit to a family friend in Scotsburn, 19km south of Ballarat, when police raided the property on Wednesday morning and arrested the electrician.

Police will allege he “intentionally assaulted” Ms Murphy, 51, in Mount Clear on February 4 after she left her Ballarat East home at 7am to go for a morning run.

Stephenson, the son of former AFL footballer Orren Stephenson, has been charged with murder and remanded in custody as police continue to search for Ms Murphy’s body.

Before their relationship soured this week, Stephenson and his girlfriend – a veterinary student at Charles Sturt University – were apparently in love and embracing adventures typical of couples their age.

Photos posted on social media show the pair going on holidays, festivals and camping trips with friends in locations across the country – including Albury NSW, where Stephenson’s father grew up, and Kangaroo Island in South Australia.

A video posted online shows Stephenson standing outside a campsite dressed only in underwear, shaking his derriere. “There’s a lot of fish in the sea, but that’s my clownfish, don’t touch my clownfish, okay?” a voiceover shouts proudly.

In a flirty message exchange in December 2021, Stephenson responded to a post of Ms Harbor in a bikini, saying: ‘I just saw your advert and was wondering if this is still available?’

Ms Harbor replied: ‘I’m sorry it’s no longer on the market awaiting collection.’

Another photo posted three months later shows the pair posing in a car and riding horses together on a beach while on holiday in Murray River in northern Victoria, with the adoring caption: ‘Memories with you are quite good’.

Several other gushing reports show the couple kissing at various events, including at the Spilled Milk festival in December 2022 and while dressed in formal attire for a night out in Albury.

“I love you,” Stephenson replied to one message, while Ms Harbor replied: “Right back to you darling.”

In another post, Ms Harbor joked that she was Stephenson’s ‘favorite face’, before later chiming in: ‘Aren’t we cute.’

Ms Harbour, whose family has strong ties to Ballarat, attended Mount Clear Secondary College, while her partner attended St Patrick’s College and later Damascus College.

It is understood Ms Harbour, Stephenson and friends were partying together in Ballarat the night before Ms Murphy’s disappearance, with detectives seizing CCTV footage from a number of locations as part of the investigation.

Victoria Police say they are not looking for anyone else in connection with Ms Murphy’s disappearance and Daily Mail Australia suggests no wrongdoing by Ms Harbour.

Mrs Harbor was seen caring for horses on her family’s estate on Friday.

She declined to comment when contacted by Daily Mail Australia but was seen standing, sitting and blowing kisses to the horse.

Ms Murphy was reported missing after failing to return to her Eureka Street home following her early morning walk through Woowookarung Regional Park.

Over the past month, police and dozens of volunteers have carried out large-scale searches of the area, but no traces of Ms Murphy have been found.

Ms Murphy’s alleged murder has rocked the close-knit community, with hundreds attending a community vigil on Friday evening to pay their respects to the mother of three.

The disappearance of Mother-of-three Samantha Murphy has been officially declared 'suspicious' by Victoria Police.

Victoria Police Chief Constable Shane Patton told Radio 3AW on Wednesday that the investigation had reached a new stage.

“It is certainly unusual that we have not been able to find any trace of hair or other evidence within that period,” he said at a news conference.

'It's suspicious. Whether that means there is foul play, I don't know, but detectives are clearly investigating a case where a woman has been missing for quite some time.”

His comments came as detectives from Victoria Police Missing Persons Unit visited the Murphy estate Wednesday morning.

The detectives, who arrived in a red ute, spent more than an hour inside before leaving.

The East Ballarat property is at the center of the investigation. It is where Ms Murphy was last seen on February 4, when she started her morning jog.

Ms Murphy's husband Mick Murphy, who is still supported by family members, is said to be working with the specialist unit, which is attached to Victoria Police's homicide unit.

Daily Mail Australia is not suggesting Murphy had anything to do with his wife's disappearance.

Last week, Detective Acting Chief Inspector Mark Hatt made no attempt to clarify how the investigation into his wife's disappearance would proceed in the future.

The veteran police officer told reporters on Friday that detectives would now investigate Ms Murphy's movements and interactions with others in the days before she disappeared.

'Absolutely, that will be a big part of our investigation. “We are digging into the background, investigating Samantha's movements in the days leading up to her disappearance as well as the people who knew her,” he said.

Part of the investigation – now called Operation Primus – will see detectives search Ms Murphy's computers and devices in the hope of finding clues.

The physical search for Ms Murphy has all but ceased by police, who are now only expected to re-enter the rugged woodland thanks to specific intelligence.

On Wednesday, community members continued the search for Ms Murphy in the hope she is found alive.

Ms Murphy, 51, left her home on Eureka Street in East Ballarat, northwest of Melbourne, to go for a run in Woowookarung Regional Park just after 7am on February 4 and has not been seen since.

Although police have released a CCTV image of Ms Murphy, captured outside her home on the morning she disappeared, they have failed to publicly reveal another image of her from neighboring CCTV cameras.

A grainy video feed from police last week claimed she was running in the opposite direction of where they were looking at the time and later revealed it was another jogger.

Chief Inspector Hatt said cameras at Murphy's home captured her walking into the driveway.

But he could not tell which way Ms Murphy went after leaving the property, despite the video feed capturing her doing so.

“It caught her leaving the address,” he said.

It remains unknown who was home at the time Ms Murphy fled.

It is known that she was expected back before 1 a.m. for a planned brunch appointment.

Ms Murphy's childhood friend Virginia O'Loughlan told Daily Mail Australia last week she did not believe her friend would have ventured into the rugged area where her phone was last 'pinged'.

'There's no way she could have fled that far. Absolutely not. “I am very confident,” she said.

On Thursday, state emergency services volunteers and police went into the bush in an area between the Canadian Plantation and Yankee Flat Road – about 15km from Ms Murphy's home.

“I think she went to brunch that morning, so I think she would be home by 9 or 10,” she said.

The commissioner's call for an investigation will be another devastating blow to Ms Murphy's three children.

Just hours earlier, Daily Mail Australia revealed that their mother's beloved dog, Ruby, had also died in the days following her disappearance after being hit by a car.

Last week, Jessica Murphy urged the public to continue searching for her mother.

“Mom, we love you so much and we miss you and we need you home with us. Please come home soon, I can't wait to see you,” she told reporters.

“Mom is a very strong woman, and she is far too determined to give up this fight.”

Anyone with information on Ms Murphy's whereabouts can contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.

Stuart Anderson flew into a rage when detectives accused him of murdering his elderly neighbor after earlier telling a TV reporter he hoped the killer was caught.

Last month the handyman was found guilty of beating Vicki Ramadan, 77, to death at her Sydenham home in Melbourne's northwest almost five years ago.

Ms Ramadan's decomposing body was found in the hallway of the property on April 6, 2019. She had been badly beaten and lay in a pool of her own blood.

In a police interview, Anderson said, “Prove it” and “You have to charge me or let me go, because I've had enough,” to detectives.

Then, in an explosion of anger, he slammed his fist on the table and shouted at them: “I'm trying to tell you that I have no idea (who killed Mrs. Ramadan).”

Anderson claimed to have found Ms Ramadan's body and asked his partner Jade to call triple zero.

The operator asked Jade a few questions and then asked Anderson to come on the line.

When he did, she asked, “Can you tell me how she died?”

“I have no idea, look, there's blood everywhere. She has blood everywhere, there's blood on the floor. There's blood on the walls,' he replied.

A current issue reporter Sam Cucchiara spoke to Anderson days later and got a bad feeling from him.

“Unfortunately, what happened is a tragedy. I really hope the police catch ab****'s son,” Anderson said, before flashing a disturbing smile.

'She seemed like a very nice lady. She didn't deserve this at all.'

The killer played the role of a grieving neighbor and said: “A great shock of fear went through me” when he found the body.

“We've never seen her, never met her before until she knocked on my door and asked us for help,” he said.

“And being the kind of people we are, we decided to help her.”

He had built a wardrobe for Mrs Ramadan, but it broke that day and she reported him to the police.

It was one of the last times she was seen alive.

Anderson beat his victim so brutally that her teeth were found scattered on the floor around her and parts of her skull had pierced her brain.

As detectives interviewed him and spoke to people who knew him, the pressure got to Anderson.

One Sunday evening during dinner he called Sergeant Patrick Derksen and said: 'I know you (sic) have asked a lot of people a lot of questions about me.

“I just want to talk to you about a few things.”

When he went to the police station the next day, Anderson admitted that he had staged the discovery of the older woman's body.

He claimed he found her the night before when he broke into her house to retrieve tools he had left behind, which he needed to repair his car to get a roadworthy certificate.

But that was another lie. His car passed the weeks of driving test before crashing into Vicki's house.

“I panicked and ran,” he said.

After three trials in the Victorian Supreme Court – the first of which resulted in a hung jury and a second which had to be aborted – Anderson was finally found guilty of murder just before Christmas.

He never revealed why he killed his neighbor, although police suspect it was most likely a botched burglary.

Mrs Ramadan's close friend Christine Valla said: 'I can't even describe the sadness and emptiness she left behind.

“I hope the person responsible gets his due…for someone to do that to another human being is absolutely horrible.”

Anderson will be sentenced later this year.

By Antoinette Milienos of Daily Mail Australia

Published: 3:35 PM EST, January 27, 2024 | Updated: 9:03 PM EST, January 27, 2024

A criminologist claims that police interrogation techniques portrayed in Netflix thriller American Nightmare could lead to wrongful convictions. 

American Nightmare is a three-part series that tells the story of Denise Huskins and Aaron Quinn who became known as the Gone Girl hoaxer couple in 2015 after the former was abducted from their home in Vallejo, California. 

For two days, the then-29-year-old was drugged and raped by her abductor before being set free, but investigators did not buy the remarkable story until the real perpetrator confessed. 

Huskins went on to successfully sue the police department for defamation. 

David Wilson, who lectures at Birmingham City University, appeared on This Morning to give his take on the popular series, and said the series highlighted the controversial Reid technique used by US officers when investigating crimes.

He expert slammed the method, saying it allows police to tell any ‘lie’ they want, adding that it’s led to’ false confessions’ and ‘miscarriages of justice’. 

He then cited a scene in the show’s first episode when Aaron was taken to a police station after reporting that his girlfriend had been kidnapped.

During the intense scene – in which he was forced to take a lie detector test – Aaaron was interrogated by Special Agent Peter French about an argument he had with his girlfriend over messages she had found on his phone. 

The clip shows the agent hurling accusations and questions at Aaaron in order to coax him into revealing more information, or even confessing.

During the short clip that aired on ITV this morning, agent Peter said to Aaron: ‘There’s no doubt on my mind that you’ve failed this test.’

Then speaking of Aaron’s girlfriend Denise Huskins, he added ‘She’s gone and you know she’s gone. 

‘You’re going to lose the respect of your family. You’re going to destroy them because they’re going to defend you.

‘Everything that they’ve worked hard for will get flushed down the toilet.’

During the interrogation Aaaron looked bewildered and hung his head in despair while apparently reflecting on the accusations being levelled against him.

Breaking down the technique, David said: ‘American detectives are trained in a particular technique called the Reid technique.

‘The Reid technique when they’re interrogating people is to create a confrontational atmosphere to really focus and make it stressful for the person who’s going to be interviewed.

‘And here’s the crucial thing Dermot. American detectives can lie… they can say “we have your DNA on the murder victim’s body. We’ve got a witness that can place you at the scene of the crime” – none of which has to be true.’

He said that this risks detectives fixating on a theory rather than the facts. 

‘Once you decide that this person, that you are the culprit, then it creates what’s called confirmation bias’ he continued.

‘The police begin to focus and only accept evidence that supports their bias – you’re guilty. 

‘They ignore all the information which might have demonstrated that in fact you were innocent.’

According to the series, Aaaron had been placed in an interrogation room for 18 hours straight.

David explained that the agent’s body language – such as placing a hand on Aaaron’s shoulder – was perhaps done to show that he was sympathetic to the situation. 

However, in actuality, it was a deceitful method to extract a false confession.

The hit series follows Denise Huskins and Aaron Quinn after the former was abducted from their home in Vallejo, California.

For two days, the then-29-year-old was drugged and raped by her abductor in a far-away house before being set free on an alley next to her parents’ home.

However, investigators did not buy the remarkable story until the real perpetrator confessed. Huskins went on to successfully sue the police department for defamation.

American Nightmare includes footage of the boyfriend in police interrogation rooms being questioned about an argument with his girlfriend over messages she had found on his phone shortly before her disappearance. 

The couple, who were both physiotherapists, had been asleep in bed at the time of the intrusion.

Quinn, 30 at the time, first called 911 the day after the kidnapping, telling the operator that he could not phone sooner because he was ‘tied up’ – literally.

Later recalling the night to police, he said: ‘I wake up. There’s a bright light blinding us, a taser goes off and I see they’re wearing wetsuits… They asked Denise to tie my hands behind my back,’ he said.

The perpetrator brandished a fake gun before playing a pre-recorded message that made it seem as if there were multiple kidnappers.

The terrified pair were then drugged and blindfolded with blacked-out goggles before Huskins was bundled into a trunk and driven nearly 500 miles away.

Police were met at the scene by blood splatters throughout the house, zip ties, toy guns and even a blow-up doll.

But suspicions about who could have been behind Huskins’ disappearance immediately fell on her partner.

The real culprit had been demanding $15,000 in ransom for Huskins’ safe return during the two-day ordeal.

But days later her captor inexplicably dropped her off in an alley outside her parents’ home to everyone’s astonishment.

Recalling the moment the couple reunited, Huskins told ABC’s 20/20: ‘Every moment in captivity I kept picturing him, I kept just visualizing what that feeling must be like to finally feel safe in his arms again.

‘When he knocked on that door and I opened it, we just embraced… We were crying and holding each other.’

Quinn added: ‘I knew our lives had changed forever and we’d go through more struggles but at least we had each other.’

And Quinn was proved right, because Huskins’ release only made observers more suspicious at first.

Many said it was proof that the couple had lied and they were inundated with comments on social media from trolls who believed that had made the story up.

Even Vallejo Police Lt. Kenny Park said as much at a press conference after Huskins resurfaced.

‘We were not able to substantiate any of the things that he was saying. If anything, it is Mr. Quinn and Ms. Huskins that owe this community an apology,’ he said.

Similarly, commentators in the new series stated Huskins ‘looked more like a suspect,’ adding: ‘I’ve never heard of a case where the kidnappers drop their victim off at the front door of their house.’

But the case took yet another shocking turn when 41-year-old struck-off lawyer and former Marine, Matthew Muller, turned himself in to police months later.

He pleaded guilty to the crime and revealed that he had been using drones to watch the couple when they were at home.

Huskins testified in court that Muller had treated her like ‘an animal’ as he raped her, explaining: ‘You flopped me around the bed like a rag doll.

‘The only way I got through it was to picture that it was Aaron that I was with, and that will haunt me for the rest of my life.’

She said of the harrowing assault: ‘I told myself, no matter what they do, I’m not going to beg and scream.

‘If it is the last moments that I am going to be living, I am just going to stay calm and be grateful for the life I had.’

Muller told prosecutors that he suffered bipolar disorder and was medicated when he abducted Huskins.

In 2017 he pleaded guilty to federal kidnapping charges and was sentenced to 40 years in prison in 2017.

Muller was later sentenced to a further 31 years to serve concurrently after pleading no contest to two counts of forcible rape of Huskins as well as robbery of an inhabited dwelling, residential burglary and false imprisonment.

Huskins and Quinn have since shared their story in a book titled Victim F: From Crime Victims To Suspects To Survivors.

The vindicated couple the knot in 2016 – a year after the kidnapping – before welcoming a daughter in 2020.

They sued the police department for defamation and won a $2.5 million settlement.

All three episodes of American Nightmare were released on Netflix on January 17, 2024.

By Liam Beatty for Nca Newswire

Published: 01:35 EST, January 13, 2024 | Updated: 03:29 EST, January 13, 2024

Social media sleuths have been working hard to find out what John Krasinski and Emily Blunt were talking about on the red carpet at the Golden Globes.

In response to a viral video of the duo whispering to each other along the way to pose for photos, some amateur lip readers started speculating about what John, 44, said to his wife, 40.

The theories under a now viral TikTok video, shared by CBS, are divided over whether he made an innocent comment about the weather or whether the actor was joking about marital problems.

“I watched this 500 times trying to convince myself he said something other than divorce,” one TikTok user wrote, while others pointed out that the couple made a comment about the cold weather fourteen years earlier.

One TikTok user commented, “Did he say I can’t wait to get a divorce? And she said hey and he said I meant it.”

Another “swears” John said “divorce” but wants him to say “get through this.”

However, others pointed out that any mention of “divorce” could simply be a joke between the couple. “He said divorce. But maybe that’s their form of humor/flirting,” said one fan.

“Even if he did say that, maybe it was just a joke between them that went through our heads lol. Seems like the kind of joke he would make,” another agreed.

Another theory from fans is that the couple was talking about the very windy weather. One claimed John said: ‘I can’t wait to get in there.’

Meanwhile, a TikTok user said Emily clearly said: “It’s actually a bit chilly right now” and her husband replied: “I can’t wait to get in.”

In support of the cold weather theory, many fans pointed to the fact that Emily was later seen wearing her husband’s jacket.

Even more internet sleuths concluded that John made a comment about “hors d’oeuvres” or “prizes.”

The couple, who tied the knot in 2010, share daughters Hazel, nine, and Violet, seven.

Despite appearing in numerous projects in 2023, Blunt recently revealed that she made the decision to step away from the camera this year and focus on motherhood.

Emily explained on the Table For Two With Bruce Bozzi podcast, according to The Hollywood Reporter, “I’m not working this year. I worked a lot last year and my oldest baby is 9, so we’re in the single digits last year.’

‘And I just feel [like] There are cornerstones of their day that are so important when they are little. And it’s, ‘Do you want to wake me up? Do you want to take me to school? Do you want to pick me up? Do you want to put me to bed?'”

“And I just have to be there for all of them for a while. And I just felt that in my bones,” the actress added.

Over the years, Krasinski has showered his wife with high praise in interviews.

“Without her, I wouldn’t be anywhere in my life,” he told Parade in 2022.

“As a father, she pushes me to be better every day in everything I do,” he continued.

John added that he is “looking forward to the next day because I know it will be better than the last.”

In 2016, he told Entertainment Tonight that Blunt is “someone who you just pinch yourself into even being allowed to be around her, let alone married to her.”

“I don’t know who Emily is meeting and I hope you don’t end up being her husband,” he said. “So that was pretty immediate for me. But my parents have also been happily married for many, many years and truly feel like they are more in love today than the day they met.”

Still, he admitted at the time that marriage can be challenging.

“Marriage has always been something incredibly sacred that you hope will come your way and something where you can share your happiness with someone else, so I always respected the idea of ​​marriage and wanted to get married,” he said. .

“I will say it’s hard. It’s a big commitment and it’s hard to look at these different people through that lens because it’s an intense lens to put someone under.”

The John and Emily video isn’t the only Golden Globes moment that sleuths have dissected on social media.

Selena Gomez went viral after her debrief with friends Taylor Swift and Keleigh Sperry during the ceremony at the Beverly Hilton was caught on camera.

Viewers rushed to lip-read the interaction, deducing that Selena was telling her friends about an awkward interaction with couple Kylie Jenner and Timothee Chalamet.

Video from their table showed Selena, 31, Taylor, 34, and Miles Teller’s wife Keleigh having an animated discussion – with Selena waxing lyrical to a shocked Taylor and Keleigh, before the latter is clearly heard clarifying, “with Timothee?” as Selena nods.

Forensic lip reader Jeremy Freeman has revealed the trio’s conversation exclusively to DailyMail.com – in which he claims Selena was denied a photo with Timothee, 28, and claimed she feared ‘upsetting’ him and Kylie, 26.

Freeman says Selena dished on Taylor and Keleigh, “He didn’t want to take a picture with me, he said no, while Keleigh replied, “Timothee?”

Taylor then whispered in Selena’s ear, while the Only Murders In The Building actress is said to have said: ‘I tried, I couldn’t, it will upset them.’

On Monday, Selena denied speaking to Chalamet and Jenner, as she wrote in the comments section of an E! News report about the incident.

The post was captioned: ‘Over tea time we’d like to know if Selena Gomez was really gossiping about Kylie Jenner and Timothée Chalamet at this year’s #GoldenGlobes.’

Gomez replied, “Nooooo, I told Taylor about two of my friends hooking up. Not that that’s anyone’s business.’

Chalamet also denied Monday that he had any problems with Gomez and said they were on good terms.

• Man allegedly shot on Batar Creek Road, Kendall
• The police arrest two men and one woman
• Police believe William Tyrrell is buried along the road
• No suggestion of any connection between two things

By Candace Sutton for Daily Mail Australia

Published: 9:20 PM EST, November 26, 2023 | Updated: 9:21 PM EST, November 26, 2023