Sad blow for Samantha Murphy’s husband six months after he last saw her

Samantha Murphy’s long-suffering husband is still no closer to answers after his wife’s alleged killer appeared in court.

Mick Murphy was spotted doing household chores outside his Ballarat East home on Thursday.

About 2 kilometres away, Patrick Orren Stephenson, 23, was beamed into the Ballarat District Court via video link, accused of murdering Ms Murphy.

It is unclear whether Murphy attended the brief hearing, which was billed as one that could shed more light on how investigators present their case against the alleged killer.

Instead, it raised more questions than answers, with Judge Mark Stratmann also denying the media access to material detailing the unrelated driving charges against Stephenson.

Mr Murphy declined to comment when interviewed outside his home by Daily Mail Australia, but he did smile at a photographer who asked to take his picture.

It was only a few weeks ago that Daily Mail Australia revealed Murphy’s tragic one-word post on his Facebook profile.

Murphy’s Facebook profile now lists his relationship status as “widow.”

Mick Murphy outside the Ballarat East property he shares with wife Samantha Murphy on Thursday

The revelations about the heartbreaking change came just seven months after Ms Murphy completed her last fateful run.

Mr. Murphy has said little publicly since April, when he gave an interview to 9News.

He told 9News that he had not stopped searching for his beloved wife.

“On that particular day, when I was outside, I thought she would come out onto the street soon,” he said.

“Then she didn’t do it.”

‘I just thought, “Oh well, maybe she could have stayed a little longer.” I went outside and said to the kids, “Is mommy home yet?” and they said no. I thought that was a bit strange.’

Mr. Murphy said that he searched for his wife’s body daily, driving through the city or walking for two hours through a pine forest.

“Sometimes I’ll go for a drive and it’s not anywhere special, or I’ll go for a two-hour walk. It varies from day to day,” he said.

“It’s very good for my mind and if I stayed at home I wouldn’t be doing myself any favors.”

Patrick Orren Stephenson, 23, appeared in Ballarat District Court on Thursday charged with the alleged murder of Ms Murphy

Ms Murphy’s husband, Mick Murphy, was not seen on the video link or in court on Thursday. Instead, he was seen at home doing household chores. He declined to comment on the trial.

Stephenson, who has no connection to the Murphy family, was charged on March 7 with the murder of the mother of three.

He is the son of former AFL player Orren Stephenson, who played 15 games for Geelong and Richmond between 2012 and 2014.

He was himself a well-known footballer in the Ballarat area until he was charged with the murder of Mrs Murphy.

On Thursday, the court heard that police had assembled a huge body of evidence against the alleged killer, which included an “extensive amount” of CCTV footage.

Stephenson’s lawyer, Moya O’Brien, told the court that both sides requested a three-month adjournment because of the sheer volume of evidence in the case file.

“Its magnitude is considered unprecedented,” she said.

Judge Mark Stratmann granted the request, but was concerned about the length of time Stephenson would remain in custody.

“Three months is quite a long time, both for your client and for the community,” he said.

The alleged killer showed no emotion during the hearing.

He sat quietly during the 15-minute hearing, speaking only once when Mr. Stratmann asked if he could see and hear the court.

“Yes, your honor,” he replied.

Stephenson is not scheduled to appear in court again until November 16. Stratmann said at the time that he expected any issues in the case to be “ventilated.”

Samantha Murphy, 51, disappeared without a trace after leaving her home in Ballarat East, Victoria, for her morning run on February 4 (pictured)

Samantha Murphy is believed to have been murdered while jogging

On the day she disappeared, Mrs. Murphy, 51, At 7am she set off for her morning run through nearby Woowookrung Regional Park, a 14km route she had completed countless times before.

In early March, nearly five weeks after Ms. Murphy’s disappearance, police charged Stephenson with her alleged murder, despite her body never being found.

On Sunday, family, friends and the community of Ballarat commemorated the six-month anniversary of Murphy’s disappearance.

The case is one of Victoria Police’s highest priority criminal investigations, with the Missing Persons Unit working tirelessly to gather evidence ahead of the expected trial.

A breakthrough in the case came after police searched a dam on a property south of Buninyong, about 14 kilometres from her home, on May 29.

Officers found a mud-smeared mobile phone in a wallet at the water’s edge, probably found by a police sniffer dog.

The phone and other items found during the search were subjected to forensic examination. Sources confirmed that the device belonged to Ms Murphy.

Many hoped the phone would lead to Murphy’s body, but police are tight-lipped about the evidence found on the device.