'SHE MAY NEVER BE FOUND'

Samantha's family are still seeking answers a year after she disappeared

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It’s been 12 months since Michael Murphy and his three kids last saw his wife Samantha as she left their Ballarat home for a run on the morning of February 4, 2024.

“On that particular day, I was outside and thought she’ll be coming up the road pretty soon,” her husband Mick told media shortly after her disappearance. “Then she didn’t return.”

After leaving her Ballarat East home at 7am, Samantha jogged through Woowookarung Regional Park to the rural suburb of Mt Clear, about 14km away from her actual home.

Now the case is at a standstill. Victoria Police theorise the 51-year-old was killed by Patrick Stephenson, 23, who was arrested and charged with murdering Samantha on March 6, 2024.

Patrick, son of AFL player Orren Stephenson and his wife Whitney, pleaded not guilty to the charge on November 14, 2024, and elected to fast-track his trial in the Victorian Supreme Court.

A direction hearing is expected to occur within the coming months as police continue to piece together what happened to Samantha.

Stephenson also pleaded guilty to previous driving offences on January 16, following a motorcycle crash in October 2023, just months before Sam went missing.