Experts shed new light on Samantha Murphy case
A panel of experts have shed new light on the case of missing mum Samantha Murphy.
The mother-of-three went missing on February 4 after going for her usual morning run in a local park in Ballarat.
Despite major search efforts from the missing persons squad, specialists and the local Ballarat community, she has still not been found, and now a panel of experts have gathered to discuss the possibilities of what could've happened to Murphy.
Former Victorian detective Damian Marrett, criminal psychologist Dr Peter Ashkar, missing persons specialist Valentine Smith and cyber expert Nigel Phair discussed a number of different scenarios in Channel Nine's show Under Investigation on Wednesday night.
“The idea that Samantha has actually wilfully left the family is just unfathomable and just implausible to me,” Dr Ashkar said.
Presenter Liz Hayes, who spoke to mine shaft explorer Raymond Shaw said that there's a possibility Murphy's body has been buried in one of the abandoned mine shafts around Ballarat.
“I think there could be anywhere between 4000 and 5000 gold mines just underneath the town," Shaw told Hayes.
The panel agreed that the most likely scenario was that Murphy’s body had been dumped in a mineshaft after meeting with foul play, as they believe that there was "no way" Murphy fell down a mineshaft by accident, as the locals all know how to navigate the terrain.
“They could be a great place to conceal a body or a crime after the fact … and you’d probably never find it,” Marrett said.
Dr Ashkar added that the absence of any trace of Murphy could point to her having been attacked by a “psychopathic predator … who would know that area, like the back of their hand”.
The panel also considered a potential new clue, the possible sighting of a damaged vehicle, which was alluded to in a police statement requesting for new information about the case.
The experts said that if there was a damaged car in the area, it could mean that Murphy was kidnapped at the 7km point of her run and could still be alive.
“I would still like to believe the very real possibility that it’s a kidnapping and she’s still alive,” Dr Ashkar said.
“That’s my hope. But I absolutely feel that whoever has taken her and abducted, they are very systematic and organised and knew very well what they were doing.”
Marrett added that the police’s interest in the damaged car was significant.
“They didn’t just say a car, they said a damaged car, it’s so specific,” he said.
“So was that damage caused with this incident or was that damage because someone saw a damaged car leave?”
Image: Nine / Facebook