It has been the saddest of years for the family and friends of Samantha Murphy. 

An unfathomable loss of a wife, mother and a friend. We continue to hold them close in our thoughts and to support them.

Amid the shock and sadness we all feel, the community has stepped up in a way that shows the best of us in dealing with the worst possible news. And not just once.

The community has also stepped up following the deaths of Rebecca Young and Hannah McGuire which also happened during the last 12 difficult months.

Grief can be a long path to walk and having the support of people around you actually helps. As I have said before, we the community have another task as well – making the world we live in a safer place for women.

Simply living your life shouldn’t put you in danger. Women shouldn’t have to worry that being out by themselves at night or in the early morning, or even being behind closed doors in their own home puts them at risk. 

I wrote in an op-ed last April that how we educate our boys in this community matters, what opportunities they have to learn how to be the fabulous, beautiful men we all know in some aspects of our lives, actually really matters. 

Governments have a role to play too – with campaigns, early intervention services, a national plan from all levels of government, as well as legislated paid family and domestic violence leave and better access to childcare and early education. 

There are signs of small change. Ballarat resident Pauline O’Shannessy-Dowling has told the ABC that when she is out running, which is what Samantha was doing, men who are also running make the effort to let her know they are not a threat. 

We saw at the Ballarat Marathon, the first one last year, a concerted effort of dads running with their daughters, and really wanting to come together as a community to show how much they care about their girls. 

And there are signs of a much bigger change underway in our community. A partnership of organisations, business clubs and groups led by Women’s Health Grampians and called Communities of Respect and Equality – CoRE – Alliance share a vision for safe, equal and respectful communities. 

Membership of CoRE Alliance usually sees between one and five new organisations join each year. Since February last year, when Samantha went missing, 19 organisations have joined – 13 of those from Ballarat including a number of schools. And this significant increase is being driven by the students themselves. 

There has also been a notable increase in enquiries from organisations and individuals – particularly men – interested in CoRE and what they can do to prevent gender-based violence. 

Men’s initiative information sessions saw a massive increase in registrations, and in December, Women’s Health Grampians and the City of Ballarat held a leadership forum for men interested in learning more about how they can lead change to prevent gender-based violence in the organisations they are part of. 

(A total) 188 people attended that event, 60 per cent of whom were men. These are all the positive signs of change that we want. Again, the community is stepping up and importantly, men are stepping up very much as part of that. 

We all need to see change across our communities, and in mine, that has been incredibly important, and felt very deeply after the deaths of Samantha, of Hannah and of Rebecca. 

We want a community that is safe for everybody. Everybody, but particularly women. We need everywhere, in every community, in every place, to stop seeing violence against women. To stop losing women, like beautiful Samantha Murphy, who still had so much to give. 

And this, the week of the anniversary of her death, and as we are also leading into anniversaries for Rebecca and Hannah, my thoughts and my condolences continue to go out to their families. 

The legacy that we have from their deaths, is that we must do so, so much better to keep women safe in our communities. 

– Catherine King, Ballarat MP (Adjournment Speech, Federation Chamber, Thursday, February 6, 2025 

Detectives from the Missing Persons Squad have this afternoon charged a 22-year-old man with the murder of missing Ballarat East woman Samantha Murphy.

Victoria Police arrested the man shortly after 6am on Wednesday at his Scotsburn home south of Ballarat. He was questioned by police before being charged with one count of murder and was to face the Ballarat Magistrates’ Court this afternoon.

Ms Murphy, 51, went missing on February 4 after leaving her Eureka Street home for a morning run. Despite a significant investigation and extensive searches of the Canadian Forest area, no trace of the mother of three has been found.

“Police are yet to recover Samantha’s body and the investigation remains ongoing,” a Victoria Police spokesperson said.

The last sighting of Ms Murphy came from CCTV footage outside her own home. She was wearing a maroon running shirt, black leggings, and an Apple watch. Ms Murphy’s phone, watch, and headphones have still not been found.

Her home is close to the northern border of the Woowookarung Regional Park, or Canadian Forest, where she was known to run.

Detectives are continuing to appeal for anyone who has CCTV or dashcam footage to contact Crime Stoppers.

Detective Acting Superintendent Mark Hatt, Crime Command: “Our thoughts today are with Samantha’s family and friends.

“Since Samantha’s disappearance at the start of February, a significant search and investigation has been undertaken in an effort to find her.

“This has included a dedicated and committed investigative effort led by the Missing Persons squad and also involving detectives from right across Crime Command, Counter Terrorism Command and Western Region.

“This has been further supported by a range of specialist resources from across Victoria Police.

“To get to a position where we have been able to charge someone is testament to the commitment and dedication from all those areas.

“We have also had exceptional support from many people in the Ballarat community, particularly local search volunteers and members of the SES and CFA.

“I know that Samantha’s disappearance has had a profound impact on the Ballarat community and I want to thank all of those people who have assisted police in many different ways over the past month.”

Detectives from the Missing Persons Squad are appealing to the public to submit any CCTV or dashcam footage covering the Ballarat East, Mount Helen and Buninyong areas on Sunday February 4 in their search for missing woman Samantha Murphy.

Even if the footage does not depict Samantha, detectives are keen to review all footage in the areas between 7am and 7pm on Sunday, 4 February.

Police previously urged everyone in the Ballarat East and Mount Helen areas, particularly around the Canadian Forest, to check their CCTV for any possible sightings over the past six days however would now like to collect all footage.

The Missing Persons Squad will continue to work in conjunction with local police, as they have done since the early stages of her disappearance, as part of the effort to locate Samantha.

The specialist detectives will manage the investigation into her disappearance and will be embedded alongside local police, who will continue to lead the search when required.

The current phase of the active search for Samantha was scaled back over the weekend.

Despite extensive searches in the area over recent days, no sign of Samantha has been located.

Police continue to be in regular contact with Samantha’s family regarding the developments of the search and the status of the investigation.

The investigative stage of the investigation continues and as any new information comes to hand identifying areas of interest, the search will be scaled up.

While no sinister factors have been identified in Samantha’s disappearance at this time, there are significant concerns given the amount of time that has elapsed without her being sighted or any signs of her current whereabouts.

The 51-year-old was last seen leaving her property on Eureka Street to go for a run, about 7am Sunday, 4 February.

Police, with assistance from a number of other agencies, have conducted a search in the Canadian Forest area where Samantha was known to regularly run.

Following further information about possible run routes, on Wednesday 7 February the search moved to the nearby Mount Helen area to the east of Geelong Road.

Police have again released two images of Samantha in the hope someone recognises her and can provide any information about her movements since Sunday.