Sam Murphy’s accused killer Patrick Stephenson’s life on remand
The man accused of killing Ballarat mum Samantha Murphy has spent the days since he was charged holed up in a protection unit at Melbourne Assessment Prison, where he’s been rubbing shoulders with career criminals and other accused killers.
Victoria
Don't miss out on the headlines from Victoria. Followed categories will be added to My News.
The man accused of murdering Ballarat mum Samantha Murphy is lying low in prison while spending his days on remand among career criminals and other accused killers.
Patrick Stephenson, 23, has spent his days holed up in a protection unit at Melbourne Assessment Prison after he was charged with murdering Ms Murphy last year.
A Herald Sun investigation can reveal Mr Stephenson has, at one point, rubbed shoulders with Adrian Basham and the alleged Easey St killer Perry Kouroumblis during his time in custody.
Mr Stephenson, Mr Kouroumblis and Mr Basham are believed to have been a part of a special 14-person protection unit at MAP, sharing the unit with a handful of career criminals and those awaiting trial over serious charges.
MAP has been home to a number of high-profile figures in recent months, including the likes of high country killer Greg Lynn and Hannah McGuire’s alleged murderer, Lachlan Young.
Mr Stephenson has called the maximum security facility home since Missing Persons Unit investigators arrested the 23-year-old outside a Scotsburn property on March 7 last year.
He was charged with murdering Ballarat mother of three Samantha Murphy, who disappeared while running through the Canadian State Forest early on February 4 last year.
Despite multiple large-scale searches through surrounding bushland, Ms Murphy’s remains have never been found.
In the days following his arrest, Mr Stephenson was thrown into a 23-hour lockdown following his transfer to MAP, a decision likely based on the high-profile nature of the case.
It is understood in his one hour allotted time out of his spartan, single person cell, he was allowed to walk around a small kitchen area under close supervision.
One source, who spoke under the provision of anonymity, described MAP as a “different beast” when comparing it to other facilities in Victoria.
Situated off Spencer St, MAP is an $80m facility that has been running since April 1989, with the purpose of accommodating inmates on remand.
Seemingly no fresh air filters through its narrow corridors, fitted with ordinary incandescent ceiling lights, with inmates practically living on top of each other in a well structured – yet mundane – daily routine.
When they aren’t squeezed into their cells, fitted with only the bare essentials, inmates are afforded an hour in the gym and an hour on the running track.
It is believed inmates spend about eight hours of their day outside their cell, including time in an outdoors courtyard area, under the shadow of the nearby Victoria Police headquarters.
The room Mr Stephenson occupies is far from luxury, likely five-by-four metres in area with barred windows.
During his time on remand it is believed he has kept to a strict code of saying nothing about his alleged crimes.
One source described Mr Stephenson as a relatively “unremarkable and unassuming person”, someone you wouldn’t be able to pick out of a crowd if not for his height.
The son of former AFL player Orren Stephenson, who stands at about two metres tall, Mr Stephenson is said to be of a similar strong build and towering frame.
Another source, who wished to remain anonymous, told the Herald Sun he had quickly adapted to his incarceration, finding a sense of comfortability behind bars and balancing the line of not being too quiet or too arrogant.
During his time in MAP Mr Stephenson has had little in the way of creature comforts; afforded only four shirts and pants, one pair of runners and one hat.
He has been allowed six books, magazines and photographs, which are not permitted to be laminated or in polaroid form.
He can only get his hands on $270 per month while in custody, which must be dropped off by a listed visitor at the facility’s front desk.
From these funds, inmates can spend up to $70 on a pay phone in the jail and $200 at the canteen, as well as an extra “special spend” of up to $100.
These extra items, which can range from more runners to a pair of boxing gloves, are dependent on good behaviour.
Having spent a birthday and other major holidays behind MAP walls, Mr Stephenson can have one in-person visit a week, with no visits allowed on Christmas Day and Good Friday.
Corrections Victoria was contacted for comment.
Originally published as Sam Murphy’s accused killer Patrick Stephenson’s life on remand
‘Lazy, ridiculous’: War of words erupts over ‘forced electrification’ of Victoria
The Allan government has been lashed by a leading business group over its plans to fast-track the transition away from gas in Victoria, sparking an extraordinary war of words.
Where are they now? The faces we loved and loathed during Covid
They were the big players who graced our screens, radios and social media feeds constantly during the pandemic. So where are some of Covid’s most divisive figures now?