Man who met Jodus Murphy at Seymour train station said he was a ‘good kid’

New details have been aired about a teenager who vanished from his mum’s Seaford home before being found dead beside the Goulburn River a month later.

A tribute for Jodus Murphy whose body was found in June 2023. Picture: Facebook.

A Frankston teenager found dead on a river bank more than 100km from Melbourne could have died from hypothermia, an inquest has heard.

The decomposed body of Jodus Murphy, 18, was found beside the Goulburn River near Seymour in June 2023, a month after he vanished from his mother’s Seaford home.

A coronial inquest on Monday heard the teen had drugs in his system and was found in his underwear despite night time temperatures as low as 2c, which could be explained by paradoxical undressing.

Paradoxical undressing is when a person suffering severe hypothermia takes off their clothes as they become disoriented and confused.

Mr Murphy may have died from hypothermia.

The location along the Goulburn River where Mr Murphy’s decomposed body was found.

Forensic pathologist Judith Fronczek, who performed an autopsy on Mr Murphy, told the Coroners Court there was no evidence of injury and a cause or time of death could not be determined due to the state of decomposition.

But his state of undress and discoloured stomach lining — known as Wischnewsky Spots — was consistent with hypothermia.

Drugs including methylamphetamine and bromazolam, a type of benzodiazepine, were found in his system which Dr Fronczek said could have contributed to his death.

The court heard Mr Murphy left his mother’s Seaford home about 5am on May 12, 2023 before he was reported missing two days later.

Drugs were found in Mr Murphy’s system.

A cause or time of death could not be determined due to the state of decomposition of his body.

Around 9pm on May 14, Mr Murphy met two young men at Seymour train station.

One of them, who was 23 at the time, was called to give evidence on Monday, telling the inquest he informed Mr Murphy there were no more trains before inviting him to stay at his home for the night.

“He was really grateful so he came with us,” he said in his police statement.

Describing Mr Murphy as a “good kid”, the man said they stayed up taking drugs including ice, cannabis and Xanax and talked about spirituality.

Mr Murphy also revealed to him he had schizophrenia and only had five years to live because of a medical condition, he said.

The next morning, the man said he felt “horrible” but told Mr Murphy to leave because his mother was returning from work soon.

“He wanted to stay but I told him to go,” he said.

The man’s mother, who also gave evidence on Monday, said she initially did not want Mr Murphy to stay the night but eventually relented because she felt sorry for him.

“He was like a frightened possum to be honest,” she said.

She took a photo of him before heading to work a night shift.

When she returned home the next morning, the woman said she saw Mr Murphy pushing a shopping trolley with his bag inside along a road near her home.

Later that morning, the court heard Mr Murphy separately approached two women asking to use their phones.

One of them took a photo of Mr Murphy while another reported the interaction to police.

Two days later, Mitchell Berens was allegedly captured on CCTV using Mr Murphy’s bank card to withdraw money from an ATM in Seymour.

The court heard Mr Berens later told police Mr Murphy approached him at a bus shelter before asking him to withdraw money for him.

Asked why he couldn’t do it himself, he allegedly claimed Mr Murphy told him it was because “they were watching me”.

The court heard police investigated Mr Berens’ claims, recovering CCTV footage from the bus shelter which showed he did not interact with Mr Murphy.

Mr Berens is expected to give evidence on Tuesday.

Family members of Mr Murphy, some from New Zealand, were in court on Monday.

The inquest, before coroner John Olle, continues.

Originally published as Man who met Jodus Murphy at Seymour train station said he was a ‘good kid’