The night before Samantha Murphy’s disappearance, her accused killer partied

The night before Samantha Murphy failed to appear for brunch and her worried family alerted police that she might be missing, her accused killer was out on the town with friends at a pub in central Ballarat.

Patrick Stephenson, 22, who detectives believe took Murphy’s life and attempted to conceal the alleged murder for more than a month, was seen enjoying a night out, moving from bar to bar with friends.

A witness who had been approached by police, but asked not to be identified to protect his business, said investigators have been visiting venues in the Ballarat CBD to collect footage of Stephenson on that Saturday night.

A social media post purporting to show Stephenson snorting a white substance off a mobile phone screen with friends has also surfaced and circulated among the local community.

On Thursday, Stephenson, the son of ex-AFL player Orren Stephenson, was charged with murder over the disappearance of Murphy, the beloved 51-year-old mother-of-three who vanished on February 4.

A social media post purporting to show Stephenson snorting a white substance has been circulated online.

Police had arrested Stephenson at a home he was helping to house-sit with his girlfriend in Scotsburn, a tiny farming community east of Buninyong with a population of less than 250 people.

Neighbours said a four-wheel drive parked outside the sprawling property has since been towed for forensic examination.

The media named Stephenson on Thursday, but a suppression order on his name, date of birth and home address made during his court appearance forced the publications to be retracted.

That order was revoked on Friday, allowing this masthead to reveal further details about the man accused of deliberately killing Murphy, although his alleged motive remains unexplained.

Defence lawyer David Tamanika expressed concern in Ballarat Magistrates’ Court that some people believed the gag order was a manipulation tactic.

The night before Samantha Murphy went missing, her accused killer Patrick Stephenson was out on the town with friends at a pub in central Ballarat.Credit: Jason South

Tamanika also noted the suppression order had been destructive to his client, who had since told him to withdraw it.

Stephenson, sporting a beard, grey tracksuit and flanked by two security officers, spoke only to confirm he understood Magistrate Michelle Mykytowycz.

“Yes, your honour,” he said.

Stephenson, who has never previously been in custody, will appear in court again on August 8.

Hundreds of mourners gathered at Ballarat’s Eureka Stockdale Memorial Garden on a clear, warm Friday evening for a vigil for Murphy.

At one point, the line to sign a condolence book that will be given to the Murphy family stretched back about 100 metres.

In fading light, the crowd held up their phone torchlights in silence, reflecting on a tumultuous past month for the regional city.

“After everything the community has done, it’s had a big impact on everyone,” said Jasmine Krause, the vigil organiser.

The town of Ballarat is grieving the loss of Samantha Murphy.

“I thought it’d be nice for everyone to get together and just have a bit of reflection.”

The only vigil speaker, Ballarat Mayor Des Hudson, said next week the council would figure out how to open city facilities so more tributes could be made out to the Murphy family.

“Yesterday was a sad day in Ballarat,” Hudson told the silent crowd.

“We have lost someone who made a real contribution to the Ballarat community.”

With the only other sound heard being the gentle splashes of a memorial fountain behind him, Hudson spoke of the immense toll the ordeal had taken on the Murphy family, pointedly mentioning damaging unsubstantiated speculation and innuendos that had circulated on social media. “That was not okay,” he said.

Hudson urged those still struggling with grief to speak up so Ballarat could “wrap our arms around each other”.

Ballarat MP and Infrastructure Minister Catherine King was among the crowd, many of whom had volunteered to search for Murphy over the past month.

Krause, the vigil organiser, said she saw part of herself in the 51-year-old.

“It’s all very shocking,” Krause said.

“I just think that as long as we think of Samantha, and are there for her family, and keep that on the full front of our minds - that’s what’s important.”

The mayor flagged he hoped another remembrance service would be possible once Murphy’s body was found.

Stephenson went to Damascus College and St Patrick’s College in Ballarat, private schools with a conservative culture imbued with a sense of tradition.

Jessie Metcalfe, 21, was in the year below Stephenson at Damascus.

Patrick was an enthusiastic footballer.Credit: The Courier/Adam Trafford

Although they were in different friendship circles, and he hadn’t seen much of him since school, Metcalfe said Stephenson was a popular kid who played a lot of sport.

“It’s been a huge shock,” he said.

In his formative years, Stephenson was immersed in the world of top-tier football.

He would tag along with his father, late-life AFL draftee Orren Stephenson, into the clubs – mixing with players, seeing the sport up close.

Orren Stephenson (middle) shortly after being drafted to Geelong. His son, Patrick, is on the back right.Credit: Courtesy of Ballarat Courier

But while the Stephenson family is liked and respected in the Ballarat community, the feelings are mixed about middle child Patrick.

A local newspaper featured Patrick and his footy friends advocating for mates to look after one another on the roads.

But following news of his arrest, locals described him as a troubled teenager.

The allegations made by police sit in contrast with the image of Patrick Stephenson as a young man enmeshed in the upper echelons of football, tagging along with his father, rubbing shoulders with AFL greats.

His father was picked up in the draft at 29, one of the oldest ever drafted, and played as a sporadic member of Geelong and Richmond.

Orren Stephenson’s only son has his father’s first name as his middle name.

The father’s brief AFL career was a huge boon for the family.

When asked, Mount Clear neighbours quickly recall a friendly home and gregarious sisters, but struggle to remember a lot about the boy who would ride his bike around the cul-de-sac.

Image of Patrick Stephenson posted to Instagram in 2019.

“They were wonderful, absolutely wonderful neighbours. I didn’t really know [the man], I only really know girls,” a neighbour said.

“I was totally amazed, I didn’t expect it at all, didn’t know what was going on, particularly when I got home [to the street] full of cars.”

Like his father, Patrick was an enthusiastic footballer, playing for the Redan Football Club under-19s, though his involvement with the team had frayed in the past couple of years. He was also a rower.

Orren is now an electrician and well known in Ballarat for playing footy with Redan/North Ballarat and then the AFL. His wife is a primary school teacher.

A property near Scotsburn where Patrick Stephenson was arrested.Credit: Jason South

Stephenson split his time between a home in Scotsburn and his parents’ place in Mount Clear, both close to where Murphy went missing.

Scotsburn, where the accused was arrested, is a farming hamlet wrapped around the Midland Highway about 20 minutes south-east of Ballarat.

Properties in the area have long driveways and boundaries screened by tall trees and native vegetation.

It’s suited to people who run hobby farms and value privacy. Many residents are elderly, and few know the accused.

“I know the parents of the accused killer,” a person who knew the family, but who wanted to remain anonymous, told this masthead. “They are just lovely people and have brought their children up beautifully. I just feel sick for them.”

“Absolutely no idea of motive, or where it occurred, or what occurred, or what method was used,” another neighbour said.

A second person who knows the Stephenson family described them as “beautiful people”.

“I can’t imagine what they’d be going through,” they said.

Police, too, haven’t released their theory about what might have motivated Patrick Stephenson to allegedly take Murphy’s life. Chief Commissioner Shane Patton said police weren’t looking for anyone else.

Murphy died in a “deliberate attack” at Mount Clear on the day she went missing, Patton said. Finding Murphy’s remains will now be police’s top priority.