Patrick Orren Stephenson: Accused killer’s refusing to talk to police
The location of Samantha Murphy’s body remains unknown, as alleged murderer Patrick Stephenson reportedly maintains his silence.
The location of Samantha Murphy’s body remains unknown, as alleged murderer Patrick Orren Stephenson maintained his silence after spending a fourth night in custody.
The Herald Sun reports the 22-year-old has reserved his right to remain silent, giving detectives little to no help as they continue to try to locate Ms Murphy’s remains.
Sunday marks five weeks since the 51-year-old was allegedly killed by Mr Stephenson, as her family remain desperate for more answers.
‘Massive bender’
Stephenson’s friends on Friday revealed that he had gone on a “massive bender” the night before she went missing.
Despite charging Mr Stephenson with murder on Thursday afternoon, police were no closer to returning Ms Murphy’s body to husband Michael and their three children, with the accused not disclosing the whereabouts.
Mr Stephenson’s friends told the Herald Sun he was at a party on February 3 where cocaine was consumed, before attending The Deck in Ballarat, which is open until 3am. A video from the night shows lines of a white substance on a mobile phone.
As police continue their investigation, which involved the seizure of a car and execution of warrants for three properties in the Ballarat area, a clearer picture of the 51-year-old mum’s accused killer began to emerge in old news stories and images on social media.
Mr Stephenson comes from a sporting family – his father Orren played in the VFL and with AFL clubs Richmond and Geelong from 2012-14.
Mr Stephenson had privileged access to the sporting world.
In 2013, the family were the subject of a profile titled “Orren’s family affair” for afl.com.au. The story references his three children, including middle child Patrick, 11 at the time.
Orren, the oldest-ever draftee in the AFL, reflected on how he was able to share his career journey with wife Whitney, and their three children “who are rarely absent on game day”.
While the footballer spoke of his two daughters, he mostly spoke about his only son and his love for sports.
“Patrick last year was rolling around the rooms with the Geelong Cats and this year he’s rolling around with the Richmond Tiger boys,” Orren said. “He wouldn’t pass it up for quids. He loves it and the girls have had a lot of fun with it as well. It’s a massive bonus that we can share these pretty good times in our lives with our kids.”
Orren was also interviewed for the Ballarat Leagues Club, where he mentioned his son by name again.
The footballer was asked in 2016 what he remembered from his team being part of the 2002 Ballarat Football League premiership. “I remember being able to share it with Whitney and my two children, Emilie and Patrick.”
Nothing in the several photos of a smiling Patrick Stephenson with his family and acquaintances would have indicated something was amiss with the young man.
The alleged murderer could up until late Friday morning only be identified as a Scotsburn man, with an interim suppression order preventing The Australian from publishing his name, birthdate and full address.
But at a substantive hearing at Ballarat Magistrates’ Court at 11am, pushed for by the media, magistrate Michelle Mykytowycz lifted the restrictions that protected the man’s identity.
Mr Stephenson, who appeared before the court the day before in tradie clothing, also attended Friday morning’s hearing in person.
Dressed in a plain grey sweatshirt and flanked by two security guards in the courtroom dock, he spoke only briefly to confirm he could hear the court proceedings.
Staring blankly, he replied with a simple “yes, Your Honour” to confirm he understood that his identity would be revealed.
Defence lawyer David Tamanika defended the initial request for an interim suppression order.
“There existed a harm possibility … that was attributed to the applicant’s age, his position in custody, the seriousness of the charge and the interest in the case,” Mr Tamanika told the court.
“The timings and reasons cited justified the making of an application. It is concerning that it is seen as an underhanded move. The responsibility of all legal practitioners is that their clients are represented to the best of their abilities. It (the request for suppression order) has nothing to do with disregard for Ms Murphy or her family.”
Mr Tamanika also raised concerns about his client’s mental health but told the court that Mr Stephenson had no mental health or drug issues.
Victoria Police Chief Commissioner Shane Patton said police allege Mr Stephenson carried out a “deliberate attack” on Ms Murphy and the mother of three was murdered at Mount Clear on the day she disappeared, February 4.
It is not believed the accused is known to the Murphy family or that another person was involved.
Detectives believe Ms Murphy was killed at Mount Clear.
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