The heartbroken husband of missing Ballarat mother Samantha Murphy has locked eyes with her alleged killer for the first time in court.
Mick Murphy could barely hide his emotions on Thursday as Patrick Orren Stephenson pleaded not guilty to his wife’s murder.
Sitting at the front of Ballarat Magistrates Court, Murphy stared at the court video screen where Stephenson appeared from the safety of a video room inside the Melbourne Assessment Prison.
Stephenson, now sporting long hair and a shaggy beard, appeared calm as he officially denied murdering Ms Murphy, whose body has not yet been found.
With his arms crossed, a relaxed Stephenson simply uttered the words “not guilty, your honor” when asked to plead guilty.
The matter will now be rushed straight to the Supreme Court of Victoria, setting the stage for a jury trial likely to take place late next year.
Flanked by Crown prosecutor Ray Gibson and police Homicide Squad, Murphy declined to comment to a group of media waiting outside the court.
While Stephenson has appeared in court before both in person and via video link, it is the first time Murphy has seen his wife’s alleged killer.
A devastated Mick Murphy (far right) leaves Ballarat Magistrates Court behind police and the prosecutor.
Dressed in white, Stephenson heard that detectives had obtained three new statements since he last appeared in court.
One of those witnesses was named Dr. Matthew Sorrell, an expert in digital forensics.
The mother of three He disappeared without a trace on the morning of February 4 after leaving his home on Eureka Street in Ballarat East, Victoria.
Her family reported her missing that same day after she failed to show up for a family lunch.
Little progress has been made public in the police case since May 29, when police found what appeared to be Ms. Murphy’s phone, raising hopes that they may soon be close to finding her remains.
The phone was recovered on the muddy banks of a dam located along Buninyong-Mount Mercer Road in the same region where the phone was last connected to a cell tower before dark.
An image of the device taken from the scene showed what appeared to be an Apple iPhone contained in a wallet full of ID cards.
Samantha Murphy disappeared in February and is now presumed dead
Samantha Murphy’s husband Mick Murphy leaves a Ballarat court on Thursday
Samantha and Mick Murphy in happier times
The dam is about 15 kilometers from Ballarat East, where Murphy set out on his final run earlier that summer on Sunday morning.
Aerial footage from the scene showed police officers hugging, patting each other on the back and shaking hands as they examined the phone.
Murphy later confirmed that he instantly recognized his wife’s phone when watching the dramatic television footage.
His wife had long used such a wallet to protect her phone and store her various credit and ID cards.
She appeared in a Facebook photo alongside Mr Murphy in a happy snap from their latest trip to Bali.
The contents of that phone and what help, if any, it has given investigators in finding Ms. Murphy’s body remains unclear.
Patrick Orren Stephenson, 22, is accused of murdering Ms Murphy while she was out jogging on Sunday.
The last disturbing image of Samantha Murphy alive on the day of her last jog
Police celebrate after finding what is believed to be Ms Murphy’s phone in a dam
Forensic evidence continues on the phone as police work to obtain data in a bid to receive more leads.
Reports indicate that the phone was found to be in near perfect working condition.
Police remain tight-lipped about how the investigation is progressing, only reporting that the search for Ms Murphy’s body continues.
Stephenson, 22, is accused of murdering Ms Murphy while she was out jogging on Sunday.
It is understood Stephenson, who was arrested five weeks after Ms Murphy’s alleged murder, has not told police where her body is located.
He is due to appear at a preliminary hearing in the Ballarat Magistrates Court in August.
Stephenson is the son of former Richmond and Geelong AFL player Orren Stephenson and is not known to the Murphy family.