The Victorian coroner has renewed his call for information about a young man found dead on a riverbank a year ago.
Jodus Tenetahi Murphy, 18, was last seen alive in Seymour, more than 100 kilometers north of his home in Melbourne, on May 15, 2023.
On the anniversary of that last sighting, Victorian coroner John Olle appealed for public help to reconstruct the teenager’s final movements.
Two days after Mr Murphy’s last sighting, a man was seen withdrawing cash from his bank account at an ATM in Seymour.
“Victoria Police identified the man captured on CCTV making the withdrawals and confirmed he was not Jodus,” Coroner Olle said in a statement.
Victorian teenager Jodus Murphy, 18, was found dead on a riverbank near the Goulburn River on June 14, 2023 after being missing for more than a month.
The Victorian coroner has released new images of Mr Murphy (pictured) in the hope of attracting witnesses to the ongoing missing persons case.
Four weeks later, Mr Murphy’s body was found on the banks of the Goulburn River.
Murphy lived in the southeastern Melbourne suburb of Seaford.
In the early hours of Friday, May 12, 2023, Murphy left his home in Seaford, a Melbourne suburb, where he lived with his mother and siblings.
Her family reported her missing to police two days later and a missing persons investigation was launched.
On Sunday, CCTV recorded Mr Murphy at Seymour train station.
He asked two men there about the time of the next train to Murchison, 100 miles north of Melbourne, but there was no train that night, so one of the men offered Mr Murphy a bed.
The Herald Sun reported he was given methamphetamines and Xanax at the home.
The following morning, May 15, Mr Murphy left the house and was seen by three unrelated witnesses in the vicinity of Abdallah Road, Tarcombe Road, Kennedy Court and surrounding streets in Seymour.
Those were the last reported sightings of Mr. Murphy alive.
Two days later the man withdrew the money.
Four weeks later, Murphy’s body was found on June 14 and police said at the time that the death was not considered suspicious.
Pictured is the last known image of Mr. Murphy.
A funeral was held for Jodus Murphy in June 2023 (pictured, a tribute to Mr Murphy)
“He was a good kid, so going somewhere he’d never been before and staying at someone’s house he’d never even met before, doing drugs he’d never done before, is out of line.” his sister-in-law said at the time.
In the months after his body was found, police searched for bags containing clothing, his passport, his wallet and a distinctive water bottle he was carrying.
In the last known image of Mr. Murphy, he is wearing black sweatpants, a black and dark blue hoodie, and is carrying two bags.
The coroner has urged anyone with information to contact Crime Stoppers.
