The young tradie accused of killing mother-of-three Samantha Murphy and his veterinary student girlfriend were affectionate online before their romance turned upside down recently.
Patrick Stephenson, 22, and his long-term girlfriend Meg Harbour, 22, were house-sitting a family friend in Scotsburn, 12 miles south of Ballarat, when police raided the premises on Wednesday morning. tomorrow and arrested the electrician.
Police will allege he “deliberately attacked” Ms Murphy, 51, in Mount Clear on February 4 after she left her Ballarat East home at 7am to go for a morning run.
Stephenson, son of former AFL footballer Orren Stephenson, has been charged with murder and remains in custody as police continue to search for Ms Murphy’s body.
Before their relationship took a turn for the worse this week, Stephenson and his girlfriend, a Veterinary Technology student at Charles Sturt University, seemed in love and were engaging in adventures typical of couples their age.
Accused killer Patrick Stephenson, 22, appeared to be in a romantic relationship with his long-time girlfriend, Meg Harbor (pictured together) before he was arrested this week.
Ms Harbor was seen tending horses on her family’s rural property on Friday.
Photos posted on social media show the couple embarking on holidays, festivals and camping trips with friends in locations across the country, including Albury NSW, where Stephenson’s father grew up, and Kangaroo Island in South Australia.
A video posted online shows Stephenson dressed only in underwear in front of a campsite, shaking his butt. “There are many fish in the sea, but that is my clown fish, don’t touch my clown fish, okay?” a voiceover proudly proclaims.
In a flirty exchange of messages in December 2021, Stephenson commented on a post of Ms. Harbor in a bikini, saying, “Just saw your ad and was wondering if you’re still available.”
Mrs Harbor replied: “I’m sorry it’s out of the market, awaiting collection.”
Another photo posted three months later shows the couple posing in a car and horseback riding together on a beach while on holiday at Murray River in northern Victoria, with the adorable caption: “Memories with you are pretty good.”
Ms Harbor (pictured) is a veterinary student who also grew up in the Ballarat area.
Photos on social media show the couple traveling around Australia and enjoying festivals together.
Several photos show the couple kissing and flirtatiously bantering in the comments.
Several other gushing posts show the couple kissing at various events, including the Spilled Milk festival in December 2022 and dressed in formal wear for a night out in Albury.
“I love you,” Stephenson commented on one post, and Harbor responded: “Back to you baby.”
In another post, Harbor joked that she was Stephenson’s “favorite sight,” before he chimed in: “Aren’t we cute?”
Ms Harbour, whose family has strong links to Ballarat, attended Mount Clear Secondary College while her partner went to St Patrick’s College and later Damascus College.
It is understood Ms Harbour, Stephenson and their friends were partying together in Ballarat the night before Ms Murphy disappeared, and detectives seized CCTV from several locations as part of the investigation.
Harbor showed off her tattoos when she was seen tending a horse on Friday.
Samantha Murphy, 51, was allegedly murdered on February 4 after leaving her home to go for a morning run.
Victoria Police say they are not looking for anyone else in connection with Ms Murphy’s disappearance and Daily Mail Australia does not suggest any wrongdoing on Ms Harbour’s part.
Ms Harbor was seen tending horses on her family’s rural property on Friday.
She declined to comment when approached by Daily Mail Australia, but was seen standing, sitting and blowing kisses to the horse.
Ms Murphy was reported missing after she failed to return to her Eureka Street home after her morning run through Woowookarung Regional Park.
Over the past month, police and dozens of volunteers have launched widespread searches throughout the area, however no trace of Ms Murphy has been found.
Ms Murphy’s alleged murder has shaken the tight-knit community, with hundreds of people attending a community vigil on Friday night to pay their respects to the mother-of-three.