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A leading criminologist suggests Samantha Murphy’s phone may have been used as a distraction tactic by a potential killer, with the aim of misleading detectives.
His comments come after a 22-year-old man was arrested in Ballarat on Wednesday morning as the search continues for the missing mother-of-three.
The unnamed man is not related to the Murphy family and no charges have been filed.
Forensic criminologist Tim Watson-Munro responded to unconfirmed reports that Ms Murphy’s phone had rung at a Buninyong phone tower at 5pm, about 10 hours after she left her Ballarat East home. to run 14 km on February 4.
Forensic criminologist Tim Watson-Munro
Since Ms Murphy’s disappearance, investigators have been tracking data from mobile phone towers across the vast Woowookarung Regional Park.
The metadata proved crucial to the search after they identified a precise location in the Mount Clear area, an hour into the national park.
Munro-Watson said she found it “unusual” that her phone had suddenly been reactivated 10 hours later, with the warning that phone service may not be optimal in rural Victoria.
“Why the phone didn’t ring during that period of time is really a matter of speculation,” he told Daily Mail Australia on Wednesday.
“It could suggest that she was still alive and around at that time or could suggest that someone took their phone and waited a respectable amount of time before activating it in a totally different area to throw people off as some sort of distraction tactic.
‘It could be that the phone was discarded and did not connect to the network until then.
“It appears to be more of a diversionary tactic than something that is perhaps more significant in terms of locating her dead or alive.”
Since Ms Murphy’s disappearance, investigators have been tracking data from mobile phone towers across the vast Woowookarung Regional Park.
The phone’s metadata proved crucial to the search after they identified a precise location in the Mount Clear area, 7km from his East Ballarat home, an hour after running 14km.
Watson-Munro said it was likely that investigators had been analyzing mobile phone metadata from day one, as it is increasingly relied on to reveal crucial clues.
“Anything that comes up may be of interest to you, especially if that data suggests that the individual or individuals, whether a stalker or other people, were in the vicinity at the time,” he explained.
“If we rule out that he ran away, then there remains the possibility that he is a stalker, for example, and this person has been meticulous in not leaving any forensic evidence that we are aware of.”
Despite a major investigation and extensive searches in the Canadian forest area, no trace of Ms. Murphy has been found in over a month.
“There are no further updates at this time and the investigation remains ongoing,” Victoria Police said after Wednesday’s arrest was revealed Thursday.
‘We understand that there is a continued high level of interest in this investigation and concern about the disappearance, however it remains essential that any speculation does not impede any aspect of the investigation.
‘Detectives continue to appeal for anyone who has CCTV or dashcam footage and has not yet spoken to police to come forward.
“Anyone who sees Samantha should call triple zero (000) immediately.”
Watson-Munro said it was also likely that the mobile phones of Murphy’s family and friends were also searched for information (pictured is her husband Mick Murphy).