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A woman believed to be a close friend of Samantha Murphy’s accused killer has been spotted near the rural property where he was arrested two days ago.
The identity of the man accused of killing Ms Murphy has been revealed as Patrick Orren Stephenson, the only son of former AFL star Orren Stephenson, after a suppression order was lifted on Friday.
Stephenson, 22, was arrested on Wednesday in Scotsburn, about 17 kilometers from Murphy’s home in Ballarat East, Victoria. He was charged with murder the next day.
On Friday, a woman believed to be a close friend of Stephenson was seen training and caring for a horse at the back of a property not far from where he was arrested.
She declined to comment when approached by Daily Mail Australia, but was seen standing, sitting and blowing kisses to the horse.
Stephenson was arrested just down the road at another property on Yendon No 2 Road.
It is understood detectives raided that property at around 6.30am on Wednesday and seized a car.
The woman believed to be a close friend of Patrick Orren Stephenson was seen training a horse on Friday. She declined to comment when approached by Daily Mail Australia.
Stephenson (pictured) appeared relaxed during his first court appearance on Thursday.
The Mount Clear property where Stephenson, 22, was arrested on Wednesday
Patrick Orren Stephenson (pictured center, with his father Orren and mother Whitney) has been charged with the alleged murder of Samantha Murphy.
Detectives are reportedly investigating whether Ms Murphy may have been hit by a car on the Sunday she disappeared, but police have ruled out a hit-and-run accident.
Stephenson, a shopkeeper, who was also a well-known local football player, appeared in court wearing a bright orange high-visibility workman’s jacket on Thursday to face charges of murdering Ms Murphy on February 4, the day in which he disappeared.
He seemed interested in the court proceedings taking place around him and maintained his composure, glancing from time to time at the journalists, the magistrate and the lawyers.
When asked by magistrate Michelle Mykytowycz if he could hear her, Stephenson, who had a scruffy beard, said: “Yes, your honour.”
The identity of the alleged killer can only now be fully revealed after a court-imposed gag order was finally lifted on Friday.
A magistrate immediately banned the media from identifying him, but the block was lifted after an appeal by media, including Daily Mail Australia, at a court hearing on Friday morning.
The woman was observed standing, sitting and blowing kisses to the horse.
The tattooed woman was seen caring for a horse on Friday
The 22-year-old was arrested on Wednesday morning at his home in Scotsburn.
Patrick Orren Stephenson (right) and his former AFL footballer father Orren in happier times
Stephenson’s family life.
Stephenson’s father Orren made headlines when he made his elite AFL debut at the age of 30 as Geelong ruckman in 2012 before joining Richmond as a rookie in 2013.
He was the oldest first-round pick in the history of the sport.
Orren married his high school sweetheart, Whitney, and the couple had three children: Stephenson was the middle child and the only child.
‘It’s been fantastic and a big plus. For my wife and kids, it’s something they’ll never forget, so it’s a blessing to be able to share it with them,” Orren told AFL.com.au in 2013 when discussing his football career.
‘Last year Patrick was hanging around the rooms with the Geelong Cats and this year he’ll be hanging around the rooms with the Richmond Tiger boys.
I wouldn’t pass it up for pounds. He loves it and the girls have had a lot of fun with it too. It is a great advantage to be able to share these good moments of our lives with our children.”
The 41-year-old retired player grew up in Wagga Wagga in New South Wales, the birthplace of true AFL champion Wayne Carey.
The family moved to Ballarat in 2002 to be near Ms Stephenson’s family and set up an electronics company, Elite Voice and Data, which was run from their home, according to company records.
It is understood the family left the area after a horde of media invaded their home on Thursday afternoon.
Orren began playing in the AFL for Ballarat’s Redan Football Club and, after winning premierships in 2002 and 2003, was awarded the best and fairest player award in 2004.
He then joined the North Ballarat Football Club and played for Victoria’s VFL league before being promoted to the AFL competition.
The veteran was delisted at the end of the 2014 season.
Stephenson follows in his father’s footsteps
Stephenson was keen to follow his father into football, playing for the same local Redan team that Orren had once played for.
In 2019, Stephenson appeared in the Ballarat Courier alongside his Redan Under 19 teammates promoting the L.How to Cook After Our Mates Program.
It was an initiative that focused on reducing the risk of players being affected by accidents caused by alcohol or other drugs.
The alleged killer attended St Patrick’s College in Ballarat, a private Catholic school for boys, which costs between $7,000 and $8,500 a year.
It is understood Stephenson was living between two homes when Ms Murphy disappeared, dividing his time between his parents’ home in Mount Clear and a shared house in Scotsburn, about 17 kilometers from Ms Murphy’s home.
Location of Samantha Murphy’s body unknown
Stephenson’s first court appearance
On Thursday, the court heard that Stephenson, a shopkeeper, did not suffer from any drug problems or mental health problems.
However, his lawyer David Tamanika warned his client was at risk of self-harm while behind bars.
He was immediately granted a suppression order, despite protests from up to a dozen journalists who attended the hearing.
That gag order was thrown out on Friday amid a storm of backlash over Magistrate Mykytowycz’s quick decision to impose the gag order.
Lawyers representing several Australian media outlets went to court on Thursday afternoon, delaying the fight against the planned suppression order from April to Friday.
In the end, no battle was necessary and Stephenson’s own defense attorney withdrew the suppression order.
But Tamanika criticized the Australian media for advocating for an open justice system.
“It is worrying that the application or granting of such orders can be, or is, immediately seen as a form of manipulation or covert movement by an accused person,” he said.
Tamanika said his client’s request for a gag order was made for “good faith” reasons and was not an attack on the Murphy family.
“It had nothing to do with any form of disrespect or disregard for the position of Ms. Murphy or her family,” he said.
Tamanika said his client hoped to keep his father’s name out of the press.
“The interim order appears to have had little effect in helping to fulfill the intent of the application,” he said.
‘The current media storm has come to include the defendant’s family and the defense’s intent to help has become much more destructive.
“It is for these reasons that my client has asked me to withdraw the request.”
Samantha Murphy’s husband is hopeful his wife’s body can be found
Dressed in a bright orange workman’s vest and sporting a full beard when he appeared in court Thursday, Stephenson’s identity had already been spread on news websites and television broadcasts for hours.
On Friday morning, hours before the gag order was lifted at 11am, Stephenson’s name could be widely linked to the alleged murder on the internet and social media.
In accepting the withdrawal of Stephenson’s application for a suppression order, Magistrate Mykytowycz suggested he had little hope of obtaining a full order.
The magistrate said she had returned the matter to court after a discussion with Victorian Chief Magistrate Lisa Hannn.
“In the absence of sufficient and credible evidence or information, I would not have made a suppression order today even if some of that evidence had been before the court… it was very, very, very unlikely,” he said.
During a press conference on Thursday, Victoria Police Chief Commissioner Shane Patton told reporters that Stephenson was unknown to the family of his alleged victim.
However, detectives did not issue any warnings to the general public about possible threats to their safety during the month-long investigation.
Stephenson will remain behind bars until his next court appearance in August.