- 22-year-old man arrested in search for missing mother Samantha Murphy
- Samantha’s parents found out about the arrest on the radio.
- His father, John Robson, said he was hopeful for “closure.”
- READ MORE: Father breaks silence about his missing daughter
Victoria’s justice system is hiding from the public the identity of the son of a former footballer accused of the alleged murder of missing mother-of-three Samantha Murphy.
In a slap in the face to Ms Murphy’s long-suffering family, Daily Mail Australia is banned from revealing the name of her alleged killer after her lawyer successfully applied for a court-imposed gag order.
The 22-year-old Scotsburn man, located about 18 kilometers east of Ms Murphy’s home in Ballarat, appeared in the Ballarat Magistrates Court on Thursday afternoon.
A 22-year-old man has been arrested in connection with the disappearance of Samantha Murphy, who was last seen leaving her East Ballarat home on February 4.
Represented by lawyer David Tamanika, the court heard that the alleged killer’s name should be suppressed from the public even though it had already been widely reported in the hours before the hearing.
Tamanika told Magistrate Michelle Mykytowycz she had serious concerns for her client’s safety due to her age and the huge publicity of the case.
He told the magistrate that his client had never been in jail before and was at risk of self-harm while awaiting his next court appearance.
The court heard the man, who was wearing a bright orange work vest, was made to not “prejudice the administration of justice” for his client as he was only arrested a day earlier.
Tamanika said his client was facing “significant mental health issues” behind bars, which would be exacerbated if his identity were revealed to the general public.
He called for the order to be issued nationally, noting that the story of Ms Murphy’s disappearance had made headlines around the world.
While a Victoria Police prosecutor refused to be heard on the application, up to a dozen media organizations opposed the granting of the order, arguing that “the horse had already bolted”.
By the time of the hearing Thursday afternoon, the man’s name and image had appeared on news websites and television broadcasts for hours.
Murphy’s husband addressed the media Thursday afternoon outside the family home.
However, Judge Mykytowycz dismissed those arguments and declared that she would impose a provisional gag order that would not allow it to be challenged until April 12.
“In my view, this should not be an appropriate basis for ruling out a suppression order,” he said.
In issuing the order, the magistrate dismissed the public interest in case a, saying the defendant’s rights to justice were more important.
“The defense has the right to a fair trial,” he said.
Media organizations are understood to be already challenging the suppression order in the hope of bringing the matter back to court on Friday.
The 22-year-old man was charged on Thursday, just over four weeks after Murphy disappeared during a morning jog in Ballarat, in Victoria’s Central Highlands.
Victoria Police Chief Commissioner Shane Patton said police will allege Murphy was murdered in Mount Clear on the day she disappeared.
He said the family did not know the accused and they are not looking for anyone else in connection with her disappearance.
Commissioner Patton said the defendant has not revealed where her body is and that detectives would do “everything” to find her in order to bring closure to her family.
“Anyone who is told that a loved one has been murdered is tragic,” he told reporters Thursday.
“Doing everything we can to find Samantha’s body is absolutely vital for the family.”
Commissioner Patton said police would allege it was a “deliberate” attack, but did not provide further details about the circumstances as the matter is before the courts.
However, he confirmed that police would not allege that Ms Murphy died in a hit-and-run.
