In the early hours of Sunday, February 4, Samantha Murphy left her home in Ballarat for her usual morning run. It’s what so many of us do, every day.

But when Samantha failed to show up later, as planned, for brunch, her family raised the alarm.

Police soon appealed to the public for help with finding the mother of three, and began searching hundreds of hectares near where Samantha regularly ran.

Volunteers later joined in the effort, gathering from around the country to comb the dense bushland near Samantha’s home.


Today, law and justice editor Chris Vedelago on the woman who vanished without a trace. And the man who’s been charged with her murder.

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