The heartbroken husband of missing Ballarat mother Samantha Murphy has given a sad update on his life almost seven months after her suspected murder.
The mother of three disappeared without a trace on the morning of February 4 after leaving her home on Eureka Street in Ballarat East, Victoria.
Her family reported her missing later that day after she failed to show up at a family brunch.
Murphy’s husband, Mick, has now confirmed on social media that he is having a hard time accepting that his beloved wife will never be coming home again.
Murphy’s Facebook profile now lists his relationship status as “widow.”
The revelations about the heartbreaking change come barely seven months after Ms Murphy went on her last fateful run.
Mr Murphy appeared regularly on the social media platform, including on his wife’s Facebook page.
The owner of the body shop is also known to use the site to track classic car sales and to sell his own collection of classic cars.
Samantha Murphy disappeared in February and is now presumed dead
Mick Murphy Changed His Relationship Status to Widower
Mrs. Murphy went on holiday to Bali with her husband and three children in 2017. Her husband was prominently featured on her own Facebook page.
The couple were inseparable in life. Just days after his wife’s disappearance, Murphy and his daughter appeared in the media, hoping she would come home alive.
The sad status update on Facebook indicates that the Murphy clan has accepted Mrs. Murphy’s fate, even though her body was never found.
On May 29, police found what appeared to be Murphy’s phone, raising hopes that they would soon find her remains.
The phone was found on the muddy banks of a dam along the Buninyong-Mount Mercer Road, in the same area where the phone last connected to a mobile phone mast before dark.
A photo of the device found at the crime scene showed what appeared to be an Apple iPhone hidden in a wallet full of ID cards.
The dam is located approximately 15km from Ballarat East, where Mrs Murphy made her last trip that early Sunday morning in summer.
Samantha Murphy’s husband, Mick Murphy, at a protest against male violence
Samantha and Mick Murphy in happier times
Aerial footage from the crime scene showed police officers hugging each other, patting each other on the back and shaking hands as they examined the phone.
Mr Murphy later confirmed that he immediately recognised his wife’s phone when he saw the dramatic television footage.
His wife had long used such a wallet to protect her phone and store her various credit cards and ID cards.
It was in a Facebook photo next to Mr. Murphy, in a cheerful snapshot from their last trip to Bali.
The contents of the phone and whether, if any, it helped investigators find Ms. Murphy’s body is still unclear.
Forensic examination of the phone is still ongoing, as police want to extract data from it to gain more clues.
According to reports, the phone was found to be in near perfect condition.
Police are tight-lipped about the progress of the investigation, saying only that the search for Murphy’s body continues.
Patrick Orren Stephenson, 22, is accused of killing Mrs Murphy during her Sunday jog.
The last, poignant image of Samantha Murphy alive on the day of her last run
Police celebrate after finding what is believed to be Mrs Murphy’s phone in a dam
Patrick Orren Stephenson, 22, is accused of killing Mrs Murphy during her Sunday jog.
Stephenson, who was arrested five weeks after Murphy was allegedly murdered, reportedly has not told police where her body is located.
He is due to appear for a preliminary hearing at Ballarat District Court in August.
Stephenson is the son of former AFL Richmond and Geelong AFL player Orren Stephenson and is not known to the Murphy family.
