The usually quiet town of Ballarat is reeling after a third woman died in suspicious circumstances in just two months.
The Victorian town’s name has an Aboriginal meaning of ‘resting place’, but Ballarat has been anything but sleepy in recent weeks.
On February 4, a scorching summer’s day was shattered by the disappearance of Samantha Murphy, a married mother-of-two who was last seen going out for a Sunday morning run.
Patrick Orren Stephenson was in March charged with Mrs Murphy’s murder, but by then another tragedy had rocked the town.
Mother-of-five Rebecca Young, 42, was killed in a suspected murder-suicide in Sebastopol in the south of the town on February 16. Alleged Bandidos gang member Ian Butler, 55, was also found dead.
The town was hit by a third tragedy on Friday after bar worker Hannah McGuire’s body was found in a burnt-out car on a rural road south of the city.
Her ex-boyfriend has since been charged with her alleged murder.
Samantha Murphy
The disappearance of Mrs Murphy gripped the nation – and people around the world – after she went out for a run on February 4 and failed to return.
As the days and weeks dragged on, wild theories emerged on social media including suggestions she had fallen down a mineshaft or even deliberately vanished.
But the speculation came to a halt when Patrick Orren Stephenson, 22, was arrested at a home near Ballarat on March 6.
Stephenson, who has no connection to the Murphy family, is the son of former AFL player Orren Stephenson – a respected member of the Ballarat community.
Police allege Mrs Murphy was killed on February 4 in Mt Clear.
The disappearance of Mrs Murphy gripped the nation
Patrick Orren Stephenson, 22, was arrested at a home near Ballarat on March 6
She would have turned 52 last week, but her family had to mark the day without her or even knowing where her body is, two months after she disappeared during her morning run in Ballarat East on February 4.
It was ‘the first birthday without Sam … That’s a hard thing but we’ve gotta face reality and realise she’s just not coming back,’ her husband Mick Murphy told the Herald Sun.
He still searches for his wife’s body every day, while he and his family wait in hope for any new developments news from the police.
Mr Murphy said he misses Samantha all the time, but he tries to hold his spirits up, saying: ‘I need to be strong myself and look after everyone around me.’
Rebecca Young
Rebecca Young, 42, was found dead inside a property on the edge of Ballarat on the evening of February 16 alongside her partner Ian Butler, who has ties to the Bandidos bikie gang.
It is understood she had been stabbed.
One neighbour told reporters outside the Sebastopol property Ms Young’s distraught parents had arrived late on Friday night and could be heard to say ‘I told you to leave him’.
Neighbours also described ‘wailing’ coming from the home.
Ms Young, 42, was found dead inside a property on the edge of Ballarat on the evening of February 16
Ian Butler, who has ties to the Bandidos bikie gang, was also found dead
Emergency crews are understood to have been called by others at the Morgan St property with Butler, 55, believed to have murdered Ms Young and then taken his own life.
Four other people, including two of Ms Young’s teenage sons, were home at the time.
Police have said they are not looking for anyone else in relation to the deaths.
Hannah McGuire
Ms McGuire, 23, was found dead inside a burnt out car near State Forest Rd, close to Scarsdale, south-west of Ballarat, just before 10am on Friday,
The bar worker’s ex-boyfriend Lachie Young, 21, has since been charged with her murder.
They are understood to have recently broken up.
Ms McGuire, 23, was found dead inside a burnt out car near State Forest Rd, close to Scarsdale, south-west of Ballarat, just before 10am on Friday
On the night Ms McGuire’s body was found, Young wrote on Facebook: ‘I will forever love you until we meet again make that sky pretty beautiful girl’, along with a photo of the couple and two love hearts, the Herald Sun reported.
Police will allege in court that Mr Young also texted friends of Ms McGuire claiming she had ended her own life.
‘The police came and seen me Friday lunchtime and told me she had done it and wasn’t with us anymore. This is my fault,’ the message allegedly said.
Ms McGuire, who worked at the local pub – The National Hotel – had lived with Young up until a week ago when she moved.
Clunes Cricket Club quickly organised a fundraiser effort to support Ms McGuire’s family with the cost of her funeral.
‘Hannah was known by many as a bright young woman and had a heart of gold,’ the post said.
The bar worker’s ex-boyfriend Lachie Young, 21, has since been charged with her murder
‘As a club and a community, we want to put our arms around the McGuire family and everyone close to Hannah.’
On Monday, Hannah’s best friend Ballarat woman Caitlyn Stepnell posted a heartfelt tribute to the young woman.
She posted on Facebook about the young teaching support officer: ‘You will forever be a little sister to me’.
Criminal psychologist Tim Watson-Munro said the Murphy case and discovery of Ms McGuire’s body would have a ‘profound effect’ on the community.
‘I’d imagine they’re reeling,’ he told Daily Mail .
‘The discovery of the dead woman would be very triggering for them. On a more generic level, people are probably wondering how safe it is in that part of the world.’
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