The young tradie accused of killing mother-of-three Samantha Murphy and his veterinary student girlfriend showered each other in affection online before their romance was recently turned upside down.
Patrick Stephenson, 22, and his long-term girlfriend Meg Harbour, 22, were house-sitting a family friend’s property in Scotsburn, 19km south of Ballarat, when police raided the premises on Wednesday morning and arrested the electrician.
Police will allege he ‘deliberately attacked’ Ms Murphy, 51, in Mount Clear on February 4 after she left her Ballarat East home at 7am to go for a morning run.
Stephenson, the son of former AFL footballer Orren Stephenson, has been charged with murder and remanded in custody while police continue to search for Ms Murphy’s body.
Before their relationship took a turn for the worse this week, Stephenson and his girlfriend – a Veterinary Technology student at Charles Sturt University – were seemingly loved-up and embracing adventures typical of couples their age.
Accused killer Patrick Stephenson, 22, appeared to be in a loved-up relationship with his long-term girlfriend Meg Harbour (pictured together) before he was arrested this week
Ms Harbour (pictured) is a veterinary student who also grew up in the Ballarat area
Photos posted on social media show the pair embarking on holidays, festivals and camping trips with friends in locations across the country – including Albury NSW, where Stephenson’s father grew up, and Kangaroo Island in South Australia.
One video posted online shows Stephenson only dressed in underwear in front of a campsite, shaking his derriere. ‘There’s plenty of fish in the sea, but that one is my clown fish, hands off my clownfish alright?’ a voice-over proudly proclaims.
In a flirty message exchange in December 2021, Stephenson commented on a post of Ms Harbour in a bikini, saying: ‘I just saw your ad and was wondering if this is still available?’
Ms Harbour responded: ‘I’m sorry it’s off the market, pending pick up.’
Another photo posted three months later shows the pair posing in a car and riding horses together on a beach while vacationing in Murray River in Northern Victoria, with the adoring caption: ‘Memories with you are pretty alright’.
Photos on social media show the couple travelling around Australia and enjoying festivals together
Several photos show the couple kissing one another and engaging in flirty banter in the comments
Several other gushing posts show the couple kissing at various events, including at Spilt Milk festival in December 2022 and while dressed up in formal attire for a night out in Albury.
‘Love you,’ Stephenson commented on one post, with Ms Harbour replying: ‘Right back at you baby.’
In another post, Ms Harbour joked that she was Stephenson’s ‘favourite sight’, before he later chimed in: ‘Aren’t we cute.’
Ms Harbour, whose family has strong ties to Ballarat, attended Mount Clear Secondary College while her partner went to St Patrick’s College and later Damascus College.
It is understood Ms Harbour, Stephenson and friends were out partying together in Ballarat the night before Ms Murphy’s disappearance, with detectives seizing CCTV from a number of venues as part of the investigation.
Samantha Murphy, 51, was allegedly murdered on February 4 after leaving home to go for a morning run
Victoria police say they are not seeking anyone else in relation to Ms Murphy’s disappearance and Daily Mail Australia does not suggest any wrongdoing by Ms Harbour.
Ms Harbour was spotted tending to horses on her family’s rural property on Friday.
She refused to comment when approached by Daily Mail Australia but was observed standing, sitting and blowing kisses at the horse.
Ms Murphy was reported missing after she failed to return to her Eureka Street home from her early morning run through the Woowookarung Regional Park.
Over the past month, police and dozens of volunteers have launched widespread searches across the area, however, no traces of Ms Murphy have been found.
Ms Murphy’s alleged murder has rocked the tight-knit community, with hundreds attending a community vigil on Friday night to pay their respects to the mother-of-three.
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