Startling new theory in Sam Murphy case as man is arrested in Ballarat trends now
A top criminologist suggests that Samantha Murphy's phone may have been used as a diversion tactic by a potential killer, aiming to mislead detectives.
His comments come after a 22-year-old was arrested in Ballarat on Wednesday morning as the search continues for the missing mum-of-three.
The man is not connected to the Murphy family and no charges have been laid.
Forensic criminologist Tim Watson-Munro responded to unconfirmed reports that Ms Murphy's phone had pinged off a Buninyong phone tower at 5pm, approximately 10 hours after she left her Ballarat East home for a 14km run on February 4.
Forensic criminologist Tim Watson-Munro
Since Ms Murphy's disappearance, investigators have been trawling through data from mobile phone towers across the vast Woowookarung Regional Park.
Metadata has proved crucial to the search after it pinpointed a precise location in the Mount Clear area, an hour into her run through the national park.
Mr Munro-Watson said it struck him as 'unusual' that her phone had suddenly reactivated 10 hours later, with the caveat that phone service may not be optimal in rural Victoria.
'Why the phone didn't ping for that period of time is really a matter of speculation,' he told Daily Mail Australia on Wednesday.
'It could suggest that she was still around and alive at that time or it could suggest that somebody has taken her phone and waited a respectable period of time before activating it in a totally different area to put
