Accused killer of Samantha Murphy faces Victorian Supreme Court

The 23-year-old accused of killing Ballarat mum Samantha Murphy has faced the Supreme Court in Melbourne for the first time.

Patrick Orren Stephenson appeared through a video link for a directions hearing this afternoon.

The details of the hearing cannot be reported under Victorian law.

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Stephenson has pleaded not guilty to the murder of the 51-year-old, who went for a run earlier this year and has not been seen since.

Stephenson remains in custody and will face court in Melbourne again in February next year, more than a year after Samantha Murphy's disappearance.