‘If they attack again’: Victim’s fury over police investigation

A female runner who was attacked on Ballarat’s trails nearly a year before the disappearance of Samantha Murphy has slammed the police investigation.

Sissy Austin was running through Lal Lal State Forest when a topless man whacked her head with a rock swinging from a stick, leaving her unconscious on the ground and with ongoing injuries.

The former Greens Senate candidate has been reliving her story since 51-year-old local mother Murphy vanished on her regular Sunday run through Ballarat’s forest trails.

“Just heard detectives on the morning news saying they’re revisiting my case with regards to missing person Samantha Murphy, yet I haven’t heard a single word from detectives or police in 12 months,” wrote Austin.

Austin said Victoria Police “never properly investigated my attack” or kept her updated.

“I have absolutely every right to continue speaking out both about my attack but also to the issue of violence against women and the inability of Victoria Police to investigate thoroughly and take this issue seriously.

“This is not a question of why women go running alone, this is a question of why men are violent towards women.”

Murphy, a keen runner, left home on February 4 to go jogging and has not been seen since.

The Ballarat woman regularly jogged about 14-15km through nearby remote areas.

Source: ‘If they attack again’: Victim’s fury over police investigation

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