Found Deceased CO - Suzanne Morphew, 49, Chaffee Co, 10 May 2020 *Case dismissed w/o prejudice* *found in 2023* #113

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Don’t you remember the report of some neighbors the night when SM was likely killed that they woke up to the sound of the stone crusher or a wood crusher or something like that? We were also wondering if he was doing something with the body. I wonder if he grinded the stones and took some of them with him, maybe as the marker for the site? I never understood what/why he did that night.

I vague remember a wood crusher near the river, something like that. There was the consideration, if BM could have shredded a body. Time and location I don't remember well. Friday to Saturday night? The beach property or his own PP property?

Now, that we know more and know, where SM ended her existence as an probably intact body of a (pretty) woman, means at Moffat, we should perhaps rehash the first investigations at the beach property. Digging up concrete; sifting concrete/sand? What did the investigators hope to find and what didn't they find?

It was a neighbor to the riverfront property. She reported at first what sounded like a loud truck in her driveway and then machinery or construction equipment at the construction site.

Reported as late in the night on 5/9 but I'm not sure it's ever been nailed to that date.

What stands out is that Barry himself went out of his way to call her 90 and senile so.... and the search a waste of money... so.... why the protest? Deflection?

P. 84 (86)

 
For me one of the more interesting issues as regards new charges is that IE will no doubt claim that the sanctions should be re-imposed.

I have no idea as to the law on that, or where to begin finding out!

MOO

For two years, I've observed talking heads consisting of former judges, prosecutors and defense attorneys opine on this subject where the parties have all contradicted each other! Drives me to double the scotch...

Other than reading that Colorado procedure to refile previously dismissed charges w/o prejudice is supposed to mirror the Federal procedure, I too would like to source clarity on the matter.

But when I read that jurisdiction can seemingly be changed without involvement by the Court, I'm optimistic that, to quote former Colorado Judge Maes: “They should not be wedded to any of the findings or any of the proceedings that occurred in the initial investigation,” he said. “It should be as if it was just starting brand new.”

And if true, I believe this means former sanctions are null and void! Not to say IE won't fight to impose them again, but I trust the prosecution will be better equipped to stop the defense in their tracks. MOO

Starting brand new...
 
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A 2024 Wildlife Service document (link below) states that the mixed BAM solution is "predominately clear". This is reasonable since butorphanol is clear and the other two compounds are white soluble powders.

However, many analgesic or anesthetic drugs contain non-active ingredients including preservatives and color. The added coloring aids in identifying solutions while in the syringe to prevent misapplication or confusion with the reversal chemical. Compounding pharmacies take existing drugs and manipulate them for a specific patient/application and can change the color. One large distributor of BAM that is prominent online is the compounding pharmacy Wedgewood (Zoopharm.net). There are various others.

So, this color issue remains unresolved. (I, like I am not Sherlock H., remain at standstill).

chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://www.aphis.usda.gov/sites/default/files/27-euthanasia-immobilization.pdf
Hilt…. Thanks for the thoughts and additional input! I have still tried to find more details, color, an SDS but to no avail. Not trying to complicate this…. I promise….. anyway here goes:

So it seems BAM might be sold as a pre-blended mixture of the three chemicals? And all three are IIUC available individually? Controlled, scheduled drugs. Is it clear whether BM had the BAM mixture or acknowledged he had used BAM chemicals in the past? How did he word his statements? I can’t remember. Which did he describe he might have used, or tossed?

Searching for butorphanol / butorphanol tartrate had some links on the actions of the individual chemical. E.g. see the link below from VCA (Veterinary Centers of America) on its use in pets. Note that it could also be given by tablet orally. Or maybe even crushed into a suspension or food? (And that got me to wondering if maybe he also used other means in addition to the dart itself?) And there is that coffee cup and caffeine indications? Where the latter is from is still not clear IMO? I sure hope investigators have analyzed on that coffee cup for chemicals other than just caffeine!!! Maybe BM has some other ‘tells’ in his statements? Did he talk about a dinner those last days? Yet simplicity may still prevail in terms of what was done?

And this got me to hoping that the analysis and possible ratios of the chemicals in the femur might help answer which form of BAM might have been used? Or possibly even how it was administered? Time will tell.

Lastly IIRC some controlled drugs and medical devices typically have an Instruction for Use bulletin, brochure or disclosure. Some are for administering physicians and doctors and some for patients. Those documents may have some additional revelations. But that doesn’t help my quest, since I am neither. MOO

 
I have to share this with y'all. My husband does NOT understand why I follow true crime, research about it, and write a small blog about it. He just doesn't understand how obsessed I am with it. Well, I have converted him, at least on this case. LOLOL I was watching some podcast (I can't remember the name of it) about old Barry. And he sat down and got right into it. Well, after my initial shock wore off (and I imagine I had a shocked look on my face as well), he starts asking me questions. He said to me and I am quoting, "Is this guy really as stupid as he looks and sounds?" I answered with an affirmative. The podcast went through how the charges were dropped without prejudice, and how her body was found, and the autopsy report.

I filled him in about JL, the spy-pen, the sheath, his deer antler adventures, and the killing of the chipmunks. Plus, the tranquilizer gun, the drugs, and anything else I could think about. He was totally enthralled. He asked me if JL ever called LE to tell them about his and Suzanne's relationship after she went missing. I told him that I wasn't aware if he did or not. Which brought up another interesting point for me to think about. He asked if BM knew about JL. I told him it was my opinion, that he had suspicions, but I wasn't sure. He told me he thinks that BM did know, but he couldn't let on like he did. He thinks that is what finally pushed BM into killing her. If he couldn't have her, NO ONE was going to have her. At this point, I am in shock beyond words because he never wants to talk about true crime with me.

He asks me if BM had a girlfriend before he killed Suzanne. It is his opinion, that there wasn't one girlfriend for BM, but multiple women. I told him, I really don't know, but I know he had one or sort of one after, really soon after she came up missing. I reminded him that Suzanne had a "friend" JL, that lived in Michigan. We talked about how that seemed to shock everyone when that came out at the prelim. I told him that their daughters really seem to be supporting BM.

We talked a little bit more, and he said for me not to be surprised if they don't refile charges right away. He said he thinks that with everything that went on in the first case, this DA is going to want everything to be perfect. At this point, I am shocked that we have had an hour and a half conversation about a true crime case.

I should also tell y'all he DESPISES Scott Reisch. He can NOT stand the man. I am not sure what Scott has ever done to him, but lawdy! LOL I love Scott, but I notice he showboats every now and again. He asked me what Mr. Scott had to say about the autopsy findings. I said I hadn't really paid much attention to what he said, I was just basically reading here about the case. He told me to just keep it that way! He thinks Tricia is the greatest and knows how long I have been here. LOL

His name for BM is Tranq Boy. He asks me about ten times a day what is going on with Tranq Boy. And shakes his head and says that BM is just not too smart. He told me this morning that he would bet I have never followed a case where the autopsy showed animal tranquilizers involved in a death of a human. I told him he was right. I also told him about the sheath from the dart being in the dryer. He just shook his head, and said he really is a moron.

I told him BM was spotted by the "Daily Mail" sneaking into the "Celebration of Life" that they had for Suzanne. He told me he couldn't believe he had the audacity to show his face there. He said he was surprised no one threw him out. I told him that BM has to keep the good husband appearances up, after all, he is suing for 15 MILLION DOLLARS for being arrested the last time. Well, that did it. He said he has seen NERVY people before, but BM just takes the cake. LOL

I am just going to enjoy our conversations about this, because he has NEVER shown and interest before. I kind of like having this ongoing dialogue with him! LOL We have been married for 35 years and the man never ceases to amaze me, but this has floored me. We are at my daughter's and he is telling her all about it! She has a shocked look on her face too!

I am sorry about the long post, but I just had to share this. I am just too befuddled not to do so! LOL

PS. Mods, I am not really calling BM names, I am just sharing what my husband said.

Thanks everyone for reading this long post. I really appreciate it.

JMO, IMO, and all other disclaimers.

Edited to fix a boo-boo.
Tezi! Yes….. and if you like you can relay to your husband that IMO he is spot on. I think the same! (All but Scott R….. I am not up on that. Not yet.)

I think BM knew who it was as well, JL. In that interview IIRC with JG he was almost holding back and IMO kept pushing or goading JG to confirm who it was. It was IMO so obvious. And he wanted to do that so it would confirm for him and detectives her indiscretions.

And I don’t doubt wandering eye either. He was IIRC hitting on HW quite early too. A friend of SM I believe? And said something to the effect I believe ‘you are Suzanne to me’. I better stop here.

And loved reading the post! MOO

Ps…. Beep beep! Love the avatar….. reminds me of being a kid on Saturday mornings long ago. We didn’t have a color TV but the neighbors did. Watched the Roadrunner, coyote and Jonny Quest.
 
Great post @Seattle1

I am actually kind of disturbed you can be indicted for murder in the US and not have a prelim. We are just seeing this in Delphi where the accused will not to go trial until nearly 2 years without a prelim or a bail hearing. I much prefer that there is some kind of judicial check that there is a case to answer beyond the bare PCA.

my opinion only
Yes. The main reason most states have moved away from the constitutional process of grand jury indictment is to afford more protection to the defendent.
 
I wouldn’t remember the details, but BM usually would not have high opinion of people who were below him socially, would he? He called people working for him “methheads” and what not. The only person he seemed to respect, besides richer neighbors of Salida, was this friend who made several trips to Afghanistan and whose feats Barry inflated. I simply can’t imagine him letting local farmers and ranchers into his house. He is pretty snobbish, IMHO.

Very true.

And if by chance a random murderous rancher or farmer happened to wander up Puma Path, with all that spare time and Looky-Loo curiousity such folks notoriously have, surely Barry's hi-tec Cordon of Surveillance might have captured them?

All those ducats spent, yet even the perfidious chipmunks and wild turkeys seem to have eluded the nexus of trailcams. In happier and more reliable times, who might we have seen on that grainy footage?

- Mountain lion?
- Wild turkey?
- Methheads?
- Edible Gummy Guy?
- Rancher?
- Farmer?
- Out of favour relative (from the Moorman side)?
- South Americal travel agent?
- Local large-animal vet?
- Anyone who couldn't possibly be Barry Morphew?

So many suspects for Team Barry to run to ground in their pursuit of justice at whatever (free) cost.
 
I wouldn’t remember the details, but BM usually would not have high opinion of people who were below him socially, would he? He called people working for him “methheads” and what not. The only person he seemed to respect, besides richer neighbors of Salida, was this friend who made several trips to Afghanistan and whose feats Barry inflated. I simply can’t imagine him letting local farmers and ranchers into his house. He is pretty snobbish, IMHO.
Bbm.
That's right, he did !

Barry said Gentile's account could not be trusted.

'She's a meth head,' he told Fox21.


The article above goes on to say MG was fired for cooperating with LE !

A co-worker, Jeff Puckett, claims Barry Morphew had summoned him to a Holiday Inn hotel room in Denver on May 10 where Morphew stayed the night before and left behind a pile of mail, as well as an intense smell of chlorine, according to the report.

He said he was told the landscaping work Morphew needed help with was urgent.


“I got there Sunday night and the room smelled like chlorine real bad,” Puckett, 49, of Salida, told the outlet. “It was his room and he’d taken a shower — his towels were all over the floor.”

I remember reading way back when Suzanne 'disappeared' that one of BM's coworkers who stayed at the hotel smelled bleach ?
Pretty cheap of BM to rent a room, stay in it-- then expect an employee to stay in the same room when the towels/bedding hadn't been cleaned !
Ew.

J. Puckett -- who'd done some time in prison (BM had to spread that to the media) .
How rude of BM.


“Listen,” Barry said during a Thursday morning phonecall, “Jeff Puckett was in prison for nine years.”

Still, Barry confirmed he had hired Puckett for a project in Broomfield on Mother’s Day Weekend this year. They needed to fix a wall, Puckett said.

“I said listen, I need to do this job, I will pay you good money to come and help me,” Barry said of Puckett. “I gave him a job and an opportunity.”
Red emphasis mine.

BM making himself out to be the good man who helps others -- who aren't as upstanding as BM is :rolleyes: -- to get work.
That's the vibe I'm getting from BM.
Smh.

Old articles, but aside from BM's arrest and brief stint in jail, he's been living as a free man all this time.
Frustrating -- but the wheels of justice can turn slowly.
At least it's picking up now !
Omo.
 
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Hilt…. Thanks for the thoughts and additional input! I have still tried to find more details, color, an SDS but to no avail. Not trying to complicate this…. I promise….. anyway here goes:

So it seems BAM might be sold as a pre-blended mixture of the three chemicals? And all three are IIUC available individually? Controlled, scheduled drugs. Is it clear whether BM had the BAM mixture or acknowledged he had used BAM chemicals in the past? How did he word his statements? I can’t remember. Which did he describe he might have used, or tossed?

Searching for butorphanol / butorphanol tartrate had some links on the actions of the individual chemical. E.g. see the link below from VCA (Veterinary Centers of America) on its use in pets. Note that it could also be given by tablet orally. Or maybe even crushed into a suspension or food? (And that got me to wondering if maybe he also used other means in addition to the dart itself?) And there is that coffee cup and caffeine indications? Where the latter is from is still not clear IMO? I sure hope investigators have analyzed on that coffee cup for chemicals other than just caffeine!!! Maybe BM has some other ‘tells’ in his statements? Did he talk about a dinner those last days? Yet simplicity may still prevail in terms of what was done?

And this got me to hoping that the analysis and possible ratios of the chemicals in the femur might help answer which form of BAM might have been used? Or possibly even how it was administered? Time will tell.

Lastly IIRC some controlled drugs and medical devices typically have an Instruction for Use bulletin, brochure or disclosure. Some are for administering physicians and doctors and some for patients. Those documents may have some additional revelations. But that doesn’t help my quest, since I am neither. MOO

No mention in the autopsy report of hair but there is mention of teeth so skull recovered?

No mention of hair analysis.

But you raise some interesting points and jar loose another --

Remember the incident Barry described in the AA -- not sure why he volunteered it -- about Suzanne essentially poisoning herself with bathroom cleaners that married themselves in a bad way?

Had Barry tried to poison Suzanne previously? Perhaps interfere with her chemotherapy/cancer treatment/success? So did they -- recover her hair, test it for all manner of drugs?

Barry said she almost died. From cleaning a shower? Or did Barry minimized something he did TO her by fobbing it aside as a cleaning event?

And then Barry himself -- did he scrub himself with spa chlorine/bromide in order to erase all manner of trace DNA from Suzanne, including in the gouges in his arm and from cadaverine? How many showers, how many shirts to get that stench to subside? Was he throwing pants away at the same rate?

Barry indicated that he had BAM in his possession as well as having used two other chemicals plus a reversal agent. He verily crowed about his ability to load darts himself. Claimed he had never done it in Colorado, then turned around and said he had, two weeks prior. Not in the house, then well maybe from the breezeway. Evolving answers.

If I could spend one day at PP, I'd go straight to the hall closet. Where the reddish brown stain appeared, negative for blood. Too late to test it for BAM probably but maybe not too late to scour that door frame for a puncture where once a misdirected dart had been lodged.

I hope all his deeds come to light. Suzanne deserved to live, but with that stolen from her, she merits the truth.

JMOl
 
Had Barry tried to poison Suzanne previously? Perhaps interfere with her chemotherapy/cancer treatment/success? So did they -- recover her hair, test it for all manner of drugs?
^^ This!!

If they didn't recover her hair - why didn't they? Did he shave her head?? Suitable for her port (he thought) and mainly to avoid hair-testing for drugs?
 
Did we learn that Suzanne didn't lose her hair during her second round of cancer? I recall it may have thinned
... but I also recall talk of wigs. Always wondered where the Antler's hotel wig came from. I have my guess.

Curious what of Suzanne's photographed hair was her own.

Did she leave a wig behind? Would she leave a wig behind?

As for Barry, I don't think he took any extra time staging Suzanne in any way. He meant for her to remain unfounded.

JMO
 
Just reading this old quote from Iris just after the case was dismissed:

"What they said in their motion to dismiss was that they need a body; after two years' time, that's what they think they need now, after they put Mr. Morphew through this hell," she said. “They might find Suzanne, but I'll tell you what — it's not gonna be linked to Mr. Morphew," she added.

I have to wonder if Iris knew that Suzanne’s body wasn’t well hidden, and she was leaving the door open in case Suzanne was found.

And she was likely to be right about the body not being linked to Barry, if it was found. She already knew that there was no data recovered from that night.

What she did not count on however, was Suzanne’s bones providing a direct link to her client.

Few people did.

I do not accept that Morphew has told counsel "the truth", [let alone, the whole T and nothing but the T!] Imo,
Barry has his own 'truth', which is so distorted, and his psyche so warped, that he could not recognize let alone swear to it were it laid before him. Or shown on multiplex.
Iris is smart and experienced; she would have sensed straight away -as I opined earlier- that Barry's 'inputs' were not only useless but perilously antithetical to generating reasonable doubt(s).
"It's about the substantive due process, stupid!"
This is her trump card; she's got fifty-two +Jokers in every deck; it's proven often enough to lead where she wants a contest to go, and it's easy to play. In some regards, then, Barry presents a comparatively light, but seriously
loaded client.
^jmho^​
 
I do not accept that Morphew has told counsel "the truth", [let alone, the whole T and nothing but the T!] Imo,
Barry has his own 'truth', which is so distorted, and his psyche so warped, that he could not recognize let alone swear to it were it laid before him. Or shown on multiplex.
Iris is smart and experienced; she would have sensed straight away -as I opined earlier- that Barry's 'inputs' were not only useless but perilously antithetical to generating reasonable doubt(s).
"It's about the substantive due process, stupid!"
This is her trump card; she's got fifty-two +Jokers in every deck; it's proven often enough to lead where she wants a contest to go, and it's easy to play. In some regards, then, Barry presents a comparatively light, but seriously
loaded client.
^jmho^​
Really solid points.

IE has been at this before. She knows he's lying. She has the discovery. She's listened to all 3 30 hours and she's likely done some math of her own. She may have erred, like many of us, in overestimating Barry's skillset, or assuming he'd capitalize on it. That Suzanne wasn't going to be findable.

But she also knew what the State didn't have. The missing vehicle. What he did or where he went for those missing hours. Her real energy however is spent saying 'don't listen to him. He's grieving or something. Listen to me. I'm truthy".

She's still trying to get out ahead of it in the court of popular opinion but failing spectacularly.

It's an irony that all this time many of us have been begging the mountains to give up its secrets and yet she was barried in the flattest of places. And there she may have remained if not for the natural activity of animals --

I do not think it was a happy day in the law office, first, when Suzanne's body was found and Where It Was Found and, second, even less happy when the autopsy came back.

State's theory isn't so "out there" suddenly and she's left grasping at coffee and bike clothes that don't look anything like bike clothes.

She must enjoy impossible challenges. And money. And notoriety.

JMO
 
I agree! In Monday's version of the story, the DM tagged his Ford in the crowd.

View attachment 502219


In Tuesday's version, they still have a lense on his truck, but seems everybody left... and they were tired of waiting.

View attachment 502220

Photo #1- Credit DM
Photo #2 - Credit DM
In the top photo he appears to be in the driver's seat with his right hand on the steering wheel. I cannot clearly make his face out but do see a large hand on the steering wheel.
 
Did we learn that Suzanne didn't lose her hair during her second round of cancer? I recall it may have thinned
... but I also recall talk of wigs. Always wondered where the Antler's hotel wig came from. I have my guess.

Curious what of Suzanne's photographed hair was her own.

Did she leave a wig behind? Would she leave a wig behind?

As for Barry, I don't think he took any extra time staging Suzanne in any way. He meant for her to remain unfounded.

JMO
Regarding Suzanne’s hair, her hairdresser has been very active in Celebration of Life and Remembering Suzanne on her birthdays, decorating Suzanne a tree at Christmas, you name it and Tisha Leeway has organized it all. I do recall hearing (text maybe?) her hair thinned, but she was still going to see Tish, I’m sure of it! MOO
EBM clarity
 
I agree! In Monday's version of the story, the DM tagged his Ford in the crowd.

View attachment 502219


In Tuesday's version, they still have a lense on his truck, but seems everybody left... and they were tired of waiting.

View attachment 502220

Photo #1- Credit DM
Photo #2 - Credit DM

For all questioning BM's residency, confirming that neither Indiana nor Arizona require front plates so guess we are still at square one. :)


 
Bbm.
That's right, he did !

Barry said Gentile's account could not be trusted.

'She's a meth head,' he told Fox21.


The article above goes on to say MG was fired for cooperating with LE !

A co-worker, Jeff Puckett, claims Barry Morphew had summoned him to a Holiday Inn hotel room in Denver on May 10 where Morphew stayed the night before and left behind a pile of mail, as well as an intense smell of chlorine, according to the report.

He said he was told the landscaping work Morphew needed help with was urgent.


“I got there Sunday night and the room smelled like chlorine real bad,” Puckett, 49, of Salida, told the outlet. “It was his room and he’d taken a shower — his towels were all over the floor.”

I remember reading way back when Suzanne 'disappeared' that one of BM's coworkers who stayed at the hotel smelled bleach ?
Pretty cheap of BM to rent a room, stay in it-- then expect an employee to stay in the same room when the towels/bedding hadn't been cleaned !
Ew.

J. Puckett -- who'd done some time in prison (BM had to spread that to the media) .
How rude of BM.


“Listen,” Barry said during a Thursday morning phonecall, “Jeff Puckett was in prison for nine years.”

Still, Barry confirmed he had hired Puckett for a project in Broomfield on Mother’s Day Weekend this year. They needed to fix a wall, Puckett said.

“I said listen, I need to do this job, I will pay you good money to come and help me,” Barry said of Puckett. “I gave him a job and an opportunity.”
Red emphasis mine.

BM making himself out to be the good man who helps others -- who aren't as upstanding as BM is :rolleyes: -- to get work.
That's the vibe I'm getting from BM.
Smh.

Old articles, but aside from BM's arrest and brief stint in jail, he's been living as a free man all this time.
Frustrating -- but the wheels of justice can turn slowly.
At least it's picking up now !
Omo.
Jeff Puckett, who is now deceased, also was at DSI Saturday afternoon. Strange how then Barry asked MG to include him in the wall crew, although he had little dealings with him. Jeff was suspicious of it at the time. Yup, he actually was a meth head-which begs the question-why include him on a job to fix a wall that was already a problem?
 
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