Still Missing CO - Suzanne Morphew, 49, Chaffee Co, 10 May 2020 *arrest* #93

[Megnut]

I find this entire series of texts so odd.

He went home, but didn't really go home. She is messaging Jeff, while he is parked down the driveway out of sight and off hunting for a turkey his daughter shot like a week ago??

Then he decides to go get a blade replaced. While he is driving away he tries to call her several times. She doesn't answer.

Then he texts her he is done and on his way home.

This specific time frame is driving me nuts! (not that I need too much help there.. lol)

I have been looking at GPS data for his skid ster and his truck along with text and call times trying to get a picture of exactly how this was going.

For some reason at his house before departing to go get the blade replaced he does something with the Skid steer.. The GPS shows he moves it so not sure why he would take it off his truck to put it back on the truck and not hours apart, he does this in like 6 minutes or so.

I also can't help feeling like something happened to her before he left to get that blade replaced.

Was he in the driveway for those 6 minutes?

Could he have been putting AN OLDER BLADE on the Bobcat?

(Then replaces that one with a fresh new one -- and with a new SIM, puts his original one on -- to use overnight, LEAVING IT wherever he left Suzanne. Or somewhere hidden to retrieve when this all blows over -- because he's cheap.)

Doesn't make a lot of sense but I just can't let up on the Bobcat.

Something doesn't line up.

JMO

 

[BDAJAG]

What do y’all think BM started to say here?

When Grusing is asking him what could have happened on Saturday afternoon that led to SM no longer having control of her phone.

Could it be her whole phone?
“ I didn’t take her whole phone “ ?
Whole would sound like ho.
I can’t come up with anything else.
JMO

"home" ?
[I cannot recall if there was some issue as to whether Barry and Suzanne were travelling, together or separately, on Saturday,... to meet-up/return home/go shopping ?? Sorry.]

 

[Whitneyh]

Where did you hear or see that she got a 'hefty' amount of walking around money each week? I've never seen that stated anywhere.
A marriage is a partnership so one person being the sole income provider doesn't matter. There's an excellent chance BM didn't want her to work. Meanwhile, she was still taking care of her 17 year old daughter - being a chauffeur, a cook, a maid and a Mom isn't not working.
Suzanne obviously was looking forward to working and getting her own place once M2 went to college.
I was happily a stay at home Aunt and worked from home. Once she graduated from high school, I also happily resumed my career. It's a mutual agreement and in many cases a sacrifice by the caretaker.
I think it's somewhat of a slight to think just because one partner is the only one 'working' somehow makes the 'bread winner' the one who holds the purse strings. That's archaic. What if the roles were reversed as they are in many families?
Not to mention, we don't know for sure how BM started his businesses and who funded them or what Suzanne came into the marriage with. Their more recent IN home and their first home they began their marriage in? Who owned that?
We know at least half of the PP house was HER money.
I just get really tired of hearing about him being the "ATM" and the pathetic misogyny that goes along with it.
Where was his ATM when THEY bought the PP house? Oh, he didn't have enough money or least said he didn't.
The 'miracle' of Suzanne giving birth not once but twice was Suzanne's dream. He took it away from her. All of it. And the rest of her life.

this post deserves an award! I don’t understand how people think Suzanne just had a luxurious life living on Barry’s money. No, she had a full time job she was a stay at home mom that’s a harder job than most of us hold, and then he killed her. Barry isn’t the victim here. Great post @marylamby!!!

 

[MassGuy]

Heads up for future hearings...
No electronics are allowed in the courtroom at all.

We will not be able to leave the courtroom until recesses are called.

The hearing tomorrow is scheduled for 9:30. I'll be there and will try to update as much as possible.
#BarryMorphew

https://twitter.com/ashleykktv/status/1491557263064002560?s=21

 

[nyvictoria]

I believe Lauren took notes on her laptop. I wonder how skilled everyone is taking notes old school. If I were a news source I might be looking for someone who takes shorthand for the trial.

Raising my hand. And now you all know I’m older than dirt.

 

[Murphy1950]

Raising my hand. And now you all know I’m older than dirt.

Well move over young lady. You take the notes and I'll be the "institutional memory" no electronics but they didn't say anything about bringing in a flask. So we're good. My note taking was God awful.

 

[eyeseestars]

Was he in the driveway for those 6 minutes?

Could he have been putting AN OLDER BLADE on the Bobcat?

(Then replaces that one with a fresh new one -- and with a new SIM, puts his original one on -- to use overnight, LEAVING IT wherever he left Suzanne. Or somewhere hidden to retrieve when this all blows over -- because he's cheap.)

Doesn't make a lot of sense but I just can't let up on the Bobcat.

Something doesn't line up.

JMO

I'm not letting up on the Bobcat either. Three dogs notified on it, we've got the blackout data on it, it was unhitched from the trailer and staged to look like it wasn't being used....it was definitely used. No doubt in my mind. I guess we could be wrong but why would he go to all that trouble? And the blade...why worry on a Saturday about getting a blade replaced when you weren't even using it on the job you were headed to the next week? And for that matter, why leave it when it was actually needed on that job?

Edit: I think the fact that he left the trailer behind really needs to be studied carefully and considered. It makes no sense.

 

[Megnut]

I'm not letting up on the Bobcat either. Three dogs notified on it, we've got the blackout data on it, it was unhitched from the trailer and staged to look like it wasn't being used....it was definitely used. No doubt in my mind. I guess we could be wrong but why would he go to all that trouble? And the blade...why worry on a Saturday about getting a blade replaced when you weren't even using it on the job you were headed to the next week? And for that matter, why leave it when it was actually needed on that job?

Edit: I think the fact that he left the trailer behind really needs to be studied carefully and considered. It makes no sense.

Every murderer makes mistakes.

They're never as smart as they think they are.

Something always trips them up.

Barry.
Bobcat Barry.
New blade Barry.
Backhoe Barry.
Trailer jack Bobcat Barry
6 minutes
SIM
Dog alerts
Arm pin, loose bolts
Footprint
Left turn
14 miles

Let's say Barry WAS planning to use his Bobcat. What steps would he take to allow for that?

I propose -- get a new blade. Pristine, unused.
Find out where backhoe dude is. Find an idle, unsupervised SIM card.

Let's say Barry didn't really need a new blade (MG might be able to say). Would he really get it changed anyway? Cheap Barry throwing away a perfectly usable blade??

Instead.....

Barry dumps a really old blade. Later he removes sparkly blade, attaches his original beloved still's got some life in it blade. Goes out after dark, possibly to the left. Possibly with his trailer, a newly SIMmed Bobcat with his favorite blade and a truck from his current address.

Between 11pm and 3am, he is up towards Monarch, disposes of his wife. Uses his Bobcat to move a massive boulder. Drives back toward PP, stopping somewhere long enough to drop the beloved blade (to retrieve after a couple days/weeks), gets back to PP, where he reattaches the new blade (leaving the extra bits from his newly stowed blade), and leaves scent on the trailer, the blade and the seat.

Takes a bromide bath in the hot tub... and spends the rest of the day trying to dilute how he smells --

He doesn't bring the Bobcat to Broomfield because he wants it found clean.

But it's too clean.

That's suspicious as heck, no?

Anything here to work with?

JMO

 

[Megnut]

Every murderer makes mistakes.

They're never as smart as they think they are.

Something always trips them up.

Barry.
Bobcat Barry.
New blade Barry.
Backhoe Barry.
Trailer jack Bobcat Barry
6 minutes
SIM
Dog alerts
Arm pin, loose bolts
Footprint
Left turn
14 miles

Let's say Barry WAS planning to use his Bobcat. What steps would he take to allow for that?

I propose -- get a new blade. Pristine, unused.
Find out where backhoe dude is. Find an idle, unsupervised SIM card.

Let's say Barry didn't really need a new blade (MG might be able to say). Would he really get it changed anyway? Cheap Barry throwing away a perfectly usable blade??

Instead.....

Barry dumps a really old blade. Later he removes sparkly blade, attaches his original beloved still's got some life in it blade. Goes out after dark, possibly to the left. Possibly with his trailer, a newly SIMmed Bobcat with his favorite blade and a truck from his current address.

Between 11pm and 3am, he is up towards Monarch, disposes of his wife. Uses his Bobcat to move a massive boulder. Drives back toward PP, stopping somewhere long enough to drop the beloved blade (to retrieve after a couple days/weeks), gets back to PP, where he reattached the new blade (leaving the extra bits from his newly stowed blade), and leaves scent on the trailer, the blade and the seat.

Takes a bromide bath in the hot tub... and spends the rest of the day trying to dilute how he smells --

He doesn't bring the Bobcat because he wants it found clean.

Anything here to work with?

KMO

Quoting myself because I want to add --

The trip left, on Sunday morning, maybe he felt he needed to check, make absolutely sure his stashed blade was solidly hidden from view.

The helmet, an after thought.

JMO

 

[DizzyB]

Sorry if facts are out there that I missed- that pic of Barry’s truck hauling the bobcat on 5/9-do we know exactly when the bobcat was unhitched and left at PP?

 

[jakat]

Every murderer makes mistakes.

They're never as smart as they think they are.

Something always trips them up.

Barry.
Bobcat Barry.
New blade Barry.
Backhoe Barry.
Trailer jack Bobcat Barry
6 minutes
SIM
Dog alerts
Arm pin, loose bolts
Footprint
Left turn
14 miles

Let's say Barry WAS planning to use his Bobcat. What steps would he take to allow for that?

I propose -- get a new blade. Pristine, unused.
Find out where backhoe dude is. Find an idle, unsupervised SIM card.

Let's say Barry didn't really need a new blade (MG might be able to say). Would he really get it changed anyway? Cheap Barry throwing away a perfectly usable blade??

Instead.....

Barry dumps a really old blade. Later he removes sparkly blade, attaches his original beloved still's got some life in it blade. Goes out after dark, possibly to the left. Possibly with his trailer, a newly SIMmed Bobcat with his favorite blade and a truck from his current address.

Between 11pm and 3am, he is up towards Monarch, disposes of his wife. Uses his Bobcat to move a massive boulder. Drives back toward PP, stopping somewhere long enough to drop the beloved blade (to retrieve after a couple days/weeks), gets back to PP, where he reattaches the new blade (leaving the extra bits from his newly stowed blade), and leaves scent on the trailer, the blade and the seat.

Takes a bromide bath in the hot tub... and spends the rest of the day trying to dilute how he smells --

He doesn't bring the Bobcat to Broomfield because he wants it found clean.

But it's too clean.

That's suspicious as heck, no?

Anything here to work with?

JMO

Barry admits bobcat mechanical timeline inconsistency. What mechanical thing did he do to his bobcat?

Starts at 16:41...

 

[Spartygirl]

Every murderer makes mistakes.

They're never as smart as they think they are.

Something always trips them up.

Barry.
Bobcat Barry.
New blade Barry.
Backhoe Barry.
Trailer jack Bobcat Barry
6 minutes
SIM
Dog alerts
Arm pin, loose bolts
Footprint
Left turn
14 miles

Let's say Barry WAS planning to use his Bobcat. What steps would he take to allow for that?

I propose -- get a new blade. Pristine, unused.
Find out where backhoe dude is. Find an idle, unsupervised SIM card.

Let's say Barry didn't really need a new blade (MG might be able to say). Would he really get it changed anyway? Cheap Barry throwing away a perfectly usable blade??

Instead.....

Barry dumps a really old blade. Later he removes sparkly blade, attaches his original beloved still's got some life in it blade. Goes out after dark, possibly to the left. Possibly with his trailer, a newly SIMmed Bobcat with his favorite blade and a truck from his current address.

Between 11pm and 3am, he is up towards Monarch, disposes of his wife. Uses his Bobcat to move a massive boulder. Drives back toward PP, stopping somewhere long enough to drop the beloved blade (to retrieve after a couple days/weeks), gets back to PP, where he reattaches the new blade (leaving the extra bits from his newly stowed blade), and leaves scent on the trailer, the blade and the seat.

Takes a bromide bath in the hot tub... and spends the rest of the day trying to dilute how he smells --

He doesn't bring the Bobcat to Broomfield because he wants it found clean.

But it's too clean.

That's suspicious as heck, no?

Anything here to work with?

JMO

Bobcats are the most similar relatives of mountain lions and they share many physical and behavioral traits.
Just saying LOL

 

[NothingSurprisesAnymore]

I find this entire series of texts so odd.

He went home, but didn't really go home. She is messaging Jeff, while he is parked down the driveway out of sight and off hunting for a turkey his daughter shot like a week ago??

Then he decides to go get a blade replaced. While he is driving away he tries to call her several times. She doesn't answer.

Then he texts her he is done and on his way home.

This specific time frame is driving me nuts! (not that I need too much help there.. lol)

I have been looking at GPS data for his skid ster and his truck along with text and call times trying to get a picture of exactly how this was going.

For some reason at his house before departing to go get the blade replaced he does something with the Skid steer.. The GPS shows he moves it so not sure why he would take it off his truck to put it back on the truck and not hours apart, he does this in like 6 minutes or so.

I also can't help feeling like something happened to her before he left to get that blade replaced.

BM is all over the place physically and verbally. He'd be exhausting to deal with.
Find his statements difficult to follow sometimes. Wonder if that's by design?

Edit to add:
Can't decide...
Has BM decided to disappear her by this time
Or frantically spying on her as he sees her preparing to move on? And then he snapped

 

[al66pine]

(Hypothetical) Trial Delay. Good or Bad for Defense?

... The longer he is free the more chance he messes up and says or does something incriminating...

@justtrish bbm sbm Over the past ~18 mo's, BM's already said & done some pretty darned incriminating things.
Anticipating that he could say or do something else
incriminating, likely will.

Not intending to be a smart aleck, but I'm not holding my breath for him to handover audio/video clip of SM's death to LE. Nevertheless, welcoming any further evd, esp'ly recovery of SM's remains.
As you posted ( TYVM.) trial postponement may not help defense.
my2ct

 

[mom2chloe]

Barry admits bobcat mechanical timeline inconsistency. What mechanical thing did he do to his bobcat?

Starts at 16:41...

This is an excellent point. We have assumed it was the blade changing mechanical thingy at DSI that he lied about but what if it was the removal of the arm to access the sim card that he lied about? Hence the defences activity report list that as the single “other” designation? I don’t believe the Bobcat murdered Suzanne but it likely plays into either preparation, transport or disposal or any combination of the three. 3 different dogs didn’t lie about the hits on the trailer, Bobcat and seat. IMO Barry lied. Wth did he do?
Back to the bleach thing could he have emptied the hot tub placed her there while sedated then doused her with enough chlorine and choose another chemical, closed the lid and headed back to Salida? He opens the cover at a later point to let it air out, dries up the liquid with towels which affords him time for shopping with a smile, steak, journal burning and whatever else. I cannot fathom why he had so many bags to dispose of at the HIE, MW and McDs unless those bags were chock full of wet and damp towels.
Do we know if Suzanne’s bible was ever accounted for? Thanks in advance.
ETA it wouldn’t have taken him much time to drain the hot tub, fill it with toxic chemical mix, wait for his magic potion to work and later drain the small amount of chemicals and rinse and refill. We frequently use old towels to wipe out hot tub after draining because a simple drain job is not enough. It needs to be wiped out of dirt, debris and whatever else Barry may have put in there. IMO

 

[mom2chloe]

BM is all over the place physically and verbally. He'd be exhausting to deal with.
Find his statements difficult to follow sometimes. Wonder if that's by design?

Most certainly. IMO He hopes to wear people down to the point where they no longer question his statements or truthfulness. People give up eventually as his friends from Indiana noted that he would lie about anything but it wasn’t worth the argument and easier to go along with.

 

[Hoss569]

I had a thought early on regarding the dog hits down by the river. It was also spurred on by him showing up near the river soaking wet and obviously cold, sounded like he was out of it and flushed, maybe hypothermia. It was a crazy thought, big stretch, but doesn't hurt to throw spaghetti at the wall.

I thought he might not of disposed of SM on Saturday or whenever he did it. He possibly hid her in the river, water would be ice cold and flowing good. Maybe he crossed the river with her thinking it would get rid of the scent. He had the bike set up so there would be no thorough searching near the house or river right away, but soon. So he could come back on Monday or Tuesday and retrieve her from the river(would be the other side). Would give him more time to bury her (hopefully).

Anyway, just a crazy thought I thought I would share.

 

[OldCop]

Is this what we are referring to as the bonus room? Another weird setup just an open room with no doors that they made into a bedroom.

Replying to my own post. This is incorrect. The room I showed has a double window while the photo from the front shows a single window on the second floor.
@DeDee and @Megnut are correct in saying the room I posted with the two beds is behind the fireplace and off the hall going to the master BR.

 

[NothingSurprisesAnymore]

Most certainly. IMO He hopes to wear people down to the point where they no longer question his statements or truthfulness. People give up eventually as his friends from Indiana noted that he would lie about anything but it wasn’t worth the argument and easier to go along with.

Agree
In AA interviews he'd be really vague or just say things that didn't make sense. Or start to speak and change direction without really saying anything of substance or make a point. As you said, by design. It gives him opportunity to deflect or confuse.

Two things I find really frustrating in sleuthing this case:

1)Barry all over the place, literally
2)So much electronic, telematics data

Both can be confusing and headache inducing!

 

[mom2chloe]

I had a thought early on regarding the dog hits down by the river. It was also spurred on by him showing up near the river soaking wet and obviously cold, sounded like he was out of it and flushed, maybe hypothermia. It was a crazy thought, big stretch, but doesn't hurt to throw spaghetti at the wall.

I thought he might not of disposed of SM on Saturday or whenever he did it. He possibly hid her in the river, water would be ice cold and flowing good. Maybe he crossed the river with her thinking it would get rid of the scent. He had the bike set up so there would be no thorough searching near the house or river right away, but soon. So he could come back on Monday or Tuesday and retrieve her from the river(would be the other side). Would give him more time to bury her (hopefully).

Anyway, just a crazy thought I thought I would share.

I don’t think it’s crazy at all. We know the beach river lady most likely heard noise at the property late Friday evening. Most likely there was concrete there somewhere in preparation for the the basement/foundation end of construction to continue. I suggested early on that it could be the sound of an air compressor blowing up a raft, canoe or kayak. Could have been either or maybe both but Barry definitely had access to things that would enable him to transport her body via water from the river near their home to the beach property and weight it down as long as needed to in order to move Suzanne’s body IMO Again, where are the coolers? LE obviously had good reason to search the beach property but maybe Barry had hidden her well with use of whatever or at least sunk her until he could move the body. So many possibilities IMO Unfortunately none of them are concrete or are they? What are we missing?
ETA I think Barry was definitely up to something when found wet and coming out of river. It was cold water and he definitely wasn’t burning off the stress. IMO