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

[EggSalad]

I'm sure we'll hear a theory in regards to the body dump at trial. It is a huge question that was never answered.

It doesn't change whether or not I feel he is guilty, as this is among the easiest cases I've ever followed in reaching that determination, but I just need to know!

That is my thought as well. It’s clear as day that he did it, but I’m curious how.

An accomplice or other vehicle seems unlikely because why increase your risk of being caught.

Burying on property with his skill set and tools makes sense but then again, you can drive a mile and be in some of the most remote and difficult wilderness in the US, so why risk that.

There is some evidence that suggests tampering with gps vehicle data, but to me that evidence suggests that BM liked that idea but wasn’t savvy enough to actually do it. Just savvy enough to show he tried.

So that leaves a non-gps enabled vehicle as the final option, which of course he had access to. But then why didn’t that vehicle have a ton of cadaver dog hits? His bobcat had hits, and surely the RR would have been used after.

I think this murder was premeditated by a significant amount if only from a fantasy perspective, but very very well thought out. I just wish some piece of evidence would help connect it all.

 

[AmandaReckonwith]

Updated.

Photobucket

 

[MassGuy]

https://twitter.com/carolamckinley/status/1491942100249677825?s=21
New trial date for the Morphew case now. Set to start 4/29 - end 6/3 as judge rules alleged domestic violence between couple will not be allowed through texts or prior conversation. Legal folks say this is a blow to the prosecution because these alleged acts explain motive.

https://twitter.com/carolamckinley/status/1491942483491581955?s=21
Prosecution may try to get into in though through witnesses whom #SuzanneMorphew spoke with about the troubled marriage. Her confidante, Sheila Oliver, is a key witness. The family only lived in Colo for 2 years, so there are many witnesses who knew them in Indiana.

I don't agree with these legal folks who say the acts of domestic violence explain motive. I wonder if they even know the specifics of this case.

The motive is the affair and divorce, and even judge Murphy agreed that those things were triggers:

Judge said finding out that #SuzanneMorphew was having an affair gives him motive. Feeling of hurt, anger, jealousy, and desperation. It could lead someone who is typically normal to act differently like harm someone who has harmed him.

https://twitter.com/laurenscharftv/status/1438971183962132482?s=21

Judge said the "I'm done" text means that she was done with the marriage and the "Let's just do this civilly," meaning dissolution of marriage. The text to Jeff Libler said that "these next few days are going to be rough" shows that #SuzanneMorphew wanted out of the marriage.

https://twitter.com/laurenscharftv/status/1438972479779770382?s=21

 

[Skigh]

What if the scent the dogs indicated upon was not from Suzanne ,but BM had used a local cemetery to dispose of Suzanne's body and in his mind giving her a Christian burial.

 

[nyvictoria]

Something @fcavanaugh said upthread has me thinking about the State witnesses. I hope the State preps their witnesses, specifically with regard to how ferocious the Defense attorneys are. IANAL but if I had to put witnesses on the stand against these Defense attorneys, I’d have every one of the lay witnesses thoroughly prepared for the onslaught. I don’t know if there is any trial video of these attorneys but, if there is, the State would be wise to have their witnesses watch it.

 

[EggSalad]

I don't agree with these legal folks who say the acts of domestic violence explain motive. I wonder if they even know the specifics of this case.

The motive is the affair and divorce, and even judge Murphy agreed that those things were triggers:

Judge said finding out that #SuzanneMorphew was having an affair gives him motive. Feeling of hurt, anger, jealousy, and desperation. It could lead someone who is typically normal to act differently like harm someone who has harmed him.

https://twitter.com/laurenscharftv/status/1438971183962132482?s=21

Judge said the "I'm done" text means that she was done with the marriage and the "Let's just do this civilly," meaning dissolution of marriage. The text to Jeff Libler said that "these next few days are going to be rough" shows that #SuzanneMorphew wanted out of the marriage.

https://twitter.com/laurenscharftv/status/1438972479779770382?s=21

MOO, but I’ve always thought that the murder had nothing to do with the affair and that BM never knew about it until the investigation.

The murder was always about BM having financial stability and when SM was actually ready to leave and not die from cancer, he had to take the matter into his own hands.

That whole weekend with the girls being gone was set up as a weekend of opportunity for him to commit the crime. It wasn’t a heat of the moment thing. It was a calculated plan that came together.

Everything BM did after she died had financial implications. Everything. It was always about the money. I mean, he’s a landscaper living in a 7 figure home.

 

[Pyrite]

IMO I think BM might walk. So much depends on what will be admissible. The DA seems to be playing games with discovery. Will this cause evidence to not be allowed?

Bike mechanic who turns into a bike wreck expert? Will he be allowed to testify? What are his qualification? Don’t you have to be qualified to state your opinion on why a bike can’t end up like SM’s bike in a crash? I’ve seen a lot of mountain bike crashes and they can end up with the bike in all kinds of ways, especially if like most beginners SM rode with flats instead of clip-ons.

I wonder if anything Cahill was involved in will be admissible. I assume he won’t be called to testify with the Bradley letter stating he is untruthful, even if only involving an investigation against his self. The letter states he is know to be untruthful, so I expect the defense will stress that strongly if he does testify and call all his evidence into question.

Judeg Murray stated much of the AA had non admissible evidence. Since he wasn’t specific, we have don’t know which and how much of it will be non admissible. And this was before Cahill’s Bradley letter.

if I was on the defense team I’d also call witnesses on the volunteer fire dept and ask them if BM was ever know to lie to make his self look better. You know what the answer will be.

I’d also find witnesses to to state that BM lied to stop questioning. Probably contractors he worked for. They might state he often lied about when jobs would be done and when they weren’t done lie about why and when he would finish them. Maybe multiple times. Just to get them to stop questioning them. Or maybe ex employees, ‘why didn’t I get paid today”? BM, “ no idea check must have got lost in the mail.”

Which was possibly why he lied about shooting chipmunks. Grousing asks what he was doing he said something ( don’t remember what) then Grousing mentioned his cell phone pings showed him runnning around, so he just made some thing up to explain “I was running around shooting chipmunks”.

 

[MassGuy]

MOO, but I’ve always thought that the murder had nothing to do with the affair and that BM never knew about it until the investigation.

The murder was always about BM having financial stability and when SM was actually ready to leave and not die from cancer, he had to take the matter into his own hands.

Everything BM did after she died had financial implications. Everything. It was always about the money. I mean, he’s a landscaper living in a 7 figure home.

Yes. The underlying reason is money, but the divorce itself was the trigger I think.
Divorce=money.

As for the affair, I'm absolutely convinced he knew. He made those frantic calls to Sheila and her husband when he couldn't reach Suzanne during a visit, took her phone in Mexico, and those Facebook friend requests seem like a fishing expedition.

He also noticed behavioral changes, and described Suzanne as "ballsy."

Grusing felt that Barry knew, but it isn't clear if he knew WHO this person was. He also may not have known the extent.

 

[EggSalad]

I’m no law expert but I’m also curious what is known by the state that isn’t in the AA.

The AA is enough to make the arrest but it’s not a case presented in the court of law.

Same with the prelim; it’s like let’s do just enough to get this to court and save our big guns for later.

Again, I’m not an expert or even close but that is my read. I feel like there is still a lot we don’t know.

 

[Cindizzi]

https://twitter.com/cwinderkoaa/status/1491944972785905667?s=21
NEW MORPHEW TRIAL DATE: Court wrapped up. The judge changed Barry Morphew’s trial date. It’s now set for April 29-June 3. Barry is accused of murdering his wife Suzanne Morphew. Suzanne went missing in Salida in May 2020. Barry’s next court date is Feb. 24. @KOAA

https://twitter.com/cwinderkoaa/status/1491945505856712708?s=21
I made a mistake in my last Tweet by calling Suzanne, Barry’s ex-wife. I made a new Tweet above correcting the mistake. I apologize for the error.

 

[MassGuy]

I’m no law expert but I’m also curious what is known by the state that isn’t in the AA.

The AA is enough to make the arrest but it’s not a case presented in the court of law.

Same with the prelim; it’s like let’s do just enough to get this to court and save our big guns for later.

Again, I’m not an expert or even close but that is my read. I feel like there is still a lot we don’t know.

There always seems to be a lot we don't know when cases like this go to trial; there tends to be several bombshell moments.

In this one, we don't know if anyone has come forward in the past year, the results of any warrants executed after arrest, and the results of analysis that wasn't complete by the time of the preliminary hearing.

 

[EggSalad]

Yes. The underlying reason is money, but the divorce itself was the trigger I think.
Divorce=money.

As for the affair, I'm absolutely convinced he knew. He made those frantic calls to Sheila and her husband when he couldn't reach Suzanne during a visit, took her phone in Mexico, and those Facebook friend requests seem like a fishing expedition.

He also noticed behavioral changes, and described Suzanne as "ballsy."

Grusing felt that Barry knew, but it isn't clear if he knew WHO this person was. He also may not have known the extent.

Totally agree on divorce.

I also took any ounce of BM’s suspicions as projections onto SM of his actions. But you’ve got a solid point. I’ll need to revisit those Grusong nuggets from the AA.

 

[jakat]

Unfortunately I understand this first hand. I didn't have a physically abusive parent, but emotional abuse and control through manipulation is hard. No outward proof and just a feeling of is this normal, is it me, and deciding early on if I could just be good enough, etc. Add in alochol and it was a mess for my other parent too.. I watched one parent cater and be a doormat. Thankfully my spouse is nothing like that, but it takes a lot of work to "unthink" like that child that walked on eggshells.

I wonder sometimes if I believe Barry did this so much because I see and recognize some of the control and sneaky manipulations. I try to not view it through my own filter, but it's tough when much of this is so clear.

If they only could find her body.

I'm so sorry this happened to you justtrish. (((justtrish)))

 

[DeDee]

https://twitter.com/carolamckinley/status/1491942100249677825?s=21
New trial date for the Morphew case now. Set to start 4/29 - end 6/3 as judge rules alleged domestic violence between couple will not be allowed through texts or prior conversation. Legal folks say this is a blow to the prosecution because these alleged acts explain motive.

What does the Judge wish for us to call it when the jury is shown the photo of the cracked and damaged master bedroom door jamb? Nothing to see here folks. Barry didn't barge into the locked room while Suzanne was attempting to hide to save her life! Will the jury take a hard swallow like we did when considering Barry using a tranquilized dart in order to help him be rid of his wife when the jury is shown the image of the sheath in the dryer?

I will say as a survivor who lived with a narcissist comorbid with sociopathy individual; anything may set them off, at any given time. Their own paranoid behavior becomes unpredictable; thereby, creating vigilance, and possibly fear, in their victim(s). Barry admitted to the FBI that he wanted to hurt Suzanne when texting her. Words can kill a person. It just takes longer than a bullet.

 

[Momofthreeboys]

IMO I think BM might walk. So much depends on what will be admissible. The DA seems to be playing games with discovery. Will this cause evidence to not be allowed?

Bike mechanic who turns into a bike wreck expert? Will he be allowed to testify? What are his qualification? Don’t you have to be qualified to state your opinion on why a bike can’t end up like SM’s bike in a crash? I’ve seen a lot of mountain bike crashes and they can end up with the bike in all kinds of ways, especially if like most beginners SM rode with flats instead of clip-ons.

I wonder if anything Cahill was involved in will be admissible. I assume he won’t be called to testify with the Bradley letter stating he is untruthful, even if only involving an investigation against his self. The letter states he is know to be untruthful, so I expect the defense will stress that strongly if he does testify and call all his evidence into question.

Judeg Murray stated much of the AA had non admissible evidence. Since he wasn’t specific, we have don’t know which and how much of it will be non admissible. And this was before Cahill’s Bradley letter.

if I was on the defense team I’d also call witnesses on the volunteer fire dept and ask them if BM was ever know to lie to make his self look better. You know what the answer will be.

I’d also find witnesses to to state that BM lied to stop questioning. Probably contractors he worked for. They might state he often lied about when jobs would be done and when they weren’t done lie about why and when he would finish them. Maybe multiple times. Just to get them to stop questioning them. Or maybe ex employees, ‘why didn’t I get paid today”? BM, “ no idea check must have got lost in the mail.”

Which was possibly why he lied about shooting chipmunks. Grousing asks what he was doing he said something ( don’t remember what) then Grousing mentioned his cell phone pings showed him runnning around, so he just made some thing up to explain “I was running around shooting chipmunks”.

I have had some of the same thoughts about his throw away answers. You just can’t do that when investigators are looking for the spouse and it can and did bite him in the butt.

 

[justtrish]

We were discussing the VPN a few pages back. I found it in the AA where Barry was asked about buying a VPN in February on ___ credit card. He denied it and said he thought he was buying fraud protection. So the VPN was bought and charged to one of the daughters credit cards.

 

[Puzzles8]

^^rsbm

We don't really know if they traveled to Idaho (as first reported) or only as far as Utah and TOS prevented further inquiry. IMO, there was never any plan to arrive around noon because that would mean getting on the road for the journey home at a ridiculous hour in the morning.

When MM2's boyfriend and his father are talking to LE at PP around 7pm Sunday, they both tell LE that the daughters traveling and/or are on the road but are very careful not to give any details. For example, if they were within 60-90 minutes from Salida, I think the natural reaction would be to tell LE they went on a trip but should be arriving within 90 minutes or so. To my knowledge, we don't know what time they actually arrived Chaffee County.

I agree, we really don't where they were for 5 days. They were just 'camping'. Just doing simple math it appears they drove hundreds of miles to camp in both Utah and Idaho. That's a lot of miles in 5 days, just to camp.

JMO

 

[Cindizzi]

IMO I think BM might walk. So much depends on what will be admissible. The DA seems to be playing games with discovery. Will this cause evidence to not be allowed?

Bike mechanic who turns into a bike wreck expert? Will he be allowed to testify? What are his qualification? Don’t you have to be qualified to state your opinion on why a bike can’t end up like SM’s bike in a crash? I’ve seen a lot of mountain bike crashes and they can end up with the bike in all kinds of ways, especially if like most beginners SM rode with flats instead of clip-ons.

I wonder if anything Cahill was involved in will be admissible. I assume he won’t be called to testify with the Bradley letter stating he is untruthful, even if only involving an investigation against his self. The letter states he is know to be untruthful, so I expect the defense will stress that strongly if he does testify and call all his evidence into question.

Judeg Murray stated much of the AA had non admissible evidence. Since he wasn’t specific, we have don’t know which and how much of it will be non admissible. And this was before Cahill’s Bradley letter.

if I was on the defense team I’d also call witnesses on the volunteer fire dept and ask them if BM was ever know to lie to make his self look better. You know what the answer will be.

I’d also find witnesses to to state that BM lied to stop questioning. Probably contractors he worked for. They might state he often lied about when jobs would be done and when they weren’t done lie about why and when he would finish them. Maybe multiple times. Just to get them to stop questioning them. Or maybe ex employees, ‘why didn’t I get paid today”? BM, “ no idea check must have got lost in the mail.”

Which was possibly why he lied about shooting chipmunks. Grousing asks what he was doing he said something ( don’t remember what) then Grousing mentioned his cell phone pings showed him runnning around, so he just made some thing up to explain “I was running around shooting chipmunks”.

Yes Grusing testified in the Preliminary hearing that BM never said anything about chipmunks until February 2021 when shown his phone activity pings running around the house!

https://twitter.com/laurenscharftv/status/1425190942135435269?s=21
Agent Grusing helped write the 129-page arrest affidavit. #BarryMorphew spoke with LE 23 times. Barry didn't LE until Feb. 28, 2021, about the chipmunks 9 months after #SuzanneMorphew went missing. (reference about phone pinging outside the home)

 

[NothingSurprisesAnymore]

This will be an unpopular comment but here goes....
Assumptions about MM1&MM2 need to stop. We do not know the dynamics between the sisters. We do not know what the dynamics were with SM and BM or what is going on currently with their relationship with BM. Stop judging them, stop analyzing their clothes and demeanor walking into the courthouse. Stop making comments about what they "should" do or how they "should" act. I realize that this site is for speculating but I just feel that the tone toward MM1 and MM2 has become more agressive in the past month. Just had to get that off my chest. All JMO

Hi @DBLG
I'm wondering if any of my posts are ones you are referring to?
I ask because I have commented on their demeanor as they walk with their father into the court room.
Not with a goal to damage or hurt, just the opposite actually.
It is common for defense to coach close family to show support for the defendent.
If this is the counsel MM1 and MM2 have received it has set them up for scrutiny within the very harsh environment of social media.
I feel sorry for them that as victimized daughters they may have been assigned a task that may not serve them well.
Public opinion is showing that there seems to be a cognitive dissonance between how they are presenting themselves relative to the gravity of the situation...entering a courtroom for hearings scheduled for the charge of the murder of their mother by the hand of their father.
I too agree none of us know for certain the dynamics between the three of them.
Saddened their mother isn't here to give them the advice that Suzanne would so lovingly do, but therein lies the rub...
I'm glad that you wrote your post even though you felt it might be unpopular.
I really respect that.
I just wanted to reply in case I caused any offense and let you know you gave a point of view that is worth consideration.

 

[MassGuy]

We were discussing the VPN a few pages back. I found it in the AA where Barry was asked about buying a VPN in February on ___ credit card. He denied it and said he thought he was buying fraud protection. So the VPN was bought and charged to one of the daughters credit cards.

On the one hand, Barry is a pathological liar. I don't think that's in dispute.

On the other hand, he's also an idiot. He also appears to like buying things he sees on tv (I'm sure he got the Monex idea from an ad he saw).

There are fraud prevention services also advertised on tv that give you access to a VPN.

So I'm not sure what to make of this, although I do lean towards him purchasing only the VPN (Nord VPN also advertises on channels he would watch).

I just don't see Barry being interested in fraud protection and then purchasing it on his daughter's card.

He seems to have tried to keep the VPN a secret, although I'm not sure of its purpose.