Still Missing CO - Suzanne Morphew, 49, Chaffee Co, 10 May 2020 *arrest* #94

[Megnut]

Those closest to Barry would surely know his habits regarding his wedding band. When and whether he wore it. Whether the one he had in 2020 (gold band) was the same as the one from the year he married (when diamond rings for men was in serious vogue). Most construction/trade men I know, don't wear their rings -- occupational hazards.

I can't help but notice Barry's ring doesn't look any too comfortable as of May, 2020.

Makes me wonder if maybe that was the first time in a long time he'd worn it.

He have to call the fire department to get it back off?

JMO

Court releases evidence from Barry Morphew’s preliminary hearing | FOX21 News Colorado

 

[Cindizzi]

According to the photo of Suzanne's info inside the bicycle helmet, the helmet is a Smith Venture MIPS. I'll hunt around for a top view...not the usual marketing photo perspective. It would be useful, too, to have typical hard hat and firefighter helmet outlines, as well. I think their rims don't match the outline of what's shown in the People's Exhibit, but I am no expert.

ETA: Here's an ad on GearTrade with a good top view: Item 661935 - Smith Venture MIPS Bike Helmet - Bike Helmets - Size L

BM’s FF helmet

 

[DizzyB]

I think it is so hard to say when we don't know what "associated" means.

But it was surely trivial for Law Enforcement analysts to exclude phone numbers / devices of immediate family?

Can you use an old phone as an iPod without additional fees? I usually keep at least one used iphone in case something happens to my current phone. I’ve been able to use them after contacting my provider, as my spare until my replacement phone arrives.

I also had a “ghost line” in order to get a free phone once. Added a line to get a free phone, then after a couple of days, switched the new device to the old phone #, and the new phone number just sat there with the old device, at a really cheap per month price until the contract was up. Never used the number or the phone, but it was a cost effective way completely transacted by the local provider at the store level. A workaround.

I wish we knew more about her biking habits/goals too.
On page 40 of the AA it shows how she would post on Instagram about her rides. ( Notice the time of day is afternoon, not 8:00-9:00 am like BM says).
On 4/20 she wrote captions : “ First single track!” “ Broke my first chain ”.

I’m not buying his story that SM asked him on Saturday to get the bike and helmet out of her car for a Sunday ride.
Especially the helmet part. Wouldn’t she grab the helmet herself when she grabbed the camelback/jacket/sunglasses?
Yes. Yes she would.
JMO

A ballsy woman that would go to a trail, take out her bike, ride, and put the bike back into her car, now had to ask her husband to take her bike and helmet out of her car. On the day before she disappeared, and her bike and helmet were found by LE. Co-hinky-dink.

 

[charminglane]

Those closest to Barry would surely know his habits regarding his wedding band. When and whether he wore it. Whether the one he had in 2020 (gold band) was the same as the one from the year he married (when diamond rings for men was in serious vogue). Most construction/trade men I know, don't wear their rings -- occupational hazards.

I can't help but notice Barry's ring doesn't look any too comfortable as of May, 2020.

Makes me wonder if maybe that was the first time in a long time he'd worn it.

He have to call the fire department to get it back off?

JMO

Court releases evidence from Barry Morphew’s preliminary hearing | FOX21 News Colorado

I'd like to see if there was a tan line when it was removed.

 

[DellaC]

Yep. That's what I'm seeing. The visor and the telltale blocking.

JMO

Also, I did a little trial with my bike helmet and a random bag of soft items stuffed into a) a grocery store plastic bag, b) a woven pillow case and c) a knit pillow case. Based on my simple test, I think it's unlikely BM is holding a standard grocery store plastic bag in People's Exhibit 32. My helmet (12" long from stem to stern w/visor) stuck up into the opening of the bag, plus the plastic is so thin you could see the color pattern on my helmet. Also, in People's Exhibit 33--okay, so this is a different set of bags, based on shirt BM is wearing--you'll notice how the bottom corners of the bag flare out. I couldn't make that happen with a typical pleated plastic bag. It did happen, though, with the woven pillow case and less noticeably with the knit pillow case. Also, only the shape and contours of the helmet were visible through the cloth bags, not the color pattern. I suppose BM could be using a somewhat thicker plastic bag with non-pleated corners...a trash bag?

People's Exhibit 33: http://www./wp-content/uploads/2022/01/People-Exhibits-Prelim-Hearing_Page_31.png

 

[Megnut]

He has the skills to dig a fresh grave that would not be noticeable. The use of an augur attachment to do so came to mind early in this case.
Two problems with this are are Bobcat telematics and cadaverine.
Is he brazen enough to hide her in plain sight? I think yes.
I also think he was desperate.
I think he kept a plan on how to kill and bury people in his back pocket. His prior statements say so.
I believe he used that plan May 9th. His terribly hasty alibi belies well thought out preparation on his part. I think he had to use equipment and resources immediately available.
I wonder if he had access to gas powered augur? Manual post hole digger? Also, what depth of burial necessary for cadaverine to not be detected?

Barry had access to chemicals. Chlorine. Probably Bromide. Tranquilizer sedatives. (He said he tranqued TWO deer -- was there a chance LE would recover two -- not one, not three -- dart parts? He also said he woke them back up.) He would likely have easy access to quikcrete and lime/limestone. He's a scent guy, probably an expert on hiding human scent. Hunter thing.

A cooler, ten feet down, buried under concrete in a slurry of lime, tamped down, God himself would have trouble detecting that.

You know what else we don't know? The girls were away, the Ritters were asked not to come over, Barry had his eye on the hot tub repair guy's schedule, we don't know what Barry's driveway looked like from 5/6 going forward.

Barry may have been lining up what he needed right in front of her. An old blade, an old auger, lime, old work boots. Right in plain sight. Suzanne would never dream he was assembling her grave kit.

I'm not sure Barry needed to dig one though, not with all the pre-dug offerings littering his own backyards. (I say backyards, plural, because, while he felt compelled to guard his property/backyard from Suzanne's searchers, I'm not certain he respected his neighbors' property lines.)

A mine is just so easy. And Busy B loves himself some busyness but why dig the hole if he didn't need to?

I'm 50/50.

JMO

 

[charminglane]

Anyone can throw a body in a mine.
Not everyone has access to equipment that could make someone disappear forever.
He's had years to think this out with what he has at his disposal.

 

[Megnut]

If 11:30pm to 3:30am was his concealment hours, how much of that was transit time, how much was preparation and how much was restoration?

How dirty did he get?

I wonder if the hot tub had a lot of silt sitting in the bottom post MD.

I wonder how long it would take to cycle out excessive chemicals? Would a lay person say, man, that hot tub smells extra hot tubby? Barry could just say, yeah, we were having trouble with it....

If he availed himself of a mine, what labor was involved? Either he drove for two hours (I don't think so) and poured her body in or he was close to home, and something required 3+hours of labor.

Did Barry barry her under an additional load of backfill or an antlerfree cache of carcasses or both?

If only we could see what his driveway looked like on 5/9.

JMO

 

[Trackergd]

I mean there is literally no way a mountain lion can carry off an adult human. It might drag a body a distance but that would leave clear sign

I suspect LE knew right away that there was no mountain lion, how? Lack of large cat prints. Not something you can fake easily.

 

[NothingSurprisesAnymore]

Barry had access to chemicals. Chlorine. Probably Bromide. Tranquilizer sedatives. (He said he tranqued TWO deer -- was there a chance LE would recover two -- not one, not three -- dart parts? He also said he woke them back up.) He would likely have easy access to quikcrete and lime/limestone. He's a scent guy, probably an expert on hiding human scent. Hunter thing.

A cooler, ten feet down, buried under concrete in a slurry of lime, tamped down, God himself would have trouble detecting that.

You know what else we don't know? The girls were away, the Ritters were asked not to come over, Barry had his eye on the hot tub repair guy's schedule, we don't know what Barry's driveway looked like from 5/6 going forward.

Barry may have been lining up what he needed right in front of her. An old blade, an old auger, lime, old work boots. Right in plain sight. Suzanne would never dream he was assembling her grave kit.

I'm not sure Barry needed to dig one though, not with all the pre-dug offerings littering his own backyards. (I say backyards, plural, because, while he felt compelled to guard his property/backyard from Suzanne's searchers, I'm not certain he respected his neighbors' property lines.)

A mine is just so easy. And Busy B loves himself some busyness but why dig the hole if he didn't need to?

I'm 50/50.

JMO

Yes!
Barry had the skills and supplies to do any of the above and the layout of Puma Path would allow it.
I believe your scenario could have been implemented with little to no planning too.
This would explain why vehicle, equipment telematics are so frustrating.
As Barry might say...Who needs telematics, I'M the telematics!

 

[Scootie98]

Truck telematics seem to suggest that the truck was not used for disposal
Bobcat telematics tampering, highly coincidental blade change, being left at house instead of going to Broomfield, dog hits, barefoot print....suggest Bobcat was used
No tracks around the property suggest Bobcat was most likely towed on trailer so I believe MM2 RR used to pull
Truck telematics indicate to me a window between 9:52pm and 3:25am for body disposal (5.5 hours)- plenty of time to dump body a safer distance from the house
At 3:25 we see the frenzy of truck door slamming on telematics that looks like dumpster evidence packing
Truck telematics say leaving PP around 3:50 (sunrise 6am that day)
2 hours, 51 minutes from PP to HGI (with the one dumpster stop in between)
1 hour missing from this data- but no stops per telematics (helmet toss out?, ride by dump site?)
Truck telematics don't suggest bike dump in the truck, possibly done during body dump?
BM definitely decontaminated every chance he got
I find it hard to believe the three dogs run independently were wrong but maybe they suck at their jobs, but I'm not an expert so MOO

I'm going through a list of mines in Chaffee County looking for ones with a walking distance nearby water source because I personally believe Blade A and SM's cell phone were dumped in water nearby and BM would have needed to decontaminate himself before getting back into the tow vehicle.

Edit: I haven't looked closely at cell stuff yet so that may narrow the window for body disposal.

Suzanne's phone pinged at 4.23am on 5/10 at a location other than the home. Yet BM states Suzanne was asleep...and he even heard her snoring at 5am, IIRC. How does BM explain Suzanne being home in bed and her cell phone somewhere several miles from home at the same time?

 

[Scootie98]

Bringing this over from the last thread.

Exactly. As we discussed in earlier threads, @sk716, I also believe that this is the area where BM disposed of SM’s body. @Trackergd was one of the first to throw this location out there many, many months ago. Also, the power lines parallel the road leading from Puma Path to where you cut off to head up to the mines, (marked in yellow on your map). It would be easy for BM to drive his ATV along the power line cut to avoid other vehicles or to duck in off the road if he saw a car coming. At night, in May, I’d be surprised to find vehicles traveling that road anyway.
The Cushmans’ would be the only home he even came close to along that whole road and we all know the Cushmans weren’t home.

I agree Old Cop...SM is not far from the PP home site. In fact, BM's own comments to MG that he could bury a body and it would never be found suggests his self-confidence in disposal did not require distance to be successful....rather, it required his unique skill set and an appropriate location. She is somewhere close to home; and finding her will require a keen sense of putting on BM's mindset....or luck, or both.

 

[pseudo_hum]

Suzanne's phone pinged at 4.23am on 5/10 at a location other than the home. Yet BM states Suzanne was asleep...and he even heard her snoring at 5am, IIRC. How does BM explain Suzanne being home in bed and her cell phone somewhere several miles from home at the same time?

IMO, BM thought she was probably sleep-walking, or the reception was so spotty, hard to say.

 

[Megnut]

Has anybody been able to find the washed out road Barry was talking about? Requires a left turn, beyond PP.

Maybe it wasn't so washed out.

JMO

 

[al66pine]

Bike, In & Out of RR?

.... 1) Another irk: if she rode every day, why ...Wouldn't it just stay on/in the vehicle...?
2) In fact, why would she ask him to remove it even when it DID need to be removed?
3) If she normally drove to her rides... not like it was too heavy for her or anything.

@Auntie Cipation bbm sbm for focus. Good questions and difficult to come up w plausible answers.
1) Yes, seems like bike would normally stay in RR.
2) If SM did actually ask, why? Hypothetical reason: she planned to use RR & needed space in back for something
bbbiiiggg? But what?
Bags and bags of gardening items, e.g., garden soil, topsoil, cedar mulch, pine bark, etc.? Flats of annuals? Pots of perennials, shrubs, trees? Is early May a good time to plant these in that part of CO?
Sounds pretty darn lame, doesn't it? Esp'ly w BM being a Manscaper, as @charminglane pointed out.
Maybe she did not ask him to remove bike, which is what I believe you're getting at --- BM lied.

3) Lifting bike in & out? Not too heavy for her but she struggled w it, maybe a bit?
And/or
As a matter of habit, maybe SM asked BM to perform this mighty feat of masculine supremacy, reinforcing his status as the big, strong, man whose strength knows no bounds?

The above? Likely, no. Even just plausible? Doubtful, but I tried.

 

[NothingSurprisesAnymore]

I really think Suzanne is on or near Puma Path.

I think BM already had a scenario in mind in how to incapacitate, harm, bury, and cover-up a person.

I think he implemented this plan last minute.

The hastily put together alibi and lame bike staging supports this as does the split doorframe indicating loss of control and the time of day he incapacitated Suzanne leaving her radio silent when she normally would not be.

He was described as very agitated when LE on property and adversarial to AM searches near his home.

The following year he sold Puma Path by which time a grave would be well settled.

Barry seems very controlling and secretive so no accomplices.

He possesses the mindset, skills and resources to have carried out the murder and cover up with very little else other than his bare hands and what was immediately available.

When looking at all his actions since May 10th he has shown he is arrogant and brazen enough to put her at or near Puma Path... and we have examples of him doing the very things that he says a guilty or innocent person would or would not do.

I believe due to his history of erratic behavior, being always on the go, and his vague circular way of communicating there are lots of red herrings in this case.

Just my fairly confident opinion at this time and one of many...

 

[MrsWatson]

I think Suzanne may be near the Puma Path home, but not on the actual property. I don't think BM would risk having her buried on their own property.

 

[OldCop]

We need a side by side of this exhibit and Suzanne's helmet!

The thing is, if that was the helmet in the bag at the HIE, he had to have brought it back to PP with him to plant several days later off Hwy 50. Pretty risky business. And if he did, where did he stash it in the meantime?
Does anyone know if BM had a locker at the Fire Station in Maysville?

 

[OldCop]

Curious to me that she would ask him to remove her bike on Saturday afternoon but not to reload it for her Sunday ride. After all, she usually drove to the path she rode. And I’m sure he wasn’t loading it daily since she road only in the “afternoons” according to MM’s boyfriend. I’m quite sure he never loaded nor unloaded the bike for Suzanne.

Seriously, he unloaded the bike so he could stage it and so the Ritters would not find it in the garage. He’s so transparent.

He also had to have a reason to have his fresh prints on the bike in case he missed any when he was wiping it off.

 

[HongKongPhooey]

I think Suzanne may be near the Puma Path home, but not on the actual property. I don't think BM would risk having her buried on their own property.

Me neither. Not with that vast landscape available to him and his machines.