Still Missing CO - Suzanne Morphew, 49, Chaffee Co, 10 May 2020 *arrest* #97

[BDAJAG]

It was @Seattle1 who gave a outstanding opinion (sometime ago) of the possible dynamic between BM, his mom and sisters growing up - essentially being dotted over in a unhealthy way. She could explain it so much better than me. I just don’t see him being on the run a.l.o.n.e. without these anchors in his life. The current girlfriend like you pointed out is not going to fill those roles. Imo

<Resp'y focus-colorized, ma responsabilité>
But consider the much earlier hypothesis of Barry's suddenly being 'forcefully taken, against his will', together with a female-hostage-most-dear, during a "Gunnison dad-drop-by";
- a subsequent "ransom" demand by his contracted reverse-coyote/"kidnappers" posted from a non-extradition nation state;
-(shall we say for an amount coincidentally ~ $500K?);
- upon receipt of which by the faux hostage's relation, i.e. dad, her prompt release and safe return to CONUS is effectuated.

Quite out-there, speculation-wise, granted.
But I'll lay myself out-there as well:
How may one convincingly discount this
or some similar, likelihood?​

 

[Love Never Fails]

Barry got a taste for jail and it wasn't steak.

I am certain he intends never to return to it.

IMO he'll see to it.

However, I'm less worried he'll Dulos and more worried he'll Powell.

I'm afraid that if he can't control the outcome, he'll control the end game.

Because I think he also loves his family to death.

His ideology is deadly. He's done it his whole life. 100%.

JMO

Oh my. When you mention Josh Powell I can see that Barry could easily do that. His daughters could be in a real danger toward the end of this trial.

 

[BDAJAG]

I don’t think that is the case here but makes for fun speculation. Would he leave his daughters and family and friends? Would Suzanne leave her daughters and family? My vote is no to both.

... leave his daughter(s)?
No. I agree; imo he would not do that.

But might he just "ask" a daughter to "accompany" him? Mind you, just for awhile....just until she can fly first class unaccompanied back home. Oh. And with enough walking-around $$$ to get a brand new BMW* upon arrival. If you'd care to, that is.

* IMO, a much better taunt/dig than sending a postcard to the DA. Tho' he could do that too.
May we grasp the scene? The prodigal daughter, toodling back into Gunnison and onto campus in that shiny new (likely midnight black) BarryMobile.
And blood shoots from my eyes.

 

[Momofthreeboys]

<modsnip: Quoted post was removed>

Honestly I don’t know if we are done hearing about DNA…just the Codis hits from the RR. There is the coffe cup, the needle sheath, and a few other that could come up. We still know more about prosecution than defense. I think more motions have been about eliminating things so we really don’t see their trial strategy yet.

 

[BeckyF]

Sobering thought @Megnut Very sobering.

I hadn’t let that cross my mind until now. I just got finished listening to an unapproved source. I think we all grasp that Bare has a very twisted, dark religion residing in his narcissistic head. It’s not the Christianity we’re familiar with. I suspect his “form” of Christianity really screwed up his psyche in his younger years. Unfortunately, he sucked Suzanne into that dark, twisted world. I hope you’re wrong, but from everything that has come out of his mouth, I know he is a VERY sick man and I wouldn’t put anything past him.

Remember he did point a gun to his head and threaten to kill himself, according to Suzanne.

 

[Momofthreeboys]

@K9Enzo the dog hits on the bobcat in the driveway.
There are different types of search dogs as you well know. My question is simply the scent trackers vs cadaver dogs. Is it possible the hits back at the house on the bobcat and trailer were reactions of the scent sniffing dogs and had nothing to do with cadaver dogs/hence no blood cadaverine evidence necessary.[/QUOTE]
Sure. All we know is previously they said no to the bobcat and then what we learned yesterday about dogs. I am sure defense will cover what “isn’t” and if there is some new evidence we will hear from prosecution. If Barry did I will go to my grave believing he had help.

 

[Momofthreeboys]

Remember he did point a gun to his head and threaten to kill himself, according to Suzanne.

I don’t think that fact helps either side at trial. The rest of it was him asking her if that would make her happy. Ugh.

 

[O.Incandenza]

Honestly I don’t know if we are done hearing about DNA…just the Codis hits from the RR. There is the coffe cup, the needle sheath, and a few other that could come up. We still know more about prosecution than defense. I think more motions have been about eliminating things so we really don’t see their trial strategy yet.

We're definitely not done hearing about it. There's unknown DNA on the bike, and the helmet and the DNA from the RR is still unidentified. But the ability to point to active, unsolved sex assault cases and tie them to the unknown DNA was a big arrow in the defense's arsenal. They may still try to do that, of course. It depends how exactly the CODIS hits were ruled out. If it's a newer DNA technique, they may very well find an expert to dispute it's reliability.

One of the immense advantages a wealthy defendant has over other defendants is the ability to find and pay for experts to challenge the technical and scientific parts of the state's case. I would expect to see defense experts to dispute the accuracy and comprehensiveness of some of the cell phone and telematics data as well.

 

[Cindizzi]

I don’t think that fact helps either side at trial. The rest of it was him asking her if that would make her happy. Ugh.

https://twitter.com/laurenscharftv/status/1424818371011416071?s=21
Agent Harris mentioned that Sheila told him in 2018, Barry allegedly pushed Suzanne into a closet and put a gun to his head and asked her if this is what she wanted.

 

[CGray123]

My take on criminal defense practitioners is that they employ what one might regard as confrontational drama and hyperbolic rhetoric for specific reasons. Judges, prosecutors, investigators and witnesses are all humans, and all of us respond to confrontation, accusation, and extreme rhetoric instinctively, with emotional impulses and an instinct to defend ourselves. The defense is testing the witnesses' capacity for emotional regulation and impulse control, hoping to get ill-considered statements they can use. IMO, the defense team will be satisfied even though the case is not dismissed and there are no real sanctions if they got a few statements they can use.

It seems obvious that what they wanted were: (1) that experienced state-level investigators believed there were specific deficiencies in the evidence available that might have been addressed with more time; (2) that more time and a final conference among LE would have helped to assure that LE could meet the discovery deadlines that allegedly have not been met; (3) that the case was filed when it because the CCSO and the DA felt pressure, internal or external to the team; and (4) that existing leads to potential suspects other than BM were overlooked in the rush to arrest BM on or near the anniversary of SM's disappearance.

From the reporters' summaries, it seems the defense got very little along these lines. The CBI witnesses concerns were more administrative than substantive in nature. All the witnesses agreed there was probable cause for the arrest when it was made. Although there was hope that SM's remains could be found and a desire to look more into BM's finances, no witness suggested that these possibilities were either probable or necessary to prove SM's death or BM's motive. Although there was a possibility that BM might slip up or even confess as long as he was talking to investigators, there was no doubt among the witnesses that BM killed his wife, and all witnesses seemed to support Speeze's decision to go forward: the CBI's difference of opinion was part of professional and cordial communications between the CBI as an assisting/advising agency and the CCSO as the decider.

The devil is always in the details, and until we see the transcript we have no details, but the reporting clearly suggests the defense didn't score big in this hearing.

There are a couple of motion hearing dates remaining. Does anyone know what motions remain to be heard and decided?

 

[MassGuy]

I don’t think that fact helps either side at trial. The rest of it was him asking her if that would make her happy. Ugh.

Oh I think it does, especially the deleted texts about suicide. That's an incredibly strong example of Barry being manipulative and controlling. There are several other examples too, from him holding the purse strings, to calling all these people to figure out what she was doing when she was visiting Sheila.

I can't tell you how many cases I've followed or read about where a man has threatened suicide like this, and then gone on to commit murder.

It's a big deal.

 

[sk716]

Oh I think it does, especially the deleted texts about suicide. That's an incredibly strong example of Barry being manipulative and controlling. There are several other examples too, from him holding the purse strings, to calling all these people to figure out what she was doing when she was visiting Sheila.

I can't tell you how many cases I've followed or read about where a man has threatened suicide like this, and then gone on to commit murder.

It's a big deal.

Like this one, it's a good one:

May 6, 2020 – 14:43 – From Barry to Suzanne: “I’m sorry if things went the way they did. I have a problem dealing with the way you accused me of hiding checks. If you think I’m as terrible of a person to hide our accounts and have ones you don’t know about you don’t know me.
All I do is for you and the girls. All. When I'm dead, which won't be long, you guys will be taken care of. Please stop being angry. If I can control my hurt heart I think I can overcome your distant unlovingness toward me. Honey, I swear it's the hardest thing I've had to do. I love you I always will.”

 

[Cassady]

We're definitely not done hearing about it. There's unknown DNA on the bike, and the helmet and the DNA from the RR is still unidentified. But the ability to point to active, unsolved sex assault cases and tie them to the unknown DNA was a big arrow in the defense's arsenal. They may still try to do that, of course. It depends how exactly the CODIS hits were ruled out. If it's a newer DNA technique, they may very well find an expert to dispute it's reliability.

One of the immense advantages a wealthy defendant has over other defendants is the ability to find and pay for experts to challenge the technical and scientific parts of the state's case. I would expect to see defense experts to dispute the accuracy and comprehensiveness of some of the cell phone and telematics data as well.

IMO this analysis is right on.

The best the can be gathered from LS's breakdown of the hearing is that Agent Graham testified that they just received an export report regarding the potential matches from the victim's RR the day before the hearing and that the potential match was "excluded".

That in itself raises questions. Was this an expert from the CBI? Was the expert independant from the CBI and reanalyzing the CBI's initial report that there was a match? Why is this expert report just now being done. What does Agent Graham or the report mean by "excluded"? DNA excluded or alibi excluded?

If the DNA matches other crimes that has the potential to be powerful. However, just the presence of various unknown DNA on critical pieces of evidence can be just as powerful....IMO

This is especially true when you are talking about a thorough investigation. Did the unknown DNA in the RR come from a mechanic or previous owner? With modern investigative tools available, these questions would be easy to follow up on and potentially rule out donors for the DNA.

IMO the defense will likely use their own DNA expert.

IMO having money makes a huge difference in criminal cases. The vast majority of criminal cases in the U.S. involve people who get court appointed attorneys and do not have money to spend on defending their case.

This defendant appears to have money to spend and that only makes it tougher for the state....who is used to running rough-shod over most criminal defendants who do not have the resources to fight. This appears to be a rurual county with limited resources versus a defendant with some money to spend....at least it will be a fair fight...which needs to happen in every case for there to be true justice....IMO.

 

[Diddian]

Like this one, it's a good one:

May 6, 2020 – 14:43 – From Barry to Suzanne: “I’m sorry if things went the way they did. I have a problem dealing with the way you accused me of hiding checks. If you think I’m as terrible of a person to hide our accounts and have ones you don’t know about you don’t know me.
All I do is for you and the girls. All. When I'm dead, which won't be long, you guys will be taken care of. Please stop being angry. If I can control my hurt heart I think I can overcome your distant unlovingness toward me. Honey, I swear it's the hardest thing I've had to do. I love you I always will.”

"things went the way they did" and then he slips into defense mode explaining away why "things went the way they did - was he referring to escalation of argument, intimidation, or was this the time he "clipped" her? (I know we don't have the info to know, but I hope she told someone at the time who has shared their knowledge with LE.)

I can imagine his voice were he to have spoken that final sentence "Honey, I swear..." out loud. It would sound exactly like it did in the 26-second video. Playacting, in full control, and blaming SM for what HE did.

 

[Megnut]

Like this one, it's a good one:

May 6, 2020 – 14:43 – From Barry to Suzanne: “I’m sorry if things went the way they did. I have a problem dealing with the way you accused me of hiding checks. If you think I’m as terrible of a person to hide our accounts and have ones you don’t know about you don’t know me.
All I do is for you and the girls. All. When I'm dead, which won't be long, you guys will be taken care of. Please stop being angry. If I can control my hurt heart I think I can overcome your distant unlovingness toward me. Honey, I swear it's the hardest thing I've had to do. I love you I always will.”

"things went the way they did" and then he slips into defense mode explaining away why "things went the way they did - was he referring to escalation of argument, intimidation, or was this the time he "clipped" her? (I know we don't have the info to know, but I hope she told someone at the time who has shared their knowledge with LE.)

I can imagine his voice were he to have spoken that final sentence "Honey, I swear..." out loud. It would sound exactly like it did in the 26-second video. Playacting, in full control, and blaming SM for what HE did.

And sho' nuff, he did have secret accounts.

It's remarkable that Suzanne not only beat cancer twice, she beat it while living with Barry. He had to be more exhausting than chemo.

His diatribe above is just one preserved example of what she likely experienced daily. Constantly.

So manipulative.

Lie. Twist. Accuse Suzanne of unlovingness, untrustingness, unforgivingness -- prey on her soft spots, subverting her genuine faith --

He acts as if she was wrong to doubt him.

I think he thinks court is some big theatre of vindication for him. How terrible Suzanne was, how he's a victim.

Me, I'm hoping TRUTH prevails.

JMO

 

[MassGuy]

IMO this analysis is right on.

The best the can be gathered from LS's breakdown of the hearing is that Agent Graham testified that they just received an export report regarding the potential matches from the victim's RR the day before the hearing and that the potential match was "excluded".

That in itself raises questions. Was this an expert from the CBI? Was the expert independant from the CBI and reanalyzing the CBI's initial report that there was a match? Why is this expert report just now being done. What does Agent Graham or the report mean by "excluded"? DNA excluded or alibi excluded?

If the DNA matches other crimes that has the potential to be powerful. However, just the presence of various unknown DNA on critical pieces of evidence can be just as poweful....IMO

This is especially true when you are talking about a thorough investigation. Did the unknown DNA in the RR come from a mechanic or previous owner? With modern investigative tools available, these questions would be easy to follow up on and potentially rule out donors for the DNA.

IMO the defense will likely use their own DNA expert.

IMO having money makes a huge difference in criminal cases. The vast majority of criminal cases in the U.S. involve people who get court appointed attorneys and do not have money to spend on defending their case.

This defendant appears to have money to spend and that only makes it tougher for the state....who is used to running rough-shod over most criminal defendants who do not have the resources to fight. This appears to be a rurual county with limited resources versus a defendant with some money to spend....at least it will be a fair fight...which needs to happen in every case for there to be true justice....IMO.

Ashley Franco clarified the DNA issue in her Facebook live. All 3 men were either able to be alibied, or weren't in Colorado at the time.

We're talking about a sample so weak that it had to be uploaded to CODIS via a keyboard search. It coming back to multiple different people should be a clear indicator of how weak it is.

That's ignoring the fact that this sample was found in a vehicle unrelated to this crime. Some random sex offender didn't play some bizarre game of "tag the glovebox," while leaving cash behind.

Even if he did, you still can't separate Barry from this.

As to unidentified DNA that is not in CODIS, we're talking about touch DNA here. It can be found everywhere, and is easily transferred.

Even Barry's DNA on various items doesn't mean much, as the defense can argue that it had a perfectly reasonable excuse for being there.

Just look at the Jason Young case. Foreign DNA was found all over the place, to include items directly next to the crime scene.

He was still convicted, as that evidence didn't cancel out all the damning pieces that made the case against him.

That wasn't a DNA case, and neither is this one.

 

[justtrish]

Yes and you know what I’m going to say - that sucks there’s no recovered biological evidence in this case.

I do remember in the AA it appears like LE did their due diligence checking flight records, social security administration, DHS and other checks over a period of time on SM to make sure there were no hits of her being out there somewhere alive. IMO

It seems they did soon after her disappearance and months later as well. I think the "secret bank account" is only a big deal if she put money in it and used it after she disappeared. She didn't.

They want to say her not telling her best friend or anyone about her affair and her hiding it for 18 months means she could have planned this entire thing to run off also. Well it's very rare that a law abiding citizen just runs off and there is no trace of her again. This isn't a criminal master mind that has access to faked documents and so on to get out of the country without anyone knowing. It also was early COVID times when I think people would have seen her or remembered helping a woman like this. She could not have run off without some type of help. I mean I don't believe she ran off and the idea that she could have seems more ridiculous than a stranger abduction even does. and that is high on my list of things that just didn't happen. lol

 

[justtrish]

Thanks, @Gardenista for Ashley's link.

Now we have the second reporter versed in this case confirming all three CODIS partial DNA hits have been excluded. We know these partial hits were essentially responsible for BM being released on bail.

Seems that TS (i.e., submitting a question to FB live) still trying to allude to the defense finding a 4th hit which I believe is more smoke and mirrors by the defense, but I understand how BM's family and friends need something to cling to. Clearly, just because defense attorney IE makes the allegation does not make it true.

Interesting I just caught that comment about TS sending in a question to FB live. Why is he even watching that FB live recap? I think the fact he is there commenting shows some desperation possibly on that side to keep some in the public on their side. That was one of the only things I saw mentioned by Barry supporters. This DNA being linked to someone that lawyered up.

 

[Diddian]

I'm not exactly clear about what has been disallowed by the judge so far and what he has yet to announce a decision about. It seems clear to me that there is plenty of circumstantial evidence pointing the finger squarely at BM and no one else. But, will experts who are knowledgeable about normal marital breakup behavior vs. dangerous behavior be allowed in?

So far the statements this judge has made worry me. Surely he doesn't think BM's behavior as documented in the AA (and not just in the stuff the judge won't allow in) is normal "husband resistant to divorce" behavior?

I hope the Prosecution can manage to get something in about what the distinction is between ordinary marital discord with disengagement (when partners are far from their best behavior, seen in loads of divorces and separations in this country every day) and what was happening here. What was happening here were behaviors that demonstrate the relationship has entered the "Danger" zone because one partner steadfastly refuses to ALLOW a change the other has every right to have and that one partner will go to extraordinary lengths to prevent that change. They are things that occur in a territory of behavior that require crossing boundaries that MOST people won't cross. And that territory is where crimes toward intimate partners occur.

To roughly illustrate:


ETA: Defense attorneys seem to keep attempting to put SM and BM on par with their behaviors. I would argue that SM entered the "UNHEALTHY" relationship territory on that spectrum I posted and that is where unfortunately too many with failing marriages go. But, BM had crossed the red line. ETA: What's more, as "the husband," he felt entitled to cross that red line.

 

[Momofthreeboys]

Oh I think it does, especially the deleted texts about suicide. That's an incredibly strong example of Barry being manipulative and controlling. There are several other examples too, from him holding the purse strings, to calling all these people to figure out what she was doing when she was visiting Sheila.

I can't tell you how many cases I've followed or read about where a man has threatened suicide like this, and then gone on to commit murder.

It's a big deal.

Maybe. I don’t know. It can’t and shouldn’t come down to who was more manipulative. Might be dicey for both sides I still think.