Found Deceased CO - Suzanne Morphew, 49, Chaffee Co, 10 May 2020 *Case dismissed w/o prejudice* #105

[WingsOverTX]

Lol at judges getting a pass because they are hoodwinked or taken advantage of. They made absolutely terrible decisions, that let a murderer walk. The DNA was not a match. He is a judge. It is his courtroom. He said the DNA mattered in his conclusion to grant bail and change of venue. The DNA was not related, and for whatever reason (shady or incompetence ) Murphy made the DNA non match a match. Weird that a judge on a murder trial doesn't understand DNA evidence-like a pilot not able to read an altimeter. Why does he get a pass? He got the wool pulled over ? LS isn't granted that leniency in her inabililty to do her job. Maybe LS just got hoodwinked. Lama is shady as the north side of Longs Peak. His judgements should have went in the trash with BM trash runs. Lindsey pulled the rug out on LS with the timing.

I am cynical and believe BM walked because of shady and nefarious actors. You forgot to mention Cahill, the lead investigator for the cbi who spoke with the defense attorney before testifying at the PH. He completely threw the case. That's shady

RBBM
Love this. Spot on. LOL - The longer I think about how this case went south, the more I focus on the judges, especially Mr. "I have chronic pain & sitting is so hard" -- err, you knew that before you took the job. Lama quit quickly. But not quickly enough!
MOO

 

[WingsOverTX]

P. 119

He kept them from Indiana, on his workbench. Said he loaded tranqs as recently as April, 2020 (remember the two deer he claimed to tranq, from the breezeway, for their antlers).

I wonder if you have to be licensed in CO to use outdated tranquilizers from Indiana.

But then there's always idintknowicouldnt.

JMO

RBBM
Still on probation for idintknowicouldnt, isn't he?

 

[WingsOverTX]

I don't blame Judge Murphy for this - the evidence put in front of him was not correct. He can only make his decision on the evidence in front of him and a poor witness opened the door.

He could ask questions. We all did. He didn't. Just danced to the off-key tune of the defense.

Why the prosecution let it slide is the best question. No passion for justice!
JMO

 

[WingsOverTX]

Agree and Judge Murphy followed the law here for bail release. It's not the same as probable cause.

Bail release was not cut & dry. It was a judgment call. I know you feel it is completely legally defensible. But I never have.
MOO

 

[Seattle1]

Bail release was not cut & dry. It was a judgment call. I know you feel it is completely legally defensible. But I never have.
MOO

I completely agree bail release was not cut & dry and a defendant charged with first-degree murder making bail in Colorado was unprecedented!

But Murphy did not make the decision quickly-- in spite of being pressured to do so. IMO, when delivering his decision, I think he gave a good, thorough, account of why the Court was obligated by the Colorado Constitution to set bail. JMO

“I’d rather make the decision correctly, rather than expeditiously. The evidence, either way, is the same,” said Murphy. “I’m going to have to put quite a bit of effort into laying out that evidence so it’s clear in my head. I’m not doing it today.” He paused slightly and added — “I’m not a robot.”

CO - CO - Suzanne Morphew, 49, Chaffee Co, 10 May 2020 *Case dismissed w/o prejudice* #105

Lol at judges getting a pass because they are hoodwinked or taken advantage of. They made absolutely terrible decisions, that let a murderer walk. The DNA was not a match. He is a judge. It is his courtroom. He said the DNA mattered in his conclusion to grant bail and change of venue. The...

www.websleuths.com

 

[Aloe]

What a rotten mess all this is.
I still have hope Suzanne will be found and justice will be served.

I hope someone will look for her...
MOO

 

[BeckyF]

DBM

 

[Aloe]

DBM

 

[mrjitty]

Nov 9, 2021, is the hearing where IE wasted the court's time with her circular arguments -- designed to confuse all including the Judge.

The Court asked the defense to come back with a SPECIFIC LIST (new Motion) of what they were missing. Court also asked both sides to meet to get clarification.

But IE never intended to produce any list and she never met with prosecutors for clarification as requested by the court because she was already working to get Judge Murphy removed, and used Nov 9 to get the allegations on the record.

And the minute Judge Lama replaced Murphy, IE ambushed the prosecution. It worked, Lama believed every old allegation as fact and the prosecution never recovered! MOO
___________________________________________

RSBM

Right. I think we should keep in mind a number of things can be true, and also we should not take the claims of IE - who has demonstrably lied about this case repeatedly - at face value. IMO this is some kind of (incomplete) summary

1. IE's strategy was to launch a blizzard of motions in order to build a narrative that the prosecution was hiding things but also to stretch the prosecution procedurally - this is a common strategy for well funded defendants

2. The prosecution presented a strong case at Prelim, but Cahill bungled the DNA. That was about him, and unfortunately we learned he is not a reliable actor

3. That opened the door to IE pretending the prosecution was hiding the real killer, when obviously what was going on with a SNAFU bureaucracy arse covering. But unfortunately that narrative was built.

4. Murphy largely did not fall for this nonsense, per the quotes from @Seattle1 .

5. The prosecution opened the door to IE's procedural strategy by being weak administratively. I give the range rover telematics and dog handler as 2 examples of this. These are both irrelevant to the prosecution case, but if you read Lama's ruling - they clearly confirmed his belief the prosecution was all at sea - with some justification IMO

So in the end the Judge ended up sanctioning the key prosecution experts despite them being discovered long ago, because IE created an ongoing narrative that there should have been some other reports/data she was also getting. The prosecution final motion makes clear that stuff never existed - but it is the same ruse, per @Seattle1, that IE worked on 9 Nov.

The real issue here is that the detailed arguments the prosecution made on 7 April should have been made on 10 March. They simply didn't perceive the danger and wern't organised enough. I don't excuse LS for that. It's bad!

But i also think it is important we don't buy into bad faith narratives about evidence. Just take the phone data extraction and telematics. There is no extra data or analysis since the prelim. Why would there be? The reality is BM was arrested and charged when the 1 yr investigative process reached an end. Cahill didn't need months more time! He just needed to not mess up on the stand!

Sigh

 

[mrjitty]

IMO the Judge's ruling on the Range Rover data is quite illustrative. The FBI was working on the data in July '21

Why it was not discovered back then is simply bizarre.

 

[Megnut]

Did he conceal SM on private land to ensure hikers would never stumble upon her?

Did he professionally seal a mine he had encountered, in effect hiding her in a way in plain sight? Would LE look in a mine that was professionally sealed?

Whatever he did it took time... could he stage a professional seal?

 

[MountainDad]

Barry was not a suspect in a murder at the time he asked for POA. Fact.

He was a suspect for me. He was not charged. But any judge granting POA, should look at circumstances related to the person who no longer can speak or interact for themselves.
IMO the intimate partner is always a suspect until they are cleared, and granting POA allowed BM to hire a lawyer that got him off.

Also, the house was under contract in Indiana with Suzanne selling it. She was murdered IMO. So the transaction required BM petition for POA to get her proceeds.

Imo such a simple case.

The Scope of the Problem: Intimate Partner Homicide Statistics

From 1980 to 2008, nearly 1 out of 5 murder victims were killed by an intimate partner (Cooper & Smith, 2011). In fact, available research shows that women are more likely to be killed by an intimate partner (husband, boyfriend, same-sex partner, or ex) than by anyone else (Catalano, 2013...

vawnet.org

 

[kittythehare]

Did he conceal SM on private land to ensure hikers would never stumble upon her?

Did he professionally seal a mine he had encountered, in effect hiding her in a way in plain sight? Would LE look in a mine that was professionally sealed?

Whatever he did it took time... could he stage a professional seal?

CONCRETE WOULD DO IT

 

[Seattle1]

Another interesting Colorado case was refiled against a defendant after it was dismissed 13 years ago. It was the use of calcium oxide (quicklime) in the grave and on the body that caught my eye and reminded me of this case:

3/15/23

On Thursday, John Michael Angerer, 53, was arrested in Anchorage, Alaska in connection with the death of Angela Josephine Wilds in 2006. Angerer faces a second-degree murder charge.

The case began on June 4, 2006, when a pair of hikers found Wilds’ nude body in the South Saint Vrain Canyon along Highway 7, about 3.3 miles outside of Lyons. Her body was badly decomposing, according to the 20th Judicial District Attorney’s Office.

[..]

According to that document, about 50 pounds of a “white powdery substance containing calcium oxide (‘quicklime’) was located on the body as well as in and around the gravesite, to a depth of approximately 14 inches.”

Suspect in Colorado cold case arrested again 13 years after charges dismissed | Court TV

By: Stephanie Butzer BOULDER COUNTY, Colo. (KMGH) — A man whose murder case was dismissed in 2010 was once again charged with second-degree murder last

www.courttv.com

 

[Momofthreeboys]

RSBM

Right. I think we should keep in mind a number of things can be true, and also we should not take the claims of IE - who has demonstrably lied about this case repeatedly - at face value. IMO this is some kind of (incomplete) summary

1. IE's strategy was to launch a blizzard of motions in order to build a narrative that the prosecution was hiding things but also to stretch the prosecution procedurally - this is a common strategy for well funded defendants

2. The prosecution presented a strong case at Prelim, but Cahill bungled the DNA. That was about him, and unfortunately we learned he is not a reliable actor

3. That opened the door to IE pretending the prosecution was hiding the real killer, when obviously what was going on with a SNAFU bureaucracy arse covering. But unfortunately that narrative was built.

4. Murphy largely did not fall for this nonsense, per the quotes from @Seattle1 .

5. The prosecution opened the door to IE's procedural strategy by being weak administratively. I give the range rover telematics and dog handler as 2 examples of this. These are both irrelevant to the prosecution case, but if you read Lama's ruling - they clearly confirmed his belief the prosecution was all at sea - with some justification IMO

So in the end the Judge ended up sanctioning the key prosecution experts despite them being discovered long ago, because IE created an ongoing narrative that there should have been some other reports/data she was also getting. The prosecution final motion makes clear that stuff never existed - but it is the same ruse, per @Seattle1, that IE worked on 9 Nov.

The real issue here is that the detailed arguments the prosecution made on 7 April should have been made on 10 March. They simply didn't perceive the danger and wern't organised enough. I don't excuse LS for that. It's bad!

But i also think it is important we don't buy into bad faith narratives about evidence. Just take the phone data extraction and telematics. There is no extra data or analysis since the prelim. Why would there be? The reality is BM was arrested and charged when the 1 yr investigative process reached an end. Cahill didn't need months more time! He just needed to not mess up on the stand!

Sigh

Which is why I don't believe another prosecutor will charge unless there is more evidence. I never will fault IE for being an aggressive defense attorney. She gets paid to do so. LS and her squad get paid to put together cases and successfully prosecute. Judges are paid to ensure that defendant's get a fair trial and are not incarcerated unless there is proof positive, presumption grate. Prosecution failed to make that case. The judge took time to look at everything he knew and made his decision. The state made the choice to charge based on primarily circumstantial evidence which is always risky. It's really that simple in my mind. It can be brought to trial again with new evidence as I totally think any prosecutor or judge is going to be vary of signing off on an arrest warrant or bringing this to trial without something new but you just never know. Why on earth LS said they "thought" they knew where she was but was under snow is beyond me. Typically she didn't need to make that bold aggressive statement which have become her hallmark in some ways.

 

[10ofRods]

That might be a plausible explanation if this was something that had only happened once, though even then, proper oversight and management should prevent it. But it keeps happening. Why wouldn't LS just fire the person sabotaging her cases? She has to know whose responsibility it was to handle discovery for each of these cases.

I think it's way, way more likely this is just a badly managed office and it's a systemic problem. Lack of resources could certainly be an issue, but, unlike a PD's office, a DA's office has a lot of control over the number of cases they file, so even that isn't much of an excuse.

The only other explanation I can think of is that they have an intentional strategy of trying to withhold required discovery as long as possible to hamstring the defense, and it has backfired on them a couple of times. But that seems less likely to me because it would be insanely stupid to withhold crucial reports after you were warned by the judge that you would not get another extension.

There's a lot more going on in Salida in the DA's office and in the PD, IMO. There are some political/structural issues, IMO.

It starting to look like a general mutiny against LS, though (given what I'm reading here).

Entirely my opinion, but based on visiting Salida and correspondence with Salidans.

IMO.

 

[Diddian]

Media was good at the huge headlines that LS law license was suspended for failing to complete CLE hours but her license being reinstated within a couple of days of the news story barely made a bleep!

Yeah, the place seems incredibly political to me in the judicial and top law enforcement realms (judiciary, which are non-elected positions, and district attorney which is elected). And while it is nearly impossible to find news articles from the immediate area that are not paywalled, the articles slamming Linda Stanley are free-access.

 

[10ofRods]

I hope someone will look for her...
MOO

There are people still looking for her, but very intermittently.

It's so sad. That little memorial near where the bike was found is apparently the only attempt made to remember her, beyond the signs up in Salida (I wonder if they are still there).

I can't get on the "BM put a concrete cap on a well" theory for a lot of reasons, but the first is that I do not think it was ever established whether he had a hunting e-bike or ATV. Suzanne's stepbrother (I think it was) mentions that he did have ATV's at one point, but I don't think we heard any more about it. The Bobcat didn't go on any major trips (supposedly). But really, that Bobcat would have left visible tracks right up to said mine. This same stepbrother says that Barry could walk miles with a deer on his shoulders (I'm sure it had to be a smallish deer - but we're talking at least 100 pounds; not

And the new concrete would be visible by drone (and many people have used drones in the area of the mine shafts).

If he used a mine shaft, he ought to have used a deep, straight one - very hard to send cameras down every single shaft (well, not technically hard, just expensive). The extensive search of the surrounding wilderness didn't start right away - Barry knew those mountains fairly well. He had a lot of options, actually. Since I believe Suzanne was still alive when he took her away from the house, dogs found very little to work with.

BM is one of the worst American villains of modern times. And he has supporters, IMO. Many of them, in Salida and elsewhere. Suzanne never had a chance. What a mask he wore.

IMO.

 

[10ofRods]

Butorphanol–Azaperone–Medetomidine for the Immobilization of Rhesus Macaques (Macaca mulatta) - PMC

Maximizing animal wellbeing by minimizing drug-related side effects is a key consideration when choosing pharmaceutical agents for chemical restraint in nonhuman primates. One drug combination that may promote this ideology is butorphanol (27.3 ...

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

US7795263B2 - Pharmaceutical combination for and method of anesthetizing and immobilizing non-domesticated mammals - Google Patents

Non-domesticated mammalian animals are anesthetized and immobilized by injecting an effective amount of an anesthetizing and immobilizing drug comprising pharmaceutically active ingredients of butorphanol tartrate, azaperone tartrate and medetomidine hydrochloride (BAM) into the animal from a...

patents.google.com

he BAM combination is preferably initially formed as lyophilized powder of the pharmaceutically active ingredients, and then reconstituted before injection as an injectable liquid in the environment of the animal

Mortality resulting from hyperthermia or respiratory depression is usually not an acceptable outcome from any medical or scientific study or examination. Since the animal must be released into the natural environment after completion of the examination or procedure, the animal is likely to be unable to move in response to flight-invoked stimulus or be unable to naturally protect itself if the animal remains partially sedated. Under such circumstances the animal is placed at an unacceptable risk of death or injury from its natural predators or from encountering natural environmental hazards such as cliffs and bodies of water.

Horrifying way to die... really disturbing.

Next question
Can hunters acquire this drug without licence in his state?
If not how did he obtain it?

If he 'lost the bottle en route to B.field , why did he lose it?


Did he just administer a massive dose and throw/drive her somewhere while paralysed?
Is that how she died?

He was quick to blame the mountain lion, as a hunter it's likely he would have known where all the predatory animals hung out..
I'm not sure this is a useful exercise, unlikely her skeleton will retain traces but it does indicate pre-planning.

We need to figure out how he acquired the BAM..

Well, he was in thick with all those "deer farmers" back in Indiana. A close-knit group of men, IMO, with many of them having something of a survivalist mentality (IMO). People get stuff in various ways. In this past year, I've been amazed about stories in which people inside thousands of businesses cooperate with various sorts of illegal trade, mostly in pharmaceuticals and chemicals. We hear more about pharmacists who get caught (and surely they're only catching a percentage), but veterinary pharmacies are not scrutinized the way human pharmacies are.

I also think that LE has access to these chemicals, possibly by invoking Fish and Game officials to come in. But there are times when various agencies need to use animal tranquilizers in the wild; that fire camp training experience had many different agencies involved. In one study I did here in SoCal, everyone knew that the LEO's were stealing from the evidence room (drugs of various kinds) but no one wanted to name names. It's too long a story to tell here, but ultimately I was able to form a good enough "relationship" with one person who was willing to rat out some others (there was a lot of vague finger pointing by many LEO's at this station, but this one person had good details). As it turned out, the people this guy named were in fact the same people that the Chief thought were responsible, it just corroborated what he knew. What was odd was that while cameras in the evidence room would have been helpful, the Chief knew that this would alienate the entire group, as they hate being surveilled all the time (body cams are still controversial at this locale). He knew the whole group would feel punished by the actions of a few. In the end, the culprits were taken down (one is in prison).

My point is that there are bad apples everywhere, many of them are both smart and sneaky.

IMO.

 

[Diddian]

Take note it's in the footnote at the bottom of the Order dated April 8, 2022, pg 1/20 that the Court did not consider the State's response/rebuttal to the defense Motions in ordering the sanctions outlined in the Order.

Judge Lama just accepted them as truth!

IMO, the defense got exactly what they wanted with Lama's appointment -- a new sheriff in town-- and put everything in the Motions that Judge Murphy had already addressed (not to Iris' liking).

1 However, the Court noted on March 30, 2022 on the record, that it would only consider [D-17] through [D-17d] in this Order as the arguments in those motions are fully briefed at this time.

I think the basis for Judge Murphy recusing himself from the case was weak and did not justify his recusal. He was a personal friend of an attorney representing SD in a case against her. Well, what judge isn't familiar and even friendly with other attorneys in these small towns? In the recent Murdaugh double-homicide case, it seems like all the attorneys and judges regularly interact together, socially as well as in the courtroom.

Refresher: SD was Barry Morphew's girlfriend (supposedly beginning sometime after Morphew's wife disappeared). BM was restricted from visiting the property of his former home, from which his wife disappeared. SD trespassed onto that property to retrieve a package intended for BM that was delivered to that addresss rather than his own. At the request of the current owner of the property, SD was charged for that trespass. At a prior time, SD had visited the site of an apartment or condo complex where she formerly lived. A witness against Morphew in the case involving his wife's murder currently lived at that property and believed SD's visits there were intended to intimidate that witness so that she would not serve as a witness against BM. That witness attempted, but failed, to gain a restraining order against SD.

So, WHAT exactly was the conflict for Murphy? Does no one who has ever appeared before him to plea or be tried for a crime ever appear as a witness in another case being heard by Murphy? I find that unlikely in such a sparsely populated area.