Found Deceased CO - Suzanne Morphew, 49, Chaffee Co, 10 May 2020 *Case dismissed w/o prejudice* #109

[Megnut]

I can't recall what tranq BM had..... anybody recall? What color was it? LE recovered fabric with a red/brownish stain and there was more staining IIRC on an interior closet door and on the garage apron.

If he shot a dart from the breezeway into the house is there a trajectory toward that closet? If a dart hit wood, would the drug spill out?

If he shot at her as she was running to the bedroom, would a miss line up with the hall closet?

I believe BM when he says he tranqued two deer. Two darts.

One miss. One manual.

BM prided himself on never misses... but then he'd probably never tried hunting a human being before, one bent on not dying.

I think it was BAM. I wonder if it has color...

Jmo

 

[Kemug]

I sometimes wonder if Agent Grusing is here among us, cleverly disguised as a retired attorney, nurse, bored housewife, or whatever.

 

[Error505]

I don't know what happened to Suzanne.
In any case it makes me so sad she might have chosen to cease communications with those that she cared for and loved.

Just in case there is someone else that feels the same and needs to reach out to someone for help, there is a great hotline for help. - 988, These are great loving people for anyone that feels they might me in imminent danger of domestic abuse.

5600 Fishers Lane, Rockville, MD 20857
1-877-SAMHSA-7 (1-877-726-4727)

SAMHSA's mission is to lead public health and service delivery efforts that promote mental health, prevent substance misuse, and provide treatments and supports to foster recovery while ensuring equitable access and better outcomes.
5600 Fishers Lane, Rockville, MD 20857
1-877-SAMHSA-7 (1-877-726-4727)

JMO

Great post @Puzzles8 We need to figure out a way to help these ladies. Breaks my heart. MOO

 

[Error505]

I wonder if BM is still interested in discussing a plea bargain as he was at one point during questioning with Agent Grusing

MOO

Hahaha Yes, Barry was asking if he could have “immunity” if he bared his soul!
hahahahaha Would love to have seen the look on Grusing’s face! MOO

 

[Hilt]

Has analysis of the road cameras at Poncha Springs and Poncha Pass been discussed? I would think these should have recorded vehicle traffic headed toward the Moffat burial site from the north.

 

[friendlysleuther]

Not sure if this has been brought up yet or not, but-

What's going on with their daughters?
I had read about how Suzanne was sending texts, stating that they knew of how he treated her & that they didn't like it.

Yet, now- The daughters say the complete opposite?
Is he holding something over their heads / threatening / manipulating?...

Or, is it pure disbelief?
No.. They have to know..
Right?

 

[Kemug]

Hahaha Yes, Barry was asking if he could have “immunity” if he bared his soul!
hahahahaha Would love to have seen the look on Grusing’s face! MOO

I imagine he has a pretty good poker-face.

 

[gammagirl]

She had about 2 minutes to do that and doesn't explain the Chipmunk Panic/Dashing about; nor do I think she had time to do so after he broke through the bedroom door.

Also, I believe Suzanne put the suit on in order to meet up with JL, and there is no coincidental double bikini after BM comes home. Her last picture shows her in the suit. Barry is home just a few minutes later.

She was already on the phone with JL, so unless she brought a second suit down to the deck area, she needed time to go back upstairs and change. There's no evidence of that.

What we have is a picture of her (in bathing suit) and then Barry's statement that, last seen, she was wearing a white fringe top and shorts. And, I believe, perhaps evidence that she tried to change out of the bathing suit (from the bedroom).

Barry trapped her. She thought she was going to have a little time with JL, and did not expect Barry home at all.

IMO

I think he either buried her in the clothing she changed into.... perhaps the white fringe top and shorts, or the bikini. But also he could have put her body into biking clothing in an attempt to complete his staging scenario... imo

 

[Hilt]

I’d like to connect three dots related to --- (1), the Elk herd Barry was checking out in the dark, wee hours of Mother’s Day 2020, (2), Suzanne’s bike helmet and (3), the last ping of her phone. This may be an issue that has been discussed in detail/resolved/dismissed, but I’ll ask nonetheless for some comments from those more versed with the evidence.

Dot 1. From the Arrest Affidavit (Page125 of 129 of unredacted AA):

On May 10th, Barry explained his left turn onto Highway 50 (heading west away from his job site) as due to a a bull elk sighting at 4:30 AM, a left turn that placed him at the scene of Suzanne's helmet.

Dot 2. From the Arrest Affidavit (Pages 73/74 of 129 of unredacted AA):

Barry said, "Yeah, there was a herd of elk in the road and there was one bull and he was a nice bull. And I'm like, 'Oh, I want to see how big this bull is.' And I turned down there, and and, they crossed right in front of me and then I went down to the Garfield tum around and then went to Broomsfield." (my italics and bolding)

Dot 3. From the Arrest Affidavit (Page 5 of 129 of unredacted AA):

The last known activity of Suzanne’s cell phone was at 4:23 AM on May 10, with a general location about 11.5 miles west of a cell tower in Poncha Springs, CO.

The figure below shows the likely route that Mr. Morphew took that morning (from AA page 74):


What is significant to me about these dots, and I suspect this has been thoroughly hashed over, is that Garfield is exactly 11.5 miles west of the Poncha Cell tower (at the intersection of highways US 285 and US50). The implication being that he first dumped the helmet and then her phone at/near Garfield (a trail leading west away from where he was going). He then turned around and headed east for his jobsite in Broomfield. In this staging he wouldn't necessarily have had to dump the phone in Garfield, but at least make that the last ping (if he's that clever, an attribution, it must be said, that is at odds with some of his other behavior). But either way, it puts Mr. Morphew and Suzanne's phone at the same place around 5AM before he leaves for his job on the day she is reported missing.

Interestingly, Suzanne’s last phone ping occurs at 4:23AM and Mr. Morphew’s phone enters Airplane Mode shortly after that at 4:32AM.

I assume there was a thorough search of the Garfield area, but there is no mention of it in the Arrest Affidavit. Nor any mention of her phone and Mr. Morphew being together at that time.

 

[MassGuy]

Did Barry want Suzanne found? Here's why I give that a strong no.

The planting of the helmet served two purposes:
In Barry's dumb (you know what) mind, it helped sell the abduction theory.
It was planted in both the opposite direction of where Barry traveled that morning, and away from where her body was eventually located.

Barry would have been concerned that the body would provide evidence against him, and he wouldn't take that risk.

Yes, there is a financial component to the motive, insomuch as Barry wanted to keep what he had; divorce would upend the lifestyle to which he had become accustomed (namely the house).

The shallow grave indicates that Barry hadn't given the body disposal a great deal of thought, that, or something went wrong that night that altered his plans. He was trying to get away with murder, and from what we know about how his mind works, and how this all likely went down, I just can't make that idea work (wanting her found).

With that in mind, no, I don't think he did anything creative, like re-dressing her body. If she's gone forever, then who cares about what she's wearing? There is a period of time where her communication with Jeff ceases, and Barry has yet to return home. Assuming that she was wearing her bathing suit when she was messaging Jeff, and assuming that the defense was correct when they claimed the bathing suit was hanging up (no push back from the prosecution), then I think she was changing during that period.

Suzanne is either going to be found nude (Barry might take clothes off but I just don't see him putting clothes on), or she's going to be found with clothing items that are not biking clothes. I'm hoping for the latter, as that would prove absolutely devastating to Barry's defense.

 

[MassGuy]

I’d like to connect three dots related to --- (1), the Elk herd Barry was checking out in the dark, wee hours of Mother’s Day 2020, (2), Suzanne’s bike helmet and (3), the last ping of her phone. This may be an issue that has been discussed in detail/resolved/dismissed, but I’ll ask nonetheless for some comments from those more versed with the evidence.

Dot 1. From the Arrest Affidavit (Page125 of 129 of unredacted AA):

On May 10th, Barry explained his left turn onto Highway 50 (heading west away from his job site) as due to a a bull elk sighting at 4:30 AM, a left turn that placed him at the scene of Suzanne's helmet.

Dot 2. From the Arrest Affidavit (Pages 73/74 of 129 of unredacted AA):

Barry said, "Yeah, there was a herd of elk in the road and there was one bull and he was a nice bull. And I'm like, 'Oh, I want to see how big this bull is.' And I turned down there, and and, they crossed right in front of me and then I went down to the Garfield tum around and then went to Broomsfield." (my italics and bolding)

Dot 3. From the Arrest Affidavit (Page 5 of 129 of unredacted AA):

The last known activity of Suzanne’s cell phone was at 4:23 AM on May 10, with a general location about 11.5 miles west of a cell tower in Poncha Springs, CO.

The figure below shows the likely route that Mr. Morphew took that morning (from AA page 74):
View attachment 451577

What is significant to me about these dots, and I suspect this has been thoroughly hashed over, is that Garfield is exactly 11.5 miles west of the Poncha Cell tower (at the intersection of highways US 285 and US50). The implication being that he first dumped the helmet and then her phone at/near Garfield (a trail leading west away from where he was going). He then turned around and headed east for his jobsite in Broomfield. In this staging he wouldn't necessarily have had to dump the phone in Garfield, but at least make that the last ping (if he's that clever, an attribution, it must be said, that is at odds with some of his other behavior). But either way, it puts Mr. Morphew and Suzanne's phone at the same place around 5AM before he leaves for his job on the day she is reported missing.

Interestingly, Suzanne’s last phone ping occurs at 4:23AM and Mr. Morphew’s phone enters Airplane Mode shortly after that at 4:32AM.

I assume there was a thorough search of the Garfield area, but there is no mention of it in the Arrest Affidavit. Nor any mention of her phone and Mr. Morphew being together at that time.

When we initially learned of the phone ping data, it was exciting because it appeared to show that Suzanne's phone wasn't at the house, well before Barry claimed he left Suzanne sleeping; it destroyed his narrative. What we went on to learn however, I believe at the preliminary hearing, is that the phone was communicating with the very tower that it should have communicated with. In the end, it wasn't the smoking gun we hoped.

 

[Hilt]

On

When we initially learned of the phone ping data, it was exciting because it appeared to show that Suzanne's phone wasn't at the house, well before Barry claimed he left Suzanne sleeping; it destroyed his narrative. What we went on to learn however, I believe at the preliminary hearing, is that the phone was communicating with the very tower that it should have communicated with. In the end, it wasn't the smoking gun we hoped.

One puzzling thing about his traveling west, is why he went so far to turnaround. From where he saw the elk and coincidentally, the bike helmet was found, it is another 2 miles west to where he turned around in Garfield. There are 7 or 8 wide turnouts before Garfield, and at 4:30 in the morning you could do a three point turn anywhere.

 

[mrjitty]

On

One puzzling thing about his traveling west, is why he went so far to turnaround. From where he saw the elk and coincidentally, the bike helmet was found, it is another 2 miles west to where he turned around in Garfield. There are 7 or 8 wide turnouts before Garfield, and at 4:30 in the morning you could do a three point turn anywhere.

One thing I believe is clear from the telematics is he did not stop.

ETA: he may simply have changed his mind about what he was going to do. IMO he threw the helmet from his slow moving vehicle. So maybe he was going to dump it at Garfeld and then changed his mind.

From telematics we see that when the vehicle comes to a halt, data is logged,

 

[FromGermany1]

++

 

[MassGuy]

One puzzling thing about his traveling west, is why he went so far to turnaround. From where he saw the elk and coincidentally, the bike helmet was found, it is another 2 miles west to where he turned around in Garfield. There are 7 or 8 wide turnouts before Garfield, and at 4:30 in the morning you could do a three point turn anywhere.

It doesn’t make sense at all, yet Barry offered up this elk story when Grusing tricked him into believing they had truck data that put him near the helmet. So if he believed that, he’d believe they also had him traveling to the Garfield turnaround. The only reason I think he’d travel all that way, is if he was leaving yet another item for law enforcement to find.

I suppose we’ll never know.

 

[mrjitty]

Did Barry want Suzanne found? Here's why I give that a strong no.

The planting of the helmet served two purposes:
In Barry's dumb (you know what) mind, it helped sell the abduction theory.
It was planted in both the opposite direction of where Barry traveled that morning, and away from where her body was eventually located.

Barry would have been concerned that the body would provide evidence against him, and he wouldn't take that risk.

Yes, there is a financial component to the motive, insomuch as Barry wanted to keep what he had; divorce would upend the lifestyle to which he had become accustomed (namely the house).

The shallow grave indicates that Barry hadn't given the body disposal a great deal of thought, that, or something went wrong that night that altered his plans. He was trying to get away with murder, and from what we know about how his mind works, and how this all likely went down, I just can't make that idea work (wanting her found).

With that in mind, no, I don't think he did anything creative, like re-dressing her body. If she's gone forever, then who cares about what she's wearing? There is a period of time where her communication with Jeff ceases, and Barry has yet to return home. Assuming that she was wearing her bathing suit when she was messaging Jeff, and assuming that the defense was correct when they claimed the bathing suit was hanging up (no push back from the prosecution), then I think she was changing during that period.

Suzanne is either going to be found nude (Barry might take clothes off but I just don't see him putting clothes on), or she's going to be found with clothing items that are not biking clothes. I'm hoping for the latter, as that would prove absolutely devastating to Barry's defense.

We have to ask why stage the body at all.

The usual reasons are to conceal forensics, or to conceal the relationship between victim and accused, or to conceal the nature of the crime (i.e the victim has been abducted rather than murdered).

According to the prosecution case, it is necessary to move the body to support the staged abduction - but why not simply dump it?

IMO BM sought to conceal the type of crime committed. But he likely wasn't smart enough to realise dumping the body was better - and then you have those pesky forensics.

The evidence of the crime he carefully dumped in multiple dumpsters - so he did think about this a little bit, because i think he realised it was important not to put his personal murder stuff with the body just in case.

But i agree he probably didn't think through the clothing.

 

[mrjitty]

It doesn’t make sense at all, yet Barry offered up this elk story when Grusing tricked him into believing they had truck data that put him near the helmet. So if he believed that, he’d believe they also had him traveling to the Garfield turnaround. The only reason I think he’d travel all that way, is if he was leaving yet another item for law enforcement to find.

I suppose we’ll never know.

This is why IE is so desperate to claim he lied about the left turn.

He confirmed the location data which she needs to be unreliable.

 

[girlhasnoname]

IMO, I don’t believe a single thing BM has said about anything, I’ll be absolutely shocked if she were dressed in biking clothing when found. MOO

Agree and BM did say that the last time he saw her Sunday morning she was in bed fast asleep and lightly snoring. IMO she was dead long before he ever headed out to 'wall job' on Mothers Day Sunday Morning.

 

[mrjitty]

It doesn’t make sense at all, yet Barry offered up this elk story when Grusing tricked him into believing they had truck data that put him near the helmet. So if he believed that, he’d believe they also had him traveling to the Garfield turnaround. The only reason I think he’d travel all that way, is if he was leaving yet another item for law enforcement to find.

I suppose we’ll never know.

This comment has twigged for me why he thought it was "ironic" that the left turn was one of the big points that ended up incriminating him.

When I read the comment, I of course knew that they didn't have truck data for the left turn. But you are correct when Barry said it, he of course assumed they did have it quite accurately (after all they had the dumpster run telematics)

Did he think it was ironic that he got caught doing that - a total afterthought - when he got clean away with Moffat?

BM, was thinking "she isn't even buried to the west?"

 

[kittythehare]

But Barry insisted he was innocent and blamed some unusual culprits for her disappearance and his behavior at the time: a mountain lion, 85 chipmunks, a bull elk, deer with horns and even a wandering turkey. The case took yet another bizarre turn when just before his trial was scheduled to start on April 28, 2021, the district attorney asked that all charges be dropped. Then, in May, Barry filed a $15 million lawsuit against prosecutors and local, state and federal investigators, saying his civil rights had been violated — he was jailed for five months before before being released on $500,000 bail — through a malicious prosecution, unlawful detention, fabrication of evidence and conspiracy, among other complaints.

Suzanne Morphew’s Husband Says He Didn’t Kill Her. Now Her Body Has Been Found.

It’s unclear whether the remains will lead authorities to try to prosecute Barry Morphew again for murder — or will point to another potential suspect.

www.huffpost.com

According to investigators in the arrest affidavit, Barry gave inconsistent accounts of what he was doing during lunchtime on Saturday. Although he’d initially said he’d driven home to have lunch and go hiking with his wife, location data seemingly showed him approaching the house on foot. (Oliver later told investigators that Barry had stalked her and Suzanne on at least two occasions, sneaking up to their houses because he believed Suzanne was having an affair.) Barry accounted for his movements, authorities said, by saying he was watching turkeys. Later he said he was specifically searching for a turkey that his daughter had shot with a bow but they hadn’t found.

And although he had said they went to bed early, investigators said his phone registered “approximately 210 locations” near the house that night — compared to zero to two locations the previous eight nights. From 3:25 a.m. to 3:45 a.m., investigators noted 80 telematic “events” involving his truck, including opening and closing the doors and backing it up the driveway.