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

[Sadi]

I agree completely. If JL had come forward as soon as Suzanne went missing, the investigation may have had a different result.

I’m curious why you think that, can you explain why?

 

[justtrish]

He was a very neat and tidy abductor. ;-)

The bed being made is so critical, too. Someone said she always made it. If it was Barry's quote, I'm not sure I'd believe anything he says, but let's say there is truth to it. She would have been killed before going to bed so the bed would have still been made from Saturday morning, or killed after she got up and made it Sunday morning. Unless Barry can make a bed very neatly...

I think what is key about all this is her phone. It didn't ping after 4:23am so it either wasn't plugged in and the battery died.. but again why not get on her laptop and let someone know. She knows it's mothers day and her girls will be calling and they are traveling home.. she'd want to check in with them. She knows her best friends daughter is getting married that day and surely she would want to call Suzanne or at the very lest text before the big event. I think Suzanne loved her friends and her girls. She would have gotten on that laptop and said, hey my phone won't turn on.. it's broken or I can't access it. She didn't do that. If it was any other day maybe not hearing from her would be normal, but not on Mother's Day and not the day her best friend's daughter is getting married. That will be hard for Barry to overcome. The fact her girls are texting her and then texting the daughters boyfriend to say I can't reach mom, I'm worried her and dad had a fight. That speaks very loudly. Nevermind what those girls say now, but what did they say before they knew something was wrong.. what was their first gut reaction to their mom not responding to them? I bet they had a big fight, I don't even want to go home.

 

[justtrish]

I’m curious why you think that, can you explain why?

I am not the original poster, but I can say I think if he came forward early on and said Suzanne told me he was abusive.. they had marriage trouble. It would have cleared JL right away and allowed LE to have something more in their pocket to approach Barry with. I'd have to look at the timing of the interviews they did, but even though he was suspect from the beginning, it took time to get all the interviews and truck details back.. it took time to get phone records and so on. I wonder if they would have found any of the trash Barry threw away if they knew sooner that communication with Suzanne ended at 2:44 that day. Remember they didn't have the Linked in communications until much later.. they didn't know JL and her were communicating on Linked in. I think it was only after they figured out who he was they had the last photo of her being sent and her ending all communication at the very moment Barry arrived home. He could have sped that data up if he came forward instead of it being 6 months later they found him and then got the phone records.

 

[Hilt]

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.

I may need assistance climbing out of this rabbit hole, but ---

Mr. Morphew claimed his search for the dead turkey was the explanation for why he was creeping up to the marital home on foot the day of Suzanne’s last known communication.

According to a presumably authoritative source, (https://www.turkeymanagement.com/turkey-species/#:~:text=This%20turkey's%20habitats%20are%20brush,to%206%2C000%20feet%20in%20elevation.):

There are six sub-species of wild turkey in Central and North America. The Rio Grande turkey ranges through Texas to Oklahoma, Kansas, New Mexico, Colorado, Oregon, and central and western California, as well as parts of a few northeastern states where they have been stocked. This is only turkey subspecies to be found at elevations up to 6,000 feet in elevation.

The elevation east of 19057 Puma Path, where the deceased turkey was being sought on the probable day of the murder – 8760 ft. One wonders what the turkey was doing 2760 feet above its reported range early in the season, when it presumably would have been at lower (warmer) elevations with far greater foraging opportunities.

I wonder, (1), how well Mr. Morphew’s claim was checked out, and (2) is this potentially another convenient, off-the-cuff lie that might be disprovable.

 

[justtrish]

I may need assistance climbing out of this rabbit hole, but ---

Mr. Morphew claimed his search for the dead turkey was the explanation for why he was creeping up to the marital home on foot the day of Suzanne’s last known communication.

According to a presumably authoritative source, (https://www.turkeymanagement.com/turkey-species/#:~:text=This%20turkey's%20habitats%20are%20brush,to%206%2C000%20feet%20in%20elevation.):

There are six sub-species of wild turkey in Central and North America. The Rio Grande turkey ranges through Texas to Oklahoma, Kansas, New Mexico, Colorado, Oregon, and central and western California, as well as parts of a few northeastern states where they have been stocked. This is only turkey subspecies to be found at elevations up to 6,000 feet in elevation.

The elevation east of 19057 Puma Path, where the deceased turkey was being sought on the probable day of the murder – 8760 ft. One wonders what the turkey was doing 2760 feet above its reported range early in the season, when it presumably would have been at lower (warmer) elevations with far greater foraging opportunities.

I wonder, (1), how well Mr. Morphew’s claim was checked out, and (2) is this potentially another convenient, off-the-cuff lie that might be disprovable.

Great work!! I don't know much about animals and their behavior, but this sounds like something to look into! What else is odd about that story is, the daughter wasn't home since the 5th so even if she shot this thing on the 4th, then why is he looking for it nearly a week later? What was he going to do with it if he found it? I am curious if they asked the daughter if she killed any turkeys before going on her camping trip.

 

[Megnut]

Barry had to know her phone was a problem. I think he threw it in the creek at the same time he tossed her bike.

I think he staged cycling gear up 50 beyond the helmet. Shoes maybe.

JMO

 

[Megnut]

I may need assistance climbing out of this rabbit hole, but ---

Mr. Morphew claimed his search for the dead turkey was the explanation for why he was creeping up to the marital home on foot the day of Suzanne’s last known communication.

According to a presumably authoritative source, (https://www.turkeymanagement.com/turkey-species/#:~:text=This%20turkey's%20habitats%20are%20brush,to%206%2C000%20feet%20in%20elevation.):

There are six sub-species of wild turkey in Central and North America. The Rio Grande turkey ranges through Texas to Oklahoma, Kansas, New Mexico, Colorado, Oregon, and central and western California, as well as parts of a few northeastern states where they have been stocked. This is only turkey subspecies to be found at elevations up to 6,000 feet in elevation.

The elevation east of 19057 Puma Path, where the deceased turkey was being sought on the probable day of the murder – 8760 ft. One wonders what the turkey was doing 2760 feet above its reported range early in the season, when it presumably would have been at lower (warmer) elevations with far greater foraging opportunities.

I wonder, (1), how well Mr. Morphew’s claim was checked out, and (2) is this potentially another convenient, off-the-cuff lie that might be disprovable.

Brilliant.

I daresay there was only one turkey strutting at that elevation.

JMO

 

[Hilt]

@Hilt I’m not sure when exactly we got an explanation for that ping, all I know is I was very disappointed when we learned of that.

Also, this would have been a massive piece of evidence that the prosecution would have hammered on. There’s a reason they didn’t.

Agreed.

 

[Hilt]

Great work!! I don't know much about animals and their behavior, but this sounds like something to look into! What else is odd about that story is, the daughter wasn't home since the 5th so even if she shot this thing on the 4th, then why is he looking for it nearly a week later? What was he going to do with it if he found it? I am curious if they asked the daughter if she killed any turkeys before going on her camping trip.

A dead turkey out for 5 or more days would have been thoroughly scavenged. Additionally, even if relatively intact, it would be decayed to a point where taxidermy (Mr. Morphew’s likely made up explanation if asked) would not be an option.

 

[Nikynoo]

Post in thread 'CO - Suzanne Morphew, 49, Chaffee Co, 10 May 2020 #80 *arrest*' CO - CO - Suzanne Morphew, 49, Chaffee Co, 10 May 2020 #80 *arrest*

This from the preliminary, describes her bikini pictured in her proof of life as being distinct, found hanging in her closet. Credit to our own @NoSI.

From the link in your post.
"Surveilance" - May 9, 2020: White Range Rover going westbound at 3:05 PM, Loaf & Jug, Undersherriff Andy Rohrich states several times that he never believed this is/was SMs Range Rover (even though another officer thought it was and wrote it up in the report as such). 14 minutes later westbound driving by Collegiate Peaks Bank at 3:19 PM, at 3:20 PM westbound by Salida Auto Sales. Defense states that it would take about 20 - 25 minutes from Puma Path to Loaf & Jug in Salida. Undersherriff Rohrich believes it doesn't take that long.

If this was Suzanne’s RR, was it going in the right direction for Moffat?

 

[al66pine]

El Paso County Coroner's office.
Glad to read about "five board certified forensic pathologists"and support staff listed below. BTW, El Paso County is the most populous county located in state of Colorado. The 2020 Census recorded its population as 730,395, surpassing the City and County of Denver. The county seat is Colorado Springs, the second most populous city in Colorado.


From webpage of most recent Annual Report posted online. 2020.

"In addition to performing 920
autopsies on El Paso County Deaths, the office performed
373 autopsies for a fee for 21 surrounding counties."

"TOTAL CASES
INVESTIGATED
6037

"TOTAL AUTOPSIES
PERFORMED
1293
(9% Increase over 2019)

"In 2020, the Coroner’s Office staff consisted of five boardcertified forensic pathologists including elected Coroner Leon
Kelly, M.D., Deputy Chief Medical Examiner Emily Russell, M.D.,
and Associate Coroners Dan Lingamfelter, D.O., Travis
Danielsen, M.D., and Christopher Hauch, M.D., as well as two
administrative staff, nine death investigators, four
toxicologists, one histologist, and five morgue technician."

 

[mrjitty]

MOP I think she will have been found without clothes.
MOO I think he found her without clothes en flagrante delicto with JL on a device and that is the condition she died and was buried in.

But wouldn't JL have told the police that then?

 

[Nikynoo]

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

But didn’t BM message S on his way home?

 

[Sadi]

I am not the original poster, but I can say I think if he came forward early on and said Suzanne told me he was abusive.. they had marriage trouble. It would have cleared JL right away and allowed LE to have something more in their pocket to approach Barry with. I'd have to look at the timing of the interviews they did, but even though he was suspect from the beginning, it took time to get all the interviews and truck details back.. it took time to get phone records and so on. I wonder if they would have found any of the trash Barry threw away if they knew sooner that communication with Suzanne ended at 2:44 that day. Remember they didn't have the Linked in communications until much later.. they didn't know JL and her were communicating on Linked in. I think it was only after they figured out who he was they had the last photo of her being sent and her ending all communication at the very moment Barry arrived home. He could have sped that data up if he came forward instead of it being 6 months later they found him and then got the phone records.

Thank you,this helps explain things I didn’t consider as much as I should have. It’s one of those things that we will never know if it would have made a difference or not. It probably would have. I’m not defending JL at all, but just wondering about everything.

 

[FromGermany1]

Where was MG living and when did BM pass her area and she definitively heard the sound of his truck and she hurried up, because she thought, he suddenly would pick her up to work? Was that on Sunday morning in the dark? Does it give us a reference point, which road he drove and why?

 

[Sadi]

I am not the original poster, but I can say I think if he came forward early on and said Suzanne told me he was abusive.. they had marriage trouble. It would have cleared JL right away and allowed LE to have something more in their pocket to approach Barry with. I'd have to look at the timing of the interviews they did, but even though he was suspect from the beginning, it took time to get all the interviews and truck details back.. it took time to get phone records and so on. I wonder if they would have found any of the trash Barry threw away if they knew sooner that communication with Suzanne ended at 2:44 that day. Remember they didn't have the Linked in communications until much later.. they didn't know JL and her were communicating on Linked in. I think it was only after they figured out who he was they had the last photo of her being sent and her ending all communication at the very moment Barry arrived home. He could have sped that data up if he came forward instead of it being 6 months later they found him and then got the phone records.

Do we know for a fact JL didn’t contact LE soon after Suzanne was reported missing?

 

[justtrish]

But wouldn't JL have told the police that then?

I would hope he would tell them the truth once they contacted him. IF I recall correctly, he didn't say they were video chatting at the time, but that she said she was alone and they could.. she said she was getting on there, but I think without her phone to analyze, the data they have is limited. He sends her some texts a bit later saying something about the weather looks nice.. it seems odd if they did just video chat to send that. I've always wondered if Barry arrived when they were in a video call and she abruptly had to go and as a way to test the waters JL sent the messages about the weather looking nice to see if she would reply. I don't know why he'd lie about that though if he told them all the other stuff why not say we were video chatting and Barry arrived home?

 

[steeltowngirl]

Do we know for a fact JL didn’t contact LE soon after Suzanne was reported missing?

He didn’t.

The affair was discovered when law enforcement discovered a spy pen in Suzanne’s closet which she purchased to place in Barry’s vehicle because she suspected him of having an affair.

A spy pen is a voice activated device that records speech. It had recorded Suzanne speaking with a man named Jeff.

“She was speaking as if Jeff was her lover,” Nielson said. “It took law enforcement two months to identify Jeff.”

Suzanne grew up in Indiana and she and her family moved to Salida in 2008. Jeff Libler lives in Michigan, is married and the father of six children. He and Suzanne met when they were teenagers and reconnected 20 years later when she contacted him on Facebook saying “Hi, stranger.”

Nielsen, in questioning lead investigator, Commander Alex Walker, asked if Libler came forward once it was known that Suzanne was missing.

He hadn’t until he was found in November when he said he did not come forward because he was protecting her legacy and did not want her to be known for having an affair. Also he was protecting himself.

Preliminary trial reveals Suzanne had an affair

A preliminary/proof evident hearing for Barry Lee Morphew, accused of murdering his wife, Suzanne, opened Monday in District Court at the Chaffee County Courthouse. Judge Patrick Murphy is presiding.

www.themountainmail.com

 

[justtrish]

Do we know for a fact JL didn’t contact LE soon after Suzanne was reported missing?

They only knew of JL because of Suzanne's spy pen recording her talking to a Jeff. They didn't find the identy if Jeff till November I believe it was. He admitted to deleting the app on his phone and eventually turning in his work phone for a new one. He didn't come forward.

 

[10ofRods]

El Paso County Coroner's office.
Glad to read about "five board certified forensic pathologists"and support staff listed below. BTW, El Paso County is the most populous county located in state of Colorado. The 2020 Census recorded its population as 730,395, surpassing the City and County of Denver. The county seat is Colorado Springs, the second most populous city in Colorado.


From webpage of most recent Annual Report posted online. 2020.

"In addition to performing 920
autopsies on El Paso County Deaths, the office performed
373 autopsies for a fee for 21 surrounding counties."

"TOTAL CASES
INVESTIGATED
6037

"TOTAL AUTOPSIES
PERFORMED
1293
(9% Increase over 2019)

"In 2020, the Coroner’s Office staff consisted of five boardcertified forensic pathologists including elected Coroner Leon
Kelly, M.D., Deputy Chief Medical Examiner Emily Russell, M.D.,
and Associate Coroners Dan Lingamfelter, D.O., Travis
Danielsen, M.D., and Christopher Hauch, M.D., as well as two
administrative staff, nine death investigators, four
toxicologists, one histologist, and five morgue technician."

Before I get any more confused, we seem to have MSM saying that the Saguache County Coroner is doing the medical examination of the remains.

It makes sense, of course, if they sent the remains on to the place with the biggest team - is that what happened? If so, the article where the forensic pathologist says it "looks like a homicide" is wrong about which county the Coroner is in.

On the other hand, the forensic pathologist mentioned in that article (Dr. Baden) is in New York, I believe. He's famous.

There is no coroner quoted by name in that article.

I'll do some more...digging.