Found Deceased CO - Suzanne Morphew, 49, Chaffee Co, 10 May 2020 *Case dismissed w prejudice* #104

[mrjitty]

^^rsbm

Well said @mrjitty.

Looking over the attached no-body case list, I'm reminded that this case not only had no recovered body, but also no certain crime scene!

Another reminder of the limitations a rural community faces when investigating unusual incidents with both limited resources and personnel lacking broad experience.

And it sure puts all the AA footnotes in perspective. MOO

https://www.nobodycases.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Nobodytablelatest-1.pdf

I can understand why the Judge would not want some stuff to go public, which he has powers to prevent, but I don't understand why the Judge himself didn't want to hear the full story?

Seems odd to me.

02c

 

[Love Never Fails]

While reading @Seattle1’s and @fcavanaugh’s posts above, I am heartbroken so many judgements or decisions were made on the part of the judges to benefit Barry. I don’t know what happened with the prosecution but in looking back at the hearings and statements from the record above, it is no wonder there wasn’t a trial. It’s as if the judges and attorneys on both sides wanted ole Barry to go free.

Again, my own opinion. I don’t have a law degree. But I am sickened.

 

[Love Never Fails]

IIRC we only have journalists reporting on this rather than the full detail of the judge's ruling, but the what tipped the balance is the allegations of DV/DA lacked specificity - i.e when did the events take place, what exactly happened etc.

So the judge felt they were too likely to make people think BM was guilty, compared to the actual value

So not so much was she telling the truth, but what exactly did she mean

IMO

I believe judges hear enough every single day to know what some people call hearsay was actually Suzanne speaking the truth to her friend. There didn’t need to be a statement describing details. We all get it. I find it sickening that it wouldn’t be allowed because she is dead.

 

[DizzyB]

In related/unrelated news, we won’t be seeing Lauren Scharf in a courtroom anymore. She has accepted a position as a Public Information Officer for a Colorado school district. I was hoping she would be around for round two (fingers crossed).

 

[mrjitty]

I believe judges hear enough every single day to know what some people call hearsay was actually Suzanne speaking the truth to her friend. There didn’t need to be a statement describing details. We all get it. I find it sickening that it wouldn’t be allowed because she is dead.

I agree.

The jury needs to know about this stuff and evaluate it.

 

[Momofthreeboys]

I can understand why the Judge would not want some stuff to go public, which he has powers to prevent, but I don't understand why the Judge himself didn't want to hear the full story?

Seems odd to me.

02c

What do you mean the full story? From a specific motion?

 

[GOBliaison]

What do you mean the full story? From a specific motion?

I discern that "the full story" - as urged here - is [imho] meant:

"Not mere run-of-the-mill, everyday-hearing-hearsay, but...
GREAT, almost MIND-BLOWING HEARSAY ! !​

To quote Dayton Allen, (well before RFK lifted it), W-H-HY NOT ? ! ?

 

[mrjitty]

What do you mean the full story? From a specific motion?

When finding probable cause for arrest, the Judge's only source of info is the AA.

So I am wondering what is in there that the Judge didn't want to know about?

 

[dlk1949]

It is interesting to revisit AWP with the benefit of hindsight. I too remember seeing them interviewed on profiling evil, during the early days of Mike and Chris iirc. When I get a moment It might be interesting like you did to go back and have another listen.
They were in town for only a short period of time. AWP’s security peeps pulled them from their mission I believe due to the threatening actions and behavior on the part of unknown people. Was it at fosse’s people were seen watching AWP from the woods above the water with guns ? I wonder who from CBI was helping them out. We know from previous threads and mountain mail articles that there was an active militia in the Salida area. Connected? Not connected?
So thinking as I write, if AWP was working with LE/CBI - strange to have LE tell them to leave town due to threats - why didn’t LE ferret out those threats and let AWP go about business.
Interesting dynamic there. Cartel like imo.
Really does make me wonder who LE could not protect them from.
Makes me wonder too if AWP was getting too close for comfort.
Lots to think about

I rarely comment here but I find the AWP intimidation (almost 2 years ago), a giant, monumental red flag.

 

[mrjitty]

I discern that "the full story" - as urged here - is [imho] meant:

"Not mere run-of-the-mill, everyday-hearing-hearsay, but...
GREAT, almost MIND-BLOWING HEARSAY ! !​

To quote Dayton Allen, (well before RFK lifted it), W-H-HY NOT ? ! ?

The Judge doesn't have to be concerned with hearsay at this stage - he might well be interested in what investigative work has been done, just as one example. Obviously the relevant witnesses can be called at prelim or trial - but at this point hearsay is allowed.

 

[waldojabba]

I rarely comment here but I find the AWP intimidation (almost 2 years ago), a giant, monumental red flag.

Yes I think you are correct. It should have been an early sign that something was definitely amiss out there. I think I had incorrectly broad brushed the area as a nice buccolic semi resort town at that point. I missed what was not familiar to me. The apparent tension and undercurrent between political/cultural factions. Very hard to tell where people stand when you are viewing from a distance.
The other thing I found interesting with my recent re - viewing of the two video's, is that we were introduced to Curt also know as AK at this point. He was AWP's guide in the area and the "overwatch"/security for AWP were his people not LE iirc.
Fast forward a bit and then we have Iris wrongfully accusing this same AK/Curt, of broadcasting the webex live from Llama's courtroom against court orders. Which led to limited media access etc.
Also the day AWP came to visit Salida was late Oct I believe. The were on their way home from other jobs and agreed to swing by for the day. Unfortunately the area's that AK most wanted them to search were frozen over so their efforts were mostly futile. I wonder why they did not come back.
The blue XS biking shirt that was found ( by AK it turns out) was down by the river not far from where the discarded helmet was located. That's the vicinity that AWP was searching when they were advised to pull out of the area by AK's over watch people. I cannot remember if we heard much more about that shirt in MSM.
So many stories to be uncovered surrounding this case. It seems those mountains really do have secrets.

 

[waldojabba]

In other news - it looks like we are losing another reporter on this case - first Ashley now Lauren ! Congrats to Lauren

https://twitter.com/x/status/1562826108537806851

 

[Megnut]

missedwas the

I'll bet no one in the defense thought C would drive all that way to clear his name.

Another mirror-smoky attempt to eliminate a potential witness for the prosecution?

What was the conflict over SD? That the judge recused himself. Barry says they weren't in an intimate relationship...

Unless no one believes him.

So there's that.

JMO

 

[Love Never Fails]

Yes I think you are correct. It should have been an early sign that something was definitely amiss out there. I think I had incorrectly broad brushed the area as a nice buccolic semi resort town at that point. I missed what was not familiar to me. The apparent tension and undercurrent between political/cultural factions. Very hard to tell where people stand when you are viewing from a distance.
The other thing I found interesting with my recent re - viewing of the two video's, is that we were introduced to Curt also know as AK at this point. He was AWP's guide in the area and the "overwatch"/security for AWP were his people not LE iirc.
Fast forward a bit and then we have Iris wrongfully accusing this same AK/Curt, of broadcasting the webex live from Llama's courtroom against court orders. Which led to limited media access etc.
Also the day AWP came to visit Salida was late Oct I believe. The were on their way home from other jobs and agreed to swing by for the day. Unfortunately the area's that AK most wanted them to search were frozen over so their efforts were mostly futile. I wonder why they did not come back.
The blue XS biking shirt that was found ( by AK it turns out) was down by the river not far from where the discarded helmet was located. That's the vicinity that AWP was searching when they were advised to pull out of the area by AK's over watch people. I cannot remember if we heard much more about that shirt in MSM.
So many stories to be uncovered surrounding this case. It seems those mountains really do have secrets.

Also, I don’t remember any great discussion here about AWP. I would love to know what they learned about the politics and culture there.

 

[Love Never Fails]

I'll bet no one in the defense thought C would drive all that way to clear his name.

Another mirror-smoky attempt to eliminate a potential witness for the prosecution?

What was the conflict over SD? That the judge recused himself. Barry says they weren't in an intimate relationship...

Unless no one believes him.

So there's that.

JMO

Nope BM and SD weren’t in a relationship. They spent the night at the Antlers hotel probably just playing checkers. I’m sure their dumpster rendezvous were thrilling for both. Wonder how much she helped with ridding Barry of Suzanne?

 

[Momofthreeboys]

I discern that "the full story" - as urged here - is [imho] meant:

"Not mere run-of-the-mill, everyday-hearing-hearsay, but...
GREAT, almost MIND-BLOWING HEARSAY ! !​

To quote Dayton Allen, (well before RFK lifted it), W-H-HY NOT ? ! ?

Oh lol wouldn’t that make for an interesting legal system. I guess I much prefer the system the way it is here.

 

[dlk1949]

I believe judges hear enough every single day to know what some people call hearsay was actually Suzanne speaking the truth to her friend. There didn’t need to be a statement describing details. We all get it. I find it sickening that it wouldn’t be allowed because she is dead.

I would love to know if the list of all of Suzanne's 50 reasons she wanted out of her marriage were released. One or more would probably shed light on the whole mystery.

 

[O.Incandenza]

When finding probable cause for arrest, the Judge's only source of info is the AA.

So I am wondering what is in there that the Judge didn't want to know about?

His objection wasn't to him reading the full AA (he did approve the arrest warrant after all), it was to the fact that the AA has to be publicly disclosed at some point. Including all of the extraneous, prejudicial information meant that either that information would be disclosed to the public or the court and the parties were going to have to spend a lot of time going back and forth with motions over what parts would be redacted and what parts wouldn't.

I think it's important to remember this whole case was on an accelerated timeline as soon as the prosecution filed their complaint. In a first degree murder case, it's quite normal for the defendant to waive their right to a speedy trial. Normally the defense is at a major resource disadvantage compared to the prosecution and they need the extra time to prepare for trial.

BM's lawyers quite cleverly don't appear to have waived that right. They seem to have gambled correctly that a compressed timeline (6 months) would be more of a problem for the prosecution than it would be for them.

I think that time pressure informs a lot of the judicial decisions in this case. Judge Murphy couldn't take the time he would have liked to properly redact the AA because they needed to get to the PH. Judge Lama couldn't just delay the trial to allow more time for the prosecution to prepare their expert witness reports and for the defense to read and respond to them, etc.

 

[Momofthreeboys]

His objection wasn't to him reading the full AA (he did approve the arrest warrant after all), it was to the fact that the AA has to be publicly disclosed at some point. Including all of the extraneous, prejudicial information meant that either that information would be disclosed to the public or the court and the parties were going to have to spend a lot of time going back and forth with motions over what parts would be redacted and what parts wouldn't.

I think it's important to remember this whole case was on an accelerated timeline as soon as the prosecution filed their complaint. In a first degree murder case, it's quite normal for the defendant to waive their right to a speedy trial. Normally the defense is at a major resource disadvantage compared to the prosecution and they need the extra time to prepare for trial.

BM's lawyers quite cleverly don't appear to have waived that right. They seem to have gambled correctly that a compressed timeline (6 months) would be more of a problem for the prosecution than it would be for them.

I think that time pressure informs a lot of the judicial decisions in this case. Judge Murphy couldn't take the time he would have liked to properly redact the AA because they needed to get to the PH. Judge Lama couldn't just delay the trial to allow more time for the prosecution to prepare their expert witness reports and for the defense to read and respond to them, etc.

Exactly. Defense never stalled this trial. They were quick studies or had many helpers to grasp thr potential prosecution issues. Even at the prelim Judge Murphy was keeping track of time so both sides had equal time and it was prosecution who did not use all their available time. Like them or not Barry had a pretty strategic defense.

 

[Seattle1]

The other thing I found interesting with my recent re - viewing of the two video's, is that we were introduced to Curt also know as AK at this point. He was AWP's guide in the area and the "overwatch"/security for AWP were his people not LE iirc.

^^rsbm
Thanks for your recollection @waldojabba. It wasn't until reading your post about AK (Curt) guiding for AWP that I finally recall AWP coming to Salida. IMO, I think AK and CCSO have some history that predates SM missing, and AWP got caught in the middle. Seems there's still much controversy over whether the blue shirt was tested or not as evidence. MOO