Found Deceased CO - Suzanne Morphew, 49, did not return from bike ride, Chaffee County, 10 May 2020 #13

[TKG]

We've bought and sold homes in CA, never used an attorney - all using escrow, but ours were always very simple (and no million dollar properties). Maybe with more complex or high dollar transactions use lawyers.

As licensed Real Estate Agents in Arizona we also do not use attorneys in transactions. We utilize Title Companies. Each state varies. MOO

 

[AugustWest]

To me, "reasonable inquiry" would include LE's efforts, not relying on just a single family member making a plea. LE, CBI, FBI, SaR - don't those count? But hey, I'm probably wrong.

You aren't wrong; this would be greater than "reasonable inquiry."

To determine what "reasonable inquiry" exactly is in IN would require research of case law.

 

[Elle*Bee]

I’m hoping Suzanne’s case is resolved soon. I hate for this to end up as another no-body case (even though Kelsey Bereth found justice although her remains are missing) or a Missy Bevers case (murdered but no one seems to know by whom or why).

 

[kkdj]

Mortgages and HELOCS and HELOANS specialist
I say specialist because I am actually a closing specialist in the heloc/heloan/personal loan dept but I have been on a temporary move to the Mtg dept to help them out with the overload for past 3 months due to my experience as they are backlogged with purchases and re-fi's due to the low interest rates, so I am currently helping them out. It is good to be versatile hahaha

We love you people in my end! lol! (I did loans for awhile too, but many years ago)
I've been in RE over 35 years in one fashion or another, an agent over 20 years. Anyway, it's OT. But good to have your expertise on here. You never know when it will tie into a case.

 

[AugustWest]

Does one have to clear a criminal background check to be a guardian of an incapacitated adult?

Criminal background check not necessary, and might frustrate the wishes of the respondent (person who guardianship is for).

For example, say Mother becomes ill, felon Son A wants mom's guardianship in Texas. Felon Son B wants mom's guardianship in Oklahoma. Who gets guardianship in that instance? These issues, believe it or not, do arise.

ETA: I should add that these issues can be considered, but not as a matter of course. The time to raise these issues would be at the guardianship hearing, where opportunity to be heard is afforded.

 

[Spartygirl]

How can one have a POA over someone that no longer exists?
Maybe it's time to hurry up and get things in order? One never knows when someone deceased might be found. moo

They would have to have proof they no longer exist, a death certificate.

 

[Spartygirl]

Thank you for your prompt response. In my opinion, the Judge should look into the CBI, FBI investigations of SM disappearance to decide the request for permanent Guardianship. IMO, BM, is a definite POI in the case and the petition should be declined.

I agree, as a citizen and a sleuther and someone with common sense, but I am not sure the Judge has to look at all that. If I were a judge and as much as I follow true crime, I would look into it, but I don't know if he is legally forced to any FBI, CBI and LE investigations.

 

[kkdj]

Criminal background check not necessary, and might frustrate the wishes of the respondent (person who guardianship is for).

For example, say Mother becomes ill, felon Son A wants mom's guardianship in Texas. Felon Son B wants mom's guardianship in Oklahoma. Who gets guardianship in that instance? These issues, believe it or not, do arise.

ETA: I should add that these issues can be considered, but not as a matter of course. The time to raise these issues would be at the guardianship hearing, where opportunity to be heard is afforded.

What's the bar for making the decision?

 

[AugustWest]

What's the bar for making the decision?

Testamentary intent (what would the respondent want) and the court's discretion (best-interest standard). A balancing act to be sure.

 

[nyvictoria]

I just don’t see a niche for a 49 y/o woman to be abducted. For what? Money? Where’s the ransom request? For more nefarious reasons? Where is any evidence she was even on a bike ride? No BOLO, no description, no pressers. Something is rotten in Denmark IMO.

Totally agree. Even the remote possibility that she was kidnapped for ransom can be ruled out as no one has claimed BM’s reward.

 

[RickshawFan]

A question in a whole different arena.
It sounds as though LE brought in CBI and FBI fairly on after SM was reported missing. Is it typical to call on state and federal agencies, or might the FBI involvement suggest an interstate investigation?

 

[Murphy1950]

I’ll add a couple things that add to the suspicion:

BM has never spoken to the media, or been publicly involved in the search effort. In fact, when given the opportunity to utilize the media to get the word out, he responded with words to the effect of “it’s too soon.”
BM had it, and passed.
He then waited a week, and devoted an astounding 26 seconds.......
The silence that is surrounding this entire thing, is something I have only seen in homicide investigations. That is exactly what I believe this to be.

RSBM
To add to the list, as you stated above, Barry said it was too soon. A week later Barry made his pathetic 27 second plea. I can assure you MSM, even a week later, would have been chopping at the bit to interview Barry and give him all the time and leeway he needed to make his plea. They would have played that plea over and over on all the major news networks and the internet ad nauseam. A whole lot of people would still have "that lady" from Colorado who disappeared on Mother’s Day, you know the one whose husband offered a couple of hundred thousand, on their radar. So, who knows about the pathetic plea or Suzanne??? Only the people who follow this type of forum and the crime pages on social media. He could still make that right but we know he won't.



Speaking to the silence, It is also beyond uncanny the total abandonment of the "Find Suzanne Morphew" FB Page, we know that page was started by friends and family, as a support page., not a crime discussion page.

They never had to post a daily update, that's ok. They could have made simple post, i.e. let's Pray for Suzanne, as many of their friends did post that type sentiment. Not only have the admins not made any post since May 16th but now it’s become a "discussion" page on who's guilty. The page is now detrimental to the family, due to the number of posters analyzing Barry. If it's not going to be monitored it should at least be taken down.

 

[FelicityLemon]

You aren't wrong; this would be greater than "reasonable inquiry."

To determine what "reasonable inquiry" exactly is in IN would require research of case law.

To determine what "reasonable inquiry" exactly is in IN would require research of case law.[/QUOTE]
I certainly thought so. There've been many comments suggesting that BM hadn't put in the effort to comply with reasonable inquiry and I was thinking that the many outside agencies provided plenty.

 

[Spartygirl]

A question in a whole different arena.
It sounds as though LE brought in CBI and FBI fairly on after SM was reported missing. Is it typical to call on state and federal agencies, or might the FBI involvement suggest an interstate investigation?

I am taking guess here, but I would say it could be FBI was brought in because they have more resources (phone gps, auto gps, tracking, etc) OR if they were first believing the kidnapping theory, then, yes, interstate investigation. jmo

 

[CronesEye]

Maybe there was a third person involved in some type of confrontation. The vehicle spotted was this third persons car. Body placed in the unidentifed car, taken to location near river/resevoir for disposal.... staging happened next. Just theories. The biker who saw the misplaced vehicle was convincing that it was out of place. MOO

Interesting to note what this kidnapping website has to say about vehicles:

"Experienced kidnappers often conduct surveillance on potential victims using cars; therefore, be wary of the same cars following you for long periods of time."

"If forced into a trunk/boot of a vehicle or specially built transport container, understand the captors are trying to move you from the “point of attack” to the confinement phase and that you can be moved from one vehicle to several over the course of hours."
Avoiding and Surviving Kidnapping Situations

 

[MassGuy]

A question in a whole different arena.
It sounds as though LE brought in CBI and FBI fairly on after SM was reported missing. Is it typical to call on state and federal agencies, or might the FBI involvement suggest an interstate investigation?

The CBI would be totally expected, as the sheriff’s office is both small, and ill equipped to handle something of this scope (on their own).

The FBI on the other hand, that’s tough to say. Because they are frequently called in on account of their vast resources, it’s hard to determine if that was the case here, or if it was because of the potential for an interstate investigation.

Maybe it’s both.

 

[FelicityLemon]

Except it appears her family may have been unaware - see crimeline article @Seattle1 just posted
Imo

Not entirely true; the eldest daughter signed the paper. The family member who didn't know ...we don't know who that is because they requested anonymity. Maybe they're not a close family member and wouldn't necessarily know everything going on. I haven't read everything about this, but do we know who that family member is now?

Not sleuthing, just asking because I know I've missed some things.

 

[MassGuy]

Someone just pointed this out to me, and I’m not sure if it’s been mentioned yet. BM is now listed as a “Team Member” on that crowd funding site that can’t be named.

The beneficiary is still his mother.

 

[Dave F.]

A question in a whole different arena.
It sounds as though LE brought in CBI and FBI fairly on after SM was reported missing. Is it typical to call on state and federal agencies, or might the FBI involvement suggest an interstate investigation?

It's typical in Colorado to call in the CBI and the FBI immediately. The Chaffee County Sheriff's Department has very limited detective capabilities, and it is the CBI's responsibility to provide support, expertise and assistance in such cases. It is CBI case 2020-109, Investigator Kevin Koback. Many on this thread might remember him from the Watts murder case. The FBI appears to have only assisted in search efforts. IMO
The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

 

[Seattle1]

Exactly!! This is huge. That is why I am very keen on knowing how the Judge is going to look at the Guardianship as it points towards a financial gain motive in her disappearance.

The more I read about temporary Guardianship, even in states with the most sophisticated statutes as attested by this Colorado attorney cited below, I think the monitoring system is only as good as the money state legislatures allocate to monitoring the petitioners (i.e, BM). Not only that, but it's also difficult to challenge -- hard to terminate the Guardianship!

OK, it's a fact that most people don't vanish from the earth and their partner race to court to seek Guardianship. SM is an extreme example for Guardianship but if readers learn anything from this case, it should be to take stock in your life and protect yourself against becoming a victim of guardianship abuse in general: Get a durable power of attorney and a health care advance directive. These documents can help keep the determination of your future out of a courtroom.

A lengthy article at the link but if you don't have a durable POA for yourself it's a must-read.

Guardianship In The U.S.: Protection Or Exploitation?

Catherine Seal, a Colorado attorney who has worked in law for 20 years and been involved in guardianship reform, said state laws on the issue vary greatly. However, Seal noted, “Even in the states with the most sophisticated statutes, you still have court hearings that happen ex parte, which means that nobody gets to be there other than the petitioner.” She said she had a recent case in which a judge signed an initial order appointing an emergency guardian without any hearing and without the required affidavits swearing to the allegations in the petition.

“I represented the respondent, and I went into court as soon as I could, and we got the thing dismissed — because the court didn’t have the necessary information,” Seal said. Her client had the means to pay for an attorney, she said. Most don’t.

[..]

“Courts are not set up well to monitor guardians,” but rather to initiate a process, get it finished and deliver a decision, Seal said.

Uekert agreed with others that an enormous part of the problem is funding.

“Everything is contingent on the courts trying to do this out of budgets that the state legislatures don’t want to support,” she said. “If the court is responsible for monitoring and doesn’t have anybody who can effectively act as a court visitor, audit cases or review accounting, to what extent can a court monitor?”

Judges and attorneys — especially those in rural counties who deal only rarely with guardianships — may be uninformed or impervious to changes in the law.

Wright said that in her early years of practicing elder law in Oregon, when she was representing someone in a contested guardianship and objected to part of the proceeding, “The judge said on the record, ‘Well, I don’t pay much attention to the rules of evidence or civil procedure in cases like this.’ So the judge has just told me outright that he doesn’t obey the law — what am I going to do now?”