Found Deceased CO - Suzanne Morphew, 49, did not return from bike ride, Chaffee County, 10 May 2020 #16

[osu]

When did the family move to CO?

IIRC, the family moved to Colorado in 2018.

JMO

 

[Tate123]

I strongly disagree. In all of my years in a firefighter's family, I never once heard anyone even intimate that firefighters were excluded from anything because one of their members was involved. I think that The Chaffee County Fire Protection District manpower is stretched pretty thin in the best of times. Take one local firefighter out (BLM) and they are just plain short of firemen to fight blazes. In Chaffee county, the quicker they get there, the better chance the firemen have of containment. IMO

In all of those years...how many members wives disappeared into thin air?

 

[ethereal*22]

I’m so very curious what BM is up to these days? Is he still standing, staring out his window, searching his property, walking all the mountains of Colorado looking for his incredible, missing wife?

And have we seen any evidence at all of any private volunteer searches organized by the family for Suzanne? Apparently, that’s what part of the $32K G.F.M. was supposed to be used for.


JMHO

What kind of evidence of private searches are you looking for? I’d like to know a lot more too!

I could have missed it, but did we see any evidence of the re-canvassing/door to door efforts? Is there a link? I’m finding so little MSM references (evidence) available I’m about ready to $?&!.

I know, I know, someone is going to come back and say, well such and such case took this long...there needs to be an emoji of me filing my nails looking perturbed.

 

[susiQ]

THIS ^^^
A person (Maybe a random abductor ? But LE have ruled that out by their actions so what are we left with ?) can think of many things to stage something... but they cannot consider everything.
LE may have had concerns if anything had occurred previously at that home.

My first thought was that Suzanne had a stalker.
Again the silence of LE seems to negate that option.
If someone took her out of her home then they had to know Suzanne was alone that day.

This is depending on if Suzanne lived there at that time.
Not sure why the nephew TN declined to say if Suzanne lived at the home ; I assumed that she did.
Curious.
Imo.

I’m also curious about the living arrangements. Anything we’ve heard from BM is rather “vague” surrounding the events of MD and completely void of anything that lead up to MD. What if things had been going south for a while. SM had had enough of “whatever.” BM was staying elsewhere or with friends, however, maintaining contact with SM, begging forgiveness, “I’ll change honey, I promise, we can work this out,” but SM was DONE with him and his antics. If he’s the narcissistic type, this is a very dangerous time for SM. Some don’t like to part with “their” money or having to curb their lifestyle. They like what they like and they’ll do what it takes to maintain their “status.”

I’m still waffling between premeditated or losing it on the spur of the moment. I doubt there was a weapon. His arms and hands look like weapons.

All speculation on my part.

Ed:sp

 

[OldCop]

100%....IMO they are looking for new leads and tips.

If they had a supsect or POI at this point some of those new leads and tips may help crack the case. On the other hand, it would also be a criminal defense discovery gold mine to have a bunch of potential tips or leads from a public canvassing event 4 weeks after the fact, especially if the locals are chatty. Thus, IMO if LE had a solid POI or suspect at that point in the investigation, especially after having searched a house, car, and phone records, they would not be out canvassing the general public...IMO.

I think they would. Investigators often go out when the case is close to indictment or arrest to tie up loose ends. Sometimes this is done at the behest of the prosecutor if he thinks there is a hole that needs to be plugged.

 

[MassGuy]

I’m also curious about the living arrangements. Anything we’ve heard from BM is rather “vague” surrounding the events of MD and completely void of anything that lead up to MD. What if things had been going south for a while. SM had had enough of “whatever.” BM was staying elsewhere or with friends, however, maintaining contact with SM, begging forgiveness, “I’ll change honey, I promise, we can work this out,” but SM was DONE with him and his antics. If he’s the narcissistic type, this is a very dangerous time for SM. Some don’t like to part with “their” money or having to curb their lifestyle. They like what they like and they’ll do what it takes to maintain their “status.”

I’m still waffling between premeditated or losing it on the spur of the moment. I doubt their was a weapon. His arms and hands look like weapons.

All speculation on my part.

Me too. I could make an argument either way. What pushes me in the direction of a crime of passion, is that it still would have left the killer a significant amount of time.

It also may explain why LE didn’t think this was a kidnapping (epic screw up on the killer’s part).

 

[ethereal*22]

Yeppity. Yep. And I guarantee the list of questions being asked does not include, "What rumors have you heard."

"Did you see BM in your neighborhood any time in May?" could be a question. Again, a defense attorney will try to paint such a witness (if there's only one) as forgetful or perhaps a busy-body. But if the witness says flatly that they didn't come forward until asked because they were fearful...hmmm...depends on the jury, but many of us can relate.

Jury selection will be key in this one. I suspect there may be a plea deal of some kind, though. Whoever is responsible for Suzanne's disappearance and death (I am not hopeful at all), has got some ugly ugly traits and a terrible story behind those traits. It will all come out at trial.

I don’t think anyone ever said LE was going to specifically be asking people what rumors they had heard. I believe it was mentioned that people might be “chatty”. You know what they say about loose lips...I felt that was clearly OP’s point.

IMVHO...respectfully!

 

[Ontario Mom]

In all of those years...how many members wives disappeared into thin air?

Legit question.
Special circumstances demand special treatment.
Clear conflict of interest so the decision was made.
(or so it would appear, anyway)

 

[susiQ]

Me too. I could make an argument either way. What pushes me in the direction of a crime of passion, is that it still would have left the killer considerable time. Most murders fall into that category.

It also may explain why LE didn’t think this was a kidnapping (epic screw up on the killer’s part).

Yes, crime of passion is more likely and judging by his physique, I suspect steroid use at some point in his life. Doesn’t look so “buff” anymore. Roid rage also comes to mind. SM was a petit little thing. I shudder to think.

 

[marylamby]

I strongly disagree. In all of my years in a firefighter's family, I never once heard anyone even intimate that firefighters were excluded from anything because one of their members was involved. I think that The Chaffee County Fire Protection District manpower is stretched pretty thin in the best of times. Take one local firefighter out (BLM) and they are just plain short of firemen to fight blazes. In Chaffee county, the quicker they get there, the better chance the firemen have of containment. IMO

Well, that then begs the question why LE barred the Fire Dept from assisting in the search, doesn't it?

 

[Madeleine74]

Judging what all LE has done and criticizing how they are handling the case, when that isn't known, is an infinite loop of guessing and still not knowing.

A case in my area where LE knew who the perp was, still had them out with flyers in one or 2 busy areas to talk to people and gather any tips. But the other purpose, the really important purpose, was a PR one -- being out and about and visual so it didn't look like they were "rushing to judgement" or suffering from "tunnel vision." And this did come up at trial, and LE was able to talk about the measures they took to try to find out if anyone had spotted the victim on the day she went missing.

IMO

 

[Dave F.]

Well, that then begs the question why LE barred the Fire Dept from assisting in the search, doesn't it?

Do we know that the fire department was barred from the search, or are we assuming the guy from Fremont county who was told by LE that he wasn't needed was duly insulted on behalf of every firefighter in southern Colorado?

 

[Deleted member 267005]

Southern Colorado has La Llorona

IMO, La Llorona is scarier than Bigfoot, the Boogeyman, the Abominable Snowman, La Chupacabra and El Nahual combined! *shivers*

 

[K9Enzo]

IMO, I think LE turned away firefighters from the official coordinated searches because they were not requested & they were not asking for volunteers (I don’t mean volunteer firefighters either). I would not be surprised to learn that maybe some of the SAR folks who were invited, were FT firefighters who were on a volunteer SAR team used. I don’t see them being asked to sit it out because of BM.

Firefighters may have been onsite/standby for any medical ER with searchers.

I suppose it’s possible their offer to help was turned down because of their work relationship with BM (shared sensitive info) but it’s actually low on my list.

IMO

 

[osu]

What kind of evidence of private searches are you looking for? I’d like to know a lot more too!

I could have missed it, but did we see any evidence of the re-canvassing/door to door efforts? Is there a link? I’m finding so little MSM references (evidence) available I’m about ready to $?&!.

I know, I know, someone is going to come back and say, well such and such case took this long...there needs to be an emoji of me filing my nails looking perturbed.

If the family/volunteers have been conducting private searches for SM I think we would’ve at heard about it or seen a news article or a video clip of them searching? They did say that was the main reason for the G.F.M. To search for Suzanne. Maybe they have been searching and it just wasn’t reported?

“Please help raise funds for the search of Suzanne Morphew. Suzanne, 49, of Chaffee County, has been missing since Sunday, May 10th.”

JMO

 

[oviedo]

Do we know that the fire department was barred from the search, or are we assuming the guy from Fremont county who was told by LE that he wasn't needed was duly insulted on behalf of every firefighter in southern Colorado?

Yes according to them - Tim Nelson

Morphew’s colleagues from the Maysville Fire Station have also been attempting to help with the search, although one told DailyMail.com they have been warned off by police.

Tim Nelson, 33, said: ‘The Sheriff’s office, they told us none of the fire guys are allowed up there.

‘They can’t keep us out of the forest so that’s what some of the others have done – they set up their own little search party.’

Nelson added: ‘It’s a bad deal you know. They aren’t telling us anything. We got excluded from everything.

‘George [Davis] put together a search team of friends – I was going to go but pretty much all our fire guys are on it so I decided to step away just in case we get something [a fire].

‘Barry was very understanding from what I got from George. I know he’s not allowed to go home. He’s at a neighbor’s. I guess they got him there until he’s cleared or…’

Other friends spoke of the family in glowing terms, noting that Suzanne had been happy living in Colorado since moving to the state from Alexandria, Indiana, in July 2018.

Fire Chief Robert Bertram, 40, said he and his colleagues are still hoping she will be found alive and added that he doesn’t believe she would have left by herself.
Police search and carry out evidence bags from the $1.5M home of missing Colorado mom | Daily Mail Online

Well, that then begs the question why LE barred the Fire Dept from assisting in the search, doesn't it?

 

[10ofRods]

Yeppity to quote @10ofRods! I am the person in every group who ends up in a corner listening to someone tell me their deepest fears/secrets/guilt/burdens/hopes/dreams/goals. I know all the local intel in my hood. (A.K.A. the row of terrace houses we live in, ha!)

That's a very wee corner of the world, big in geography, short on people. And people talk.

MOO

You are what I'd call a folk expert in your community. Many people like yourself do not even realize (until a crime is committed) just how valuable all that intel actually is. But wise people know to stop by and have that occasional conversation, to know what's really going on.

In a small town, most rumors can be verified quickly by personal observation. Or cameras. Or DNA.

 

[OldCop]

I don’t think anyone ever said LE was going to specifically be asking people what rumors they had heard. I believe it was mentioned that people might be “chatty”. You know what they say about loose lips...I felt that was clearly OP’s point.

IMVHO...respectfully!

Thanks, @ethereal*22. I did say “chatty”. I guess I should have said “might be more apt to be a bit more forthcoming in a more relaxed venue”.

 

[10ofRods]

IIRC, the family moved to Colorado in 2018.

JMO

I believe it was November 2018 that they closed on the house. Then there's a picture of the family in the house at Christmas, 2018. Picture is on Suzanne's FB and was apparently taken by her.

<modsnip>

 

[K9Enzo]

<modsnip: quoted post was removed> I’m trying to think of what would have changed drastically for this family moving to CO. I’m assuming the move was a big deal & was an adjustment for all.

The first thought that comes to mind is meeting new people, for both SM & BM. IMO, this is where the trouble might lie in this case. IMO