Found Deceased CO - Suzanne Morphew, 49, did not return from bike ride, Chaffee County, 10 May 2020 #18

[10ofRods]

Well, remember that the defense will have deposed the investigators WAY before trial. The "narrowed-too-soon" defense would be deployed only if the defense attorney knows that it's a reasonable theory.

Right One would think so anyway

So...we’re back to the beginning. How would the defense introduce this? It could go quite haywire, right?

 

[BeckyF]

^^bbm

Actually, I don't think the lack of friend response to SM vanishing is much different than other recent cases, and certainly not a measurement of whether one has close friends or not.

This is the age of social media where even the closest relationships are maintained by a keystroke and emoji's. I don't believe there's the need to reach out to media as once before because family and friends have a different outlet. Today they are telling the world about their missing friend or loved one, just not using a reporter to do so. I do think SM's family and friends are most likely sharing (at all hours) in private groups, hangouts, and video calls -- and fortunately shielded from public view.

I recall the same was said about Kelsey Berreth when she was missing-- where are her friends, was she isolated in WP, was she a loner, etc.. No, not at all. KB's friends also remained silent but came out after the trial was over and the accused convicted and sentenced. They also went on TV and shared what they wanted her daughter to know about her mother.

And then we have Shan'ann Watt's close friend Niki that nearly took down Chris Watts single-handed. She spoke out loud and often and her life and the life of her family were threatened.

While SM may legally be classified a missing person, I think the majority believe she is dead and the manner of death a homicide. Under these circumstances, without a named suspect or an arrest, what could a close friend possibly say to the media at this time?

Nope, my only expectation was from the husband and he's made it perfectly clear that he has nothing to say. He knows where his wife is. He knows she's never coming back. He was all smoke and mirrors. Nothing more to say.

MOO

Yep. He knows exactly where she is and exactly how she got there. I think LE will put this all together in time. IMO

 

[Dave F.]

Correct. Most people have location services turned on by default on all apps. I choose to have mine on while using them. See screen shot below.

In the middle of your screen is the title: "Share My Location" and a right arrow. If you move that, the screenshot below appears on my I-phone 7. Note that I have it set to geo-locate my phone only through my Cloud account Cloud and that no one else can access my phone's location. This is not a location recording app............it only reports the live location. There may be some memory that is recoverable by a sophisticated process that I'm not aware of, but the mere GPS of an I-phone set the way that I have it is intended for one-time instant location, not for recording movement of the phone.
Many people set it this way to avoid having tracking apps such as Google locate you every time you visit a restaurant or other participating business. The location feature can be turned off entirely on this page, which in effect makes it a phone without any GPS, but doing so disables most internet search engines and several other convenient features.
IMO

 

[insearchoflight]

I was active on this case early on then got sucked into Vanessa Guillen thread. Vanessa’s been found, now I’ve come back over and it’s far too overwhelming to catch up on all these threads!

Last I knew was when rogue “reporter” got the “interview” with BM

Can anyone catch me up to speed? Any new developments? Sorry in advance and feel free to ignore me

 

[Janeumayer]

In the middle of your screen is the title: "Share My Location" and a right arrow. If you move that, the screenshot below appears on my I-phone 7. Note that I have it set to geo-locate my phone only through my Cloud account Cloud and that no one else can access my phone's location. This is not a location recording app............it only reports the live location. There may be some memory that is recoverable by a sophisticated process that I'm not aware of, but the mere GPS of an I-phone set the way that I have it is intended for one-time instant location, not for recording movement of the phone.
Many people set it this way to avoid having tracking apps such as Google locate you every time you visit a restaurant or other participating business. The location feature can be turned off entirely on this page, which in effect makes it a phone without any GPS, but doing so disables most internet search engines and several other convenient features.
IMO

Hi Dave,
that feature is only for people you want to share your iPhone’s location with. They are able to know your location at any time. I have mine set to my daughter and my husband. That is a completely separate feature from the apps that have geolocation services installed in them. All apps have that ability in them.
What do you have on the page before that that shows all the apps? If location services is set to ON then apps are able to locate you through gps.

 

[MassGuy]

I was active on this case early on then got sucked into Vanessa Guillen thread. Vanessa’s been found, now I’ve come back over and it’s far too overwhelming to catch up on all these threads!

Last I knew was when rogue “reporter” got the “interview” with BM

Can anyone catch me up to speed? Any new developments? Sorry in advance and feel free to ignore me

Ha! Very little of note. No new searches, no new statements, and no new information from authorities.

BM filed for guardianship in Indiana, which allowed him to unload property there. But that’s about it.

Come back in a month, ask the same question, and you’ll likely get the same answer. It’s that kind of case.

 

[Janeumayer]

Sorry double posted. DBM

 

[insearchoflight]

Ha! Very little of note. No new searches, no new statements, and no new information from authorities.

BM filed for guardianship in Indiana, which allowed him to unload property there. But that’s about it.

Come back in a month, ask the same question, and you’ll likely get the same answer. It’s that kind of case.

Ugh was hoping this was not the case

 

[Chocoholic]

In the middle of your screen is the title: "Share My Location" and a right arrow. If you move that, the screenshot below appears on my I-phone 7. Note that I have it set to geo-locate my phone only through my Cloud account Cloud and that no one else can access my phone's location. This is not a location recording app............it only reports the live location. There may be some memory that is recoverable by a sophisticated process that I'm not aware of, but the mere GPS of an I-phone set the way that I have it is intended for one-time instant location, not for recording movement of the phone.
Many people set it this way to avoid having tracking apps such as Google locate you every time you visit a restaurant or other participating business. The location feature can be turned off entirely on this page, which in effect makes it a phone without any GPS, but doing so disables most internet search engines and several other convenient features.
IMO

We may be referencing the same thing here, not sure. Under system services, there is a significant locations that shows specific locations you visit. Being a near recluse, mine are pretty much work, home and Kroger

Hopefully this information would be accessible with a warrant, regardless of having the phone.

 

[Dave F.]

Hi Dave,
that feature is only for people you want to share your iPhone’s location with. They are able to know your location at any time. I have mine set to my daughter and my husband. That is a completely separate feature from the apps that have geolocation services installed in them. All apps have that ability in them.
What do you have on the page before that that shows all the apps? If location services is set to ON then apps are able to locate you through gps.

The screens below are pretty self-explanatory. None of my apps can access my GPS position without my permission. Setting this way does not seem to diminish the capabilities of the apps that I use, although I recognize that certain conveniences like ordering fast food delivery through an app are not possible. Given SM's remote location, I can't really see how she would even need as many apps as I use. IMO

 

[BeckyF]

DBM- duplicate

 

[Janeumayer]

The screens below are pretty self-explanatory. None of my apps can access my GPS position without my permission. Setting this way does not seem to diminish the capabilities of the apps that I use, although I recognize that certain conveniences like ordering fast food delivery through an app are not possible. Given SM's remote location, I can't really see how she would even need as many apps as I use. IMO

Thanks for sharing Dave! I’m jealous of how clean your list is! I have too many apps!

 

[Janeumayer]

We may be referencing the same thing here, not sure. Under system services, there is a significant locations that shows specific locations you visit. Being a near recluse, mine are pretty much work, home and Kroger

Hopefully this information would be accessible with a warrant, regardless of having the phone.

That’s the hidden gem!

 

[Dave F.]

Thank you so much for this response!

So, what if the X-examination shows that the person on the stand in fact looked at 200 different leads in a town of 5000 people, and searched 15 different sites, half of them completely unrelated to any specific information about BM? What if that person, instead of creating doubt, creates a great deal of certainty in the jury's minds that LE did not, in fact, narrow their focus "too soon" but instead was still looking all around Salida, Colorado and even further afield...for months and months before finding they had enough evidence to charge anyone?

I do wonder how a Chaffee County jury would behave in this circumstance. I will bet a large batch of donuts that every single sex offender was interviewed - and more than once - and it's possible that some may have given up digital data.

I can see the trial dragging on quite a bit if every single sex offender's alibi was checked out (and I am guessing that this has happened, btw) and then someone was asked to answer questions about that. There are 3s of them in the whole county, most in Salida itself.

They are overwhelmingly male.

If LE did in fact go door to door in Salida, I'm guessing it was about 55% women who were talked to. Do you think they did this so that they are more convincing to a future jury?

There are 25 Registered sex offenders in Chaffee County, 183 in Fremont county (which begins a short distance east of the concrete pad search) and 14 in Saguache county (which begins at the top pf Monarch Pass above SM's home, and wraps around to the top of Poncha Pass a few miles south of Salida. Only one of them is a fugitive at this time. IMO
CBI: Sex Offender Registry

 

[al66pine]

SM & Teaching, Employment Gap?

Thanks Ontario Mom, that's interesting, wonder why they've just focused on this short time of teaching over 20 years ago .... h'mm

@Itsapuzzle sbm IIRC, this MSM reference to SM's teaching yrs was published in SM's former home area, so I can envision readers asking themselves: SM? Name sounds or pic looks familar but I can't place her. I think I know her from somewhere. Where, garden club/college/book club?
So makes sense to me that newspaper/website would refer to SM as teacher, identify the school and the years she was there. Reader: Oh, yeah, when little Johnny/Gina [son/daughter] was in middle school, he was in her class. Maybe home town media jogging readers' memories of her?

AFAIK, no mention of SM's other employment, if any, over the years, so maybe nothing to report. If she assisted w/participated in IN landscaping biz, that could have been overlooked. just my 2 cts.

 

[Itsapuzzle]

It doesn't take any sleuthing to figure out that she began teaching at Hamilton in August 1994, after graduating from college in May. That would be the 1995 school year. She did not return in August of 1999, which was the 2000 school year. So, she worked the school years 1995 though 1999, from August 1994 to May 1999. The timing of her entry into teaching was her graduation from college and receiving the teaching certificate, and her departure from teaching was coincidental to having her first child. Pretty average events IMO

Ah, good on ya Dave F, that would explain it then .... perhaps the media should have run with “SM retired from teaching in 1999 to raise her family” .... that would have been a bit more current and relevant. MOO

 

[Itsapuzzle]

SM & Teaching, Employment Gap?
@Itsapuzzle sbm IIRC, this MSM reference to SM's teaching yrs was published in SM's former home area, so I can envision readers asking themselves: SM? Name sounds or pic looks familar but I can't place her. I think I know her from somewhere. Where, garden club/college/book club?
So makes sense to me that newspaper/website would refer to SM as teacher, identify the school and the years she was there. Reader: Oh, yeah, when little Johnny/Gina [son/daughter] was in middle school, he was in her class. Maybe home town media jogging readers' memories of her?

AFAIK, no mention of SM's other employment, if any, over the years, so maybe nothing to report. If she assisted w/participated in IN landscaping biz, that could have been overlooked. just my 2 cts.

Good points there al66pine. .... hmm, yes, maybe helped out BM in his business, of course, hadn’t thought of that, completely brilliant

 

[TruthIsStranger]

I don't know about it driving people crazy who just want to hear dirt, as you say.
I don't want or need to hear any dirt, I just want justice for this lady.
For me, it stands out because it's so uncommon in a missing person's case.
I've been following true crime cases for 40+ years and while it does happen once in a while that the family and friends of a missing person stay almost completely silent, it is the exception to the rule, and when it happens, it stands out.

I don't think it means folks didn't care about their friend, I suspect it might mean she really didn't have that many people that actually knew her as a close friend. That's entirely speculative, however.

jmo

How does her friends talking publicly help ensure justice? How does the fact that she might not have a lot of close friends ensure justice?

 

[TruthIsStranger]

Usually it's the media talking to locals and family, friends, etc. in the missing person's city/town, but I've not read a single word from anyone in Salida, in any MSM (or even social media) saying they know her. Something about that just really makes me sad.

But would most of us want to come forward and talk to the national media about a friend? I certainly wouldn't if I had nothing useful to share about the disappearance, and in that case, I'd only talk to police.

Imagine everyone in your town knowing your opinion (could be very awkward since both families live in the same town). What would your employer think, or coworkers? Mine would think it was odd or attention seeking.

Other than saying, "She was a lovely person," what would you accomplish? It wouldn't help the case in any way. No one in their right mind is going to want to say to a national audience, "BM was a jerk and SM was nice," then go back to church and school and work with friends and family of both parties. And again, how would that help solve the case? Worst of all, you might get hate mail or death threats. People are crazy!

 

[Minordetails]

But would most of us want to come forward and talk to the national media about a friend? I certainly wouldn't if I had nothing useful to share about the disappearance, and in that case, I'd only talk to police.

I’m with you. I wouldn’t talk either, but this is not the norm. Someone, somewhere usually speaks up and says something. It’s been too quiet, which only adds to the intrigue and mystery surrounding SM’s disappearance.