Found Deceased CO - Suzanne Morphew, 49, did not return from bike ride, Chaffee County, 10 May 2020 #20

[Madeleine74]

I believe there are some people who would be inclined to "shoot first, ask questions later," but fortunately they aren't going to get a chance to see that happen since detectives take an oath to uphold and follow the law and CO happens to be experienced at doing just that.

I'm all for the perp getting caught and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law, and fairly, with a competent defense, so it leaves no opening for a successful appeal in subsequent years.

IMO

 

[Hatfield]

I think Barry is most likely guilty but I wouldn’t consider even supporting a possible trial/and or charges to test the waters, that's not how our justice system works. We have zero evidence to speak of, we recognize we are working on supposition based on what little information has been made available.

Conviction(?) way premature, without an abundance of clear and convincing evidence, I don't believe anyone in the group would want to see that, this is not a lynch mob mentality.

My guess is the people here, who lean towards Barry’s guilt feel the same way.

Exactly.

JMO
We dont have a lot to go on and we certainly are not aware of enough evidence for formal charges from a DA.

What we do have is a question whether we feel he is involved in some way or not.

And there are usually reasons to feel or lean a certain way. There has been many reasons provided why lots of people feel he is likely involved in some way.

What we havent seen much of is for those that feel he is innocent, then what are the reasons one feels that way?

We want to entertain all ideas and thoughts about this case and its ok to take a stand one way or the other. There are usually reasons why one feels a certain way.

I struggle to find anything that makes the scale tip towards being not involved.

 

[rainbowshummingbird]

I think Barry is most likely guilty but I wouldn’t consider even supporting a possible trial/and or charges to test the waters, that's not how our justice system works. We have zero evidence to speak of, we recognize we are working on supposition based on what little information has been made available.

Conviction(?) way premature, without an abundance of clear and convincing evidence, I don't believe anyone in the group would want to see that, this is not a lynch mob mentality.

My guess is the people here, who lean towards Barry’s guilt feel the same way.

I wholeheartedly agree with your post.

I do not hope for Barry’s guilt. My hope is that the person who caused Suzanne’s disappearance be held accountable. For now, I lean toward the opinion that this person is Barry.

 

[Ashildir]

I agree with MassGuy, I think the first thing proposed was the bike ride, which he hoped would lead to an abduction theory. What I question about that though is where the alleged bike ride story originated to begin with? Did the girls get a text she was going for a bike ride, or did BM plant it in their mind that maybe she went? In the beginning I thought they could have been speculating thats where she went. Now, I think they were somehow lead to believe that.

The bike ride was a routine of hers, so for someone with an ulterior motive, it would have been beneficial - imo

Edited to add - For BM it wouldn't be something he would have to make up, its something she does most Sunday's - so he would only have to 'stage' the abduction - if you know what I mean and wouldn't have to think of something to make up - whats that saying about when telling a lie stick close to the truth?

 

[Feistyomi]

<modsnip: removed broken quotes>

He has an alibi.
There is evidence he is happily married and loves his wife.
They are financially stable.
He did not bury evidence under slab.
The house, vehicle, and electronics came back clear for him.
He actually has a job and is successful at it.
His daughters trust him.
IMO, all of the above are just as accurate as our speculations of his guilt, we have no evidence disputing them, I could probably come up w/ more.

 

[Dave F.]

Tips, yes. Reward, no - and was the topic of discussion which led to my question to the OP.

Still, neither the OP or the husband are responsible for what Chaffee County Crime Stoppers does, or does not do. The buck stops with Sheriff John Spezze. IMO

 

[Gigi3]

Still, neither the OP or the husband are responsible for what Chaffee County Crime Stoppers does, or does not do. The buck stops with Sheriff John Spezze. IMO

And it makes me wonder... why the buck stopped?

IMO

 

[Hatfield]

He has an alibi.
There is evidence he is happily married and loves his wife.
They are financially stable.
He did not bury evidence under slab.
The house, vehicle, and electronics came back clear for him.
He actually has a job and is successful at it.
His daughters trust him.
IMO, all of the above are just as accurate as our speculations of his guilt, we have no evidence disputing them, I could probably come up w/ more.

JMO
Thanks for providing your reasons although I politely disagree. Some of the reasons you listed though are total assumptions with no real basis. At least that we know of anyway.

We dont know if his alibi checked out or not. LE has not said one way or the other if they or he was able to prove he was in Denver.

We also dont know about the electronic evidence or even some of the home evidence as it is possible LE is still trying to get back some testing results or some more electronic research as that takes a lot of time.

I dont think we know one way or the other about how the daughters feel at this point.

For the reasons I have seen listed why one would feel he may be involved, the things that could support that are known items and not really assumptions. How we intrepet the facts can vary but there was some facts there.

Things like the immediate reward he put out so long as she is returned safely. That in itself is a fact it happened and not an assumption. Similar was the lack of any public statements until a brief homemade video was finally put out. That again is a fact that little public statements have been made which can come across as wanting to avoid public scrutiny and can be suspicous in itself to some.

The fact LE searched one of his job sites is a fact. How that is interpreted can vary but it is a fact it happened.

Anyway I am glad we have people with different views. I wish I could see more things in this case that can sway me in a different direction. At least for me, all arrows are pointing in a certain direction so far.

 

[KLM6]

The bike ride was a routine of hers, so for someone with an ulterior motive, it would have been beneficial - imo

Edited to add - For BM it wouldn't be something he would have to make up, its something she does most Sunday's - so he would only have to 'stage' the abduction - if you know what I mean and wouldn't have to think of something to make up - whats that saying about when telling a lie stick close to the truth?

True. But he didnt call 911, and yet the bike ride seems all part of the plan. So Im curious to know how the bike narrative was provided to the neighbor. IF he staged this, its likely he hoped the girls would come home and discover her bike missing. But as it happened (seemingly not according to plan), the bike ride was still part of the 911 call, and seemingly planned story. They/he asked the neighbor to check for the bike. Did BM immediately blurt out "go check for her bike"? Did they ask the neighbor to check for her car first? Did the girls get a text earlier from SM that she was going for a bike ride? Im struggling with my words here, but Im curious to know, IF this was a disrupted plan, how was it still maintained? Jmo.

 

[Ashildir]

True. But he didnt call 911, and yet the bike ride seems all part of the plan. So Im curious to know how the bike narrative was provided to the neighbor. IF he staged this, its likely he hoped the girls would come home and discover her bike missing. But as it happened (seemingly not according to plan), the bike ride was still part of the 911 call, and seemingly planned story. They/he asked the neighbor to check for the bike. Did BM immediately blurt out "go check for her bike"? Did they ask the neighbor to check for her car first? Did the girls get a text earlier from SM that she was going for a bike ride? Im struggling with my words here, but Im curious to know, IF this was a disrupted plan, how was it still maintained? Jmo.

This is just a theory and a little far fetched but maybe not out of the realm of possibility... maybe SM went for a bike ride before BM was due to leave for Denver, maybe he followed her, and pranged the bike enough for her to topple off, maybe he hid the bike 'staging' his abduction story, and then placed SM into the car, and continued onto Denver.....

 

[Boxer]

This is just a theory and a little far fetched but maybe not out of the realm of possibility... maybe SM went for a bike ride before BM was due to leave for Denver, maybe he followed her, and pranged the bike enough for her to topple off, maybe he hid the bike 'staging' his abduction story, and then placed SM into the car, and continued onto Denver.....

MOO his truck GPS data would show their juncture.
But I will buy that he left phone and truck at home, ran after her and did the same on foot.
As we see from VGs case, dogs not reliable, they can add information, but can't eliminate.

 

[oviedo]

JMO
Thanks for providing your reasons although I politely disagree. Some of the reasons you listed though are total assumptions with no real basis. At least that we know of anyway.

We dont know if his alibi checked out or not. LE has not said one way or the other if they or he was able to prove he was in Denver.

We also dont know about the electronic evidence or even some of the home evidence as it is possible LE is still trying to get back some testing results or some more electronic research as that takes a lot of time.

I dont think we know one way or the other about how the daughters feel at this point.

For the reasons I have seen listed why one would feel he may be involved, the things that could support that are known items and not really assumptions. How we intrepet the facts can vary but there was some facts there.

Things like the immediate reward he put out so long as she is returned safely. That in itself is a fact it happened and not an assumption. Similar was the lack of any public statements until a brief homemade video was finally put out. That again is a fact that little public statements have been made which can come across as wanting to avoid public scrutiny and can be suspicous in itself to some.

The fact LE searched one of his job sites is a fact. How that is interpreted can vary but it is a fact it happened.

Anyway I am glad we have people with different views. I wish I could see more things in this case that can sway me in a different direction. At least for me, all arrows are pointing in a certain direction so far.

Part of my issue is that I've followed way too many of these missing women cases...and most turn out that a SO was involved - very few are random.
I do find the lack of leaks, lack of any significant updates from LE, and lack of pleas from the family all point to one direction IMO. sigh.

 

[al66pine]

Standard of Proof?

... little information has been made available. Conviction(?) way premature, without an abundance of clear and convincing evidence, I don't believe anyone in the group would want to see that, this is not a lynch mob mentality....

Murphy1950 re your bbm. I think I follow your meaning above, but respectfully criminal conviction requires evd of Guilt Beyond a Reasonable Doubt, a higher standard of proof than Clear & Convincing evd. my 2 cts.

{ETA: Yes, agreeing that many/most of us here are not ready to convict BM on the publicly known evd, altho ATM we may believe some evd points toward his involvement in SM's disappearance.}

 

[Murphy1950]

Standard of Proof?
Murphy1950 re your bbm. I think I follow you meaning above, but
respectfully criminal conviction requires evd of Guilt Beyond a Reasonable Doubt, a higher standard of proof than clear & convincing evd. my 2 cts.

Absolutely no argument Al66, beyond a Reasonable doubt! Thanks for clarifying the point. On board 100%

 

[Hatfield]

Part of my issue is that I've followed way too many of these missing women cases...and most turn out that a SO was involved - very few are random.
I do find the lack of leaks, lack of any significant updates from LE, and lack of pleas from the family all point to one direction IMO. sigh.

JMO
Yeah that has made this case unique. We seldom see cases where so little is being said from anyone. Little from him or his side, little from her side of family, and very little from LE. Nobody is saying hardly anything.

One of the initial theories that I had a hard time shaking was the Cougar theory because Colorado does have a significant wild population of cougars. It wasnt until we finally saw the interview with the random youtuber where we saw a ribbon around a tree where it helped me put that theory towards the bottom of list. If that ribbon was the exact spot then I think the bicycle would have gotten hung up in brush before it got down to that point. If she was broadsided by a cougar I cant see how the bike would have gotten so far down since it looked brushy and looked like the bike would have been closer to the top.

The other theory that I would love to have come true because it would mean she could still be alive is if she ran away on her own to start a new life either by herself or with someone else. The problem I have with that one is I cannot see her staging the bicycle if she did leave. I think she would have just left and not bother staging anything. So that keeps that one more toward bottom as well.

The only other theory I can entertain where he would not be part of it is if she wanted to end her own life but again would someone stage a bicycle if they wanted to do that. I dont see it because of the bicycle again.

 

[Flight154]

I think Barry is most likely guilty but I wouldn’t consider even supporting a possible trial/and or charges to test the waters, that's not how our justice system works. We have zero evidence to speak of, we recognize we are working on supposition based on what little information has been made available.

Conviction(?) way premature, without an abundance of clear and convincing evidence, I don't believe anyone in the group would want to see that, this is not a lynch mob mentality.

My guess is the people here, who lean towards Barry’s guilt feel the same way.

I didnt say anything about a lynchmob. Perhaps I needed to explain myself a little better, and probably should have.

With that being said, I have no problem not going with the majority in thinking hes guilty. Different strokes for different folks. If he is charged at some point in time, I will have no problem admitting I was wrong.

Until then, it's jmo

 

[Flight154]

He just looks guilty. MOO

Seriously?? Now we can presume guilt by how someone looks? Sure hope you aren't ever in his shoes and potentially have people say the same about your looks.

 

[ethereal*22]

BBM
This is where I think there might be motive. However, I'm not sure where you're going with a romantic involvement with one of the daughters. Could you please elaborate your thoughts on this? tia

I had/have thoughts on this too...

 

[susiQ]

Seriously?? Now we can presume guilt by how someone looks? Sure hope you aren't ever in his shoes and potentially have people say the same about your looks.

Perhaps I need to explain myself . Everything he has done and not done make him “appear” guilty. It has absolutely nothing to do with his “looks.” But thank you for pointing out my error in choice of words.

And, with regard to me ever being in his shoes, trust me, I won’t be. BUT, if I were, I would not act the way he has. If someone asked me when the last time I, or anyone else, saw my hubby, it wouldn’t take me 8 solid seconds to think about the answer, never mind evading the question altogether. Hinky is hinky. As well, I wouldn’t be offering big bucks for his “safe” return. As I’ve mentioned before, I would offer what I could afford for ANY information leading to his return, dead or alive, because it would mean that much to me. Obviously, SM means less to BM. How sad is that??

JMHO

 

[Hoosierfan72]

Part of my issue is that I've followed way too many of these missing women cases...and most turn out that a SO was involved - very few are random.
I do find the lack of leaks, lack of any significant updates from LE, and lack of pleas from the family all point to one direction IMO. sigh.

I agree completely. I am a bit surprised that we have seen essentially nothing from friends and family of SM simply talking about her - as a person, as a mother - if for no reason than to keep the story front and center as much as possible. JMO.